Islamic lifestyle with a focus on health

Islamic lifestyle with a focus on health

Development and validation of a questionnaire to assess religious education of Iranian adolescents: A step towards improving spiritual health

Document Type : Original Article

Authors
1 Assistant Professor, Department of Islamic teachings, Farhangian University, Tehran, Iran.
2 Assistant Professor, Department of Educational Sciences, Farhangian University, Tehran, Iran.
Abstract
Background and Objective: Religious education plays a fundamental role in shaping adolescents' spiritual identity and enhancing their spiritual health. Given the lack of a valid, culturally appropriate instrument to assess religious education among Iranian students, the present study aimed to design and validate a multidimensional questionnaire in this domain.
Methods and Materials: This exploratory sequential (qualitative–quantitative) study was conducted in 2024 in Birjand, Iran. In the qualitative phase, thematic content analysis was performed on 43 semi-structured interviews with experts in religious education, selected through purposive sampling. As a result, three key dimensions—cognitive, emotional, and behavioral—were identified. Based on these findings, a researcher-made 27-item questionnaire was developed. In the quantitative phase, 486 middle school students from Birjand were selected using multistage cluster sampling based on the Krejcie and Morgan table, and completed the questionnaire. Face and content validity (CVI and CVR), along with confirmatory factor analysis (CFA), were assessed using SPSS and LISREL software.
Results: Content validity was confirmed using CVR and CVI indices. Confirmatory factor analysis supported the three-factor structure of the scale (RMSEA = 0.064, CFI = 0.98, χ²/df = 2.96). Cronbach’s alpha coefficients demonstrated excellent internal consistency for the cognitive (0.919), emotional (0.927), behavioral (0.927), and total (0.971) scales.
Conclusion: The developed questionnaire demonstrates strong psychometric properties and can be utilized as a valid tool for assessing religious education and enhancing spiritual health among adolescents in educational and developmental settings.
 
Keywords

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