Spirituality: Description, Measurement,
and Relation to the Five Factor Model
of Personality
Douglas A. MacDonald
University of Windsor
ABSTRACT The present article focused on the development and measure-
ment of a factor model of the expressions of spirituality. Study 1 (N = 534)
involved the use of factor analysis to examine the latent factor structure in a
sample of 11 measures of spiritual constructs. Study 2 (N = 938) focused on the
replication of Study 1 results and on the construction and initial validation of an
instrument to operationalize the factor model of spirituality. Results indicate that
at least 5 robust dimensions of spirituality underlie the spirituality test domain.
These dimensions were labeled Cognitive Orientation Towards Spirituality
(COS), Experiential/Phenomenological Dimension (EPD), Existential Well-Be-
ing (EWB), Paranormal Beliefs (PAR), and Religiousness (REL). The measure
developed, named the Expressions of Spirituality Inventory (ESI), takes the form
of a 98-item instrument that generated scores demonstrating satisfactory
Journal of Personality 68:1, February 2000.
Copyright © 2000 by Blackwell Publishers, 350 Main Street, Malden, MA 02148,
USA, and 108 Cowley Road, Oxford, OX4 1JF, UK.
This article is based on the doctoral dissertation of the author completed at the University
of Windsor.
The author would like to thank the following individuals for their assistance in the
completion of this project: Dr. Cornelius J. Holland, Bob Dario, Joel Gagnier, Kris Gene,
Clementina Iampietro, Jeff Kuentzel, and Andrew Taylor. As well, the author would like
to thank the associate editor and the two anonymous reviewers for their numerous helpful
comments.
Correspondence concerning this article should be addressed to Douglas A. MacDon-
ald, at Special Services, Greater Essex County District School Board, 451 Park Street
West, Windsor, Ontario, Canada N9A 5V4 or at 3115 Morris Drive, Windsor, Ontario,
Canada N9E 2K1.