Factorial Validity of the Faith Development Scale

Abstract

The Faith Development Scale (FDS; Leak, Loucks, & Bowlin, 1999 Leak, G. K., Loucks, A. A. and Bowlin, P. 1999. Development and initial validation of an objective measure of faith development. The International Journal for the Psychology of Religion, 9: 105–124. [Taylor & Francis Online] , [Google Scholar]) is a brief, global measure of religious maturity derived explicitly from Fowler's (1981) Fowler, J. W. 1981. Stages of faith, New York: Harper & Row. [Google Scholar] influential theory of faith development. A great deal of prior research exists to support its construct validity. It has not, however, undergone a rigorous examination of its factorial validity as part of the overall construct validation process. This research examines the factorial validity of the FDS through the evaluation of two plausible models derived from theory or prior empirical research (one- and two-factor models, respectively). Analysis of items indicated adequate fit, and analysis of parcels indicated excellent model-data fit. Implications for the FDS and limitations of the study are presented.

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