DEVELOPMENT OF A SPIRITUAL ABUSE QUESTIONNAIRE A DISSERTATION SUBMITTED IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY IN THE GRADUATE SCHOOL OF THE TEXAS WOMAN'S UNIVERSITY COLLEGE OF ARTS AND SCIENCES BY KATHRYN HOPE KELLER DENTON, TEXAS AUGUST 2016 DEDICATION This dissertation is dedicated to all who have sufferred from spiritual trauma. May the depth of pain be restored a hundred-fold in healing, peace, and joy. iii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS I would like to thank my dissertation committee members. Dr. Stabb, my chairperson, has been a mentor to me throughout my time in my doctoral program. She has mentored me academically as a professor, as a clinical supervisor, and as a research mentor. I feel inspired by her interest in various topics, including the multiple dissertation ideas I had before deciding on this project. She has been a pillar for me throughout my time in the program. Dr. Mollen, also a significant research mentor for me as the advisor of my thesis equivalency project, has been gracious and patient while introducing me to the world of academic research. She has been encouraging and supportive both personally and professionally throughout the time I have worked with her. Dr. Harris has been a thoughtful and fun inspiration throughout my program from whom I have learned advanced clinical and theoretical skills. I am grateful for his kindness in checking in with me personally throughout my time at TWU. Dr. Marshall, my stats advisor, successfully intertwined laugher with patience throughout our stats meetings. He was entertaining, encouraging, and inspiring as he walked me through the previously unknown territory that is statistics. I am thankful for each member of my committee and I am honored by the opportunity to work with each of these esteemed mentors. I would also like to acknowledge my clients over the years, several of whom have illuminated the issue of spiritual trauma. Your willingness to invite me into your exploration of that which you consider most precious is an honor. iv My own spiritual legacy includes Grandma and Grandpa, who inspired my early interest in spirituality and faith. Thanks for the years of trekking with the grandkids to Glorieta and exposing us to the cultures of the world. Thank you for praying for each grandkid, every night, by name. Lastly, I could not have asked for a more supportive family while pursuing my doctoral degree and undertaking this project. Mom, Dad, Kristine, and Kimberly all contributed in unique ways and have tolerated and embraced my growth as I proceeded through these years of training. Thank you for your unwavering support, empathy, and love. v ABSTRACT KATHRYN HOPE KELLER DEVELOPMENT OF THE SPIRITUAL ABUSE QUESTIONNAIRE AUGUST 2016 The current study initiated the development and validation a measure of spiritual abuse. Multicultural and trauma treatment competencies provide the rationale for this investigation as psychologists are charged with providing ethical and sound research and treatment embodying respect and understanding clients’ various cultural and religious experiences, particularly when negative experiences adversely impact their mental health. This study synthesized existing literature on spiritual abuse and drew from that literature in the creation of the Spiritual Abuse Questionnaire (SAQ). Participants were recruited through social media to complete the following questionnaires: (a) The SAQ, (b) the Religious and Spiritual Struggles Scale (RSS) (Exline, Pargament, Grubbs, & Yali, 2014), (c) the National Stressful Events Survey for PTSD-Short Scale (NSESS-PTSD) (Kilpatrick, Resnick, & Friedman, 2013), (d) the Institutional Betrayal Questionnaire Version 2 (IBQ.2) (Smith & Freyd, unpublished manuscript; Smith & Freyd, 2013; Smith & Freyd, 2014), and (e) the Marlowe-Crowne Social Desirability Scale, Form C (MC- SD) (Reynolds, 1982). The original 49-item SAQ was examined through exploratory factor analysis in Study 1 (n = 535). Analysis from Study 1 resulted in shortening the SAQ to a 20-item scale, which was analyzed with a new sample in Study 2 (n = 271). It vi was predicted and confirmed that there would be a stable factor structure for spiritual abuse and that the SAQ would demonstrate appropriate convergent/divergent validity with other measures. Seventeen of the questions supported a two-factor structure of spiritual abuse. Further implications of spiritual abuse measurement and application are discussed. vii TABLE OF CONTENTS Page DEDICATION ................................................................................................................. iii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS ................................................................................................. iv ABSTRACT ....................................................................................................................... vi LIST OF TABLES ............................................................................................................. x LIST OF FIGURES ........................................................................................................... xi Chapter I. INTRODUCTION .......................................................................................................... 1 Religion and Spirituality ............................................................................................ 2 Trauma and Abuse ..................................................................................................... 6 Spiritual Abuse .......................................................................................................... 8 Statement of Purpose ............................................................................................... 10 Definitions of Terms ................................................................................................ 10 II. REVIEW OF LITERATURE ...................................................................................... 12 Definining Spirituality and Religion ....................................................................... 12 Historical Overview of Spiritualitly and Religion in Psychology ..................... 14 History of Psychology and Religion/Spirituality .................................................... 20 Impact of Spirituality and Religion on Health ................................................... 23 Harmful Religion: Cults ..................................................................................... 27 Trauma and Abuse .................................................................................................. 33 Examining Traumatic Stress in the Literature ................................................... 33 Historical Overview of Trauma ......................................................................... 34 Current Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Criteria .................................................. 44 Brief Overview of Clinical Treatment of Trauma ............................................. 45 Differentiated Forms of Trauma ........................................................................ 49 Spiritual Abuse ........................................................................................................ 56 Spiritual Abuse in Relation to Cults .................................................................. 58 Spiritual Abuse in Relation to Domestic Violence ............................................ 59 Spiritual Abuse in Relation to Clergy Sexual Abuse ......................................... 62 Spiritual Abuse Literature .................................................................................. 66 viii Spiritual Abuse is Abuse .................................................................................... 70 Emerging Definitions of Spiritual Abuse .......................................................... 72 Instrument Development ......................................................................................... 75 Psychometrics .................................................................................................... 76 Current Instruments ........................................................................................... 77 Summary ................................................................................................................. 82 Rationale for Study ................................................................................................. 83 Multicultural Competency ................................................................................. 83 Trauma Treatment Competency ........................................................................ 85 Health and Well-being ....................................................................................... 86 Relevance to Counseling Psychology ..................................................................... 87 A Word of Caution ............................................................................................. 88 Research Questions and Hypotheses ...................................................................... 88 III. METHODOLOGY ..................................................................................................... 90 Study One: Scale Creation and Exploratory Factor Analysis ................................. 90 Participants .............................................................................................................. 90 Instrumentation ......................................................................................................