Validation of the Portuguese Version of the Functional Assessment of Chronic Illness Therapy-Spiritual Well-Being Scale (FACIT-Sp 12) Among Brazilian Psychiatric Inpatients

Abstract

Functional Assessment of Chronic Illness Therapy-Spiritual Well-Being scale (FACIT-Sp 12) is one of the most used and most validated instruments for assessing spiritual well-being in the world. Some Brazilian studies have used this instrument without, however, assessing its psychometric properties. The present study aims to validate the Portuguese version of the FACIT-Sp 12 among Brazilian psychiatric inpatients. A self-administered questionnaire, covering spiritual well-being (FACIT-Sp 12), depression, anxiety, religiosity, quality of life, and optimism, was administered. Of those who met the inclusion criteria, 579 patients were invited to participate and 493 (85.1 %) were able to fill out the FACIT-Sp 12 twice (test and retest). Subsequently, the validation analysis was carried out. Estimation of test-retest reliability, discriminant, and convergent validity was determined by the Spearman's correlation test, and the internal consistency was examined by the Cronbach's alpha. The sample was predominantly male (63.9 %) with a mean age of 35.9 years, and the most common psychiatric condition was bipolar disorder (25.7 %) followed by schizophrenia (20.4 %), drug use (20.0 %), and depression (17.6 %) according to ICD-10. The total FACIT-Sp 12 scale as well as the subscales demonstrated high internal consistency (coefficient alphas ranging from 0.893 for the total scale to 0.655 for the Meaning subscale), good convergent and divergent validity, and satisfactory test-retest reliability (rho = 0.699). The Portuguese version of FACIT-Sp 12 is a valid and reliable measure to use in Brazilian psychiatric inpatients. The availability of a brief and broad measure of spiritual well-being can help the study of spirituality and its influence on health by researchers from countries that speak the Portuguese language.