The Spirituality and Spiritual Care Rating Scale (SSCRS-Sps) in Spanish nursing students: A psychometric validation study

Abstract

Aim: To adapt and validate the Spanish version of the Spirituality and Spiritual Care Rating Scale (SSCRS-Sp) for nursing students, ensuring its psychometric reliability and suitability for assessing perceptions of spirituality and spiritual care in educational contexts. Background: Spirituality and spiritual care are key aspects of holistic nursing, yet they remain insufficiently integrated into nursing education. Valid and reliable tools are required to evaluate students’ understanding and attitudes, especially in Spanish-speaking populations. Design: An observational, descriptive, cross-sectional study following STROBE guidelines. Methods: The study was conducted in two phases. Phase one involved adapting the SSCRS-Sp from a validated version for nursing professionals, including expert review and a pilot test with 34 students to ensure content validity and cultural relevance. Phase two included a psychometric evaluation with 435 first-year nursing students from two Spanish universities. Structural validity was tested using confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) and reliability assessed through Cronbach’s alpha, McDonald’s omega and Guttman’s lambda 6 coefficients. Results: CFA confirmed the original four-factor model (Spirituality, Spiritual Care, Religiosity, Personalized Care). Internal consistency was acceptable (α = 0.72; ω = 0.82; λ₆ = 0.80), though the Personalized Care subscale showed lower reliability (α = 0.43). Students reported moderate perceptions of spirituality and spiritual care. Conclusions: The SSCRS-Sps is a valid and reliable instrument for evaluating nursing students’ perceptions of spirituality and spiritual care, supporting educational improvements and future longitudinal research.