| Assessment Measures |
Self Assessment Measures to Promote Psychological Wellbeing |
This section of the website provides specific information about three assessment measures that have been discussed in previous sections.
The Inventory of Positive Psychological Attitudes (IPPA-32R) was discussed in the section: Defining Psychological Wellbeing.
The Index of Core Spiritual Experiences (INSPIRIT) and the Spirituality and Resilience Assessment Packet (SRA) was discussed in the section on Prevention.
These measurement instruments were originally developed for research on psychological wellbeing. The research format of each scale is discussed in the following section: For Social Science and Clinical Researchers.
The self-scoring format of each instrument is discussed in this section.
The self-scoring format is useful during psychotherapy as a means for patients and clinician to track an individual's growth and to identify specific areas where they are having difficulty developing resilient responses to adversity and stress.
Patient responses to each item can be discussed during psychotherapy, generating additional material for reflective self-inquiry.
These instruments are available in English and Spanish versions.
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As discussed in the section, Defining Psychological Wellbeing, the Inventory of Positive Psychological Attitudes (IPPA-32R) measures the resilient worldview, Confidence in Life and Self.
The IPPA has 32 items that help individuals assess whether they show evidence of a resilient worldview when confronting adversity and stressful life challenges.
Each item has a Likert scale that measures a continuum of attitudes. The attitudes range from various indicators of anxious dysregulation to various indicators of positve internal composure.
The IPPA has two sub-scales.
The Life Purpose and Satisfaction (LPS) subscale measures Confidence in Life. It includes a variety of attitudes about life when patients are experiencing adversity.
The Self-Confidence During Stress (SCDS) subscale measures Confidence in Self during these same stressful and adverse conditions. The self-confidence tapped by this subscale includes support that patients know they can reliably receive from others. It taps confidence that individuals have sufficient inner resources and support to face their life challenges.
As a unified whole, the IPPA measures Confidence in Life and Self.
Research has demonstrated that this resilient worldview strengthens a process-oriented approach to psychological wellbeing in which individuals learn to respond positively to far-from-equilibrium conditions of challenge and stress as fertile ground for maturational growth.
* As discussed in the section on Prevention, religion and spirituality can have profoundly negative effects on individuals and groups. When religion is used to justify social inequalities, when it turns a blind eye to the abuse of women and children, or when it responds with indifference to intergroup violence that draws justification from religious texts, religion and spirituality undermine Confidence in Life and Self substantively.
Alternatively, because religion and spirituality remain a resource for positive existential meaning-making, they can have constructive effects on individuals and groups. When personalized approaches to religion and spirituality teach individuals how to develop internal composure during adversity, strengthen interpersonal skills that promote peaceful conflict resolution, and approach life's challenges as fertile soil for maturational growth, they can substantively build Confidence in Life and Self.
To identify positive forms of religion and spirituality for research on factors that contribute to psychological wellbeing, Dr. Jared Kass developed two metrics.
The Index of Core Spiritual Experiences (INSPIRIT) measures an experientially-based form of spirituality. The development of this scale recognized that belief in a Higher Power, particularly if limited to received beliefs taught during childhood, does not necessarily engage individuals in contemplative self-inquiry through which they can develop an internal locus of existential meaning-making that helps them respond to adversity and stress in a constructive manner.
The INSPIRIT measures such experiential modes of contemplative self-inquiry.
Whether an individual's experiential practice is prayer, meditation, yoga, walking in nature, home and family based modes of lovingkindness, or service activities outside the home, the INSPIRIT taps the degree to which individuals experience themselves connected to a transcendent dimension of life.
The final item provides a checklist of experiences commonly reported during meditation and contemplative prayer. For each item, it measures the perceived impact of these experiences on an individual's perceptions of a transcendent dimension of life.
The INSPIRIT has seven items, including this final checklist. It employs a 4-point scale to monitor changes over time.
Research with the INSPIRIT identified improvements in psychological wellbeing. These same improvements were not correlated significantly with a question on Belief in God or Higher Power. This research affirmed the value of experiential approaches to personalized religion and spirituality.
Following this research, the IPPA and INSPIRIT were combined to form the Spirituality and Resilience Assessment Packet (SRA). This combined instrument helps people explore concretely whether their spirituality is contributing to their psychological wellbeing. It includes an interpretive rubric that strengthens self-reflection on the relationship between Confidence in Life and Self (high or low) and experiential spirituality (high or low). This rubric supports individuals who do not pursue their psychological wellbeing through spirituality, while alerting people who are spiritually-oriented to areas where their practices are not contributing to Confidence in Life and Self.
* To Preview the Self-Test Format of the IPPA, INSPIRIT, and SRA:
The following menu will help individuals and professionals examine sample models of these self-assessment instruments.
Registration Fees for Individuals, Professionals, and Institutions Registration Fees (pdf) * To register to use these instruments, send an email to Dr. Kass with the following information:
1) Planned Purpose: Explain whether you are applying as a professional, institution, or private individual.
2) List the Self-Assessment instruments you want to use.
3) Contact Information: Name, Address, Email, Cellphone
4) Professionals: Work Title, Academic Degrees, License(s), Certification(s), Years of Experience
NOTE: Registration as an individual professional does not permit sharing use of these instruments with colleagues.
5) Institutions: Name of Institution, Department, Title of Professional Submitting Application
Note: Institutional registration permits unlimited number of users. Employees who leave the institution do not have permission for ongoing use.
You will receive an approval email, explaining how to submit your registration fee through PayPal.
Following receipt of the registration fee, the assessment instruments will be sent to you electronically.
Submit this application email, or other inquiries Dr. Jared Kass, Director, Institiute for Psychospiritual Maturation, at jared.kass@resilientworldview.org
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NOTE FOR SOCIAL SCIENTISTS and CLINICAL RESEARCHERS:
These instruments were originally developed for social science and clinical research. In the research format, the questionnaires are presented in random-order formats that must be scored by a research team.
If you are a social scientist or clinician who wants to use the research format of these instruments, please see the Social Science and Clinical Research Section of the website.
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