Psychometric properties of the Jewish beliefs actions and living evaluation middle school form

There is significant empirical support for the positive short- and long-term academic, behavioral, social, and emotional outcomes associated with religiosity and spirituality. A review of the literature suggests that preadolescence is a key period for religious and spiritual development. There is a need for a reliable and valid measure to assess the religiosity and spirituality of preadolescents. The purpose of this study is to evaluate the psychometric properties of the Jewish Beliefs Actions and Living Evaluation (JewBALE) Middle School Form, a 186-item survey designed to assess preadolescents in the core components of Modern Orthodox Judaism. Modern Orthodoxy is a sect of Judaism that tries to balance religious obligation with engagement of the modern world. The JewBALE Middle School Form is a downward extension of a JewBALE High School Form and consists of 2 composites - Total Beliefs and Total Actions. Subjects included 176 children (ages 10 to 14) attending a Modern Orthodox Jewish residential camp in Northern Pennsylvania during the Summer of 2011. Findings from the study suggest that there are no gender or grade differences between subjects on Total Beliefs and Total Actions mean scores. Both composites demonstrate good internal consistency reliability. Principal components analysis using oblimin rotation indicates that there are 17 factors that underlie the JewBALE Middle School Form. Correlations between newly added items and composite scores indicate strong relationships between items related to the Bar and Bat Mitzvah experience and other items, while only limited relationships exist between bullying items and composite scores. These results provide evidence for the reliability and validity for the JewBALE Middle School Form as a measure of religiosity and spirituality of Modern Orthodox Jewish preadolescents. Limitations of the study are discussed and recommendations are offered in terms of improving the measure.Psy. D.Includes bibliographical referencesby Brian Jay Friedma