Northampton Electronic Collection of Theses and Research

Exceptional experiences and spiritual practice: a new measurement approach

Kohls, N. and Walach, H. (2006) Exceptional experiences and spiritual practice: a new measurement approach. Spirituality and Health International. 7(3), pp. 125-150. 1743-1867.

Item Type: Article
Abstract: A new instrument for the measurement of exceptional experiences, the Exceptional Experiences Questionnaire (EEQ), is introduced, which considers both frequency and individual evaluation of exceptional experiences. A principal component factor analysis extracted four factors (positive spiritual experiences, experiences of deconstruction/ego loss, psychopathological experiences and dream-type experiences), which explain 49% of the variance. The 25-item short form of the instrument shows good psychometric properties (range for Cronbach's alpha: r = 0.67-0.89, range for test-retest reliability after 6 months r = 0.66-0.87). The instrument shows adequate discriminant and convergent validity (Sense of Coherence, Social Support, Mental Distress and Transpersonal Trust) and can discriminate between spiritual practising and non practising individuals. A non-technical summary of the research is provided at the end of this paper
Uncontrolled Keywords: exceptional experiences, transpersonal psychology, spirituality, dissociation, assessment, questionnaire
Subjects: B Philosophy. Psychology. Religion > BF Psychology > BF76.5 Psychology research
B Philosophy. Psychology. Religion > BL Religion > BL51 Philosophy of religion. Psychology of religion. Religion in relation to other subjects > BL65 Spiritual healing. Religion and medicine
B Philosophy. Psychology. Religion > BL Religion > BL624 Religious life. Religious experience
B Philosophy. Psychology. Religion > BF Psychology > BF204.7 Transpersonal psychology
Creators: Kohls, Niko and Walach, Harald
Publisher: John Wiley & Sons
Faculties, Divisions and Institutes: University Faculties, Divisions and Research Centres - OLD > Faculty of Health & Society > Psychology
University Faculties, Divisions and Research Centres - OLD > Research Centre > Centre for the Study of Anomalous Psychological Processes
Faculties > Faculty of Health & Society > Psychology
Research Centres > Centre for Psychology and Social Sciences
Date: 2006
Date Type: Publication
Page Range: pp. 125-150
Journal or Publication Title: Spirituality and Health International
Volume: 7
Number: 3
Language: English
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1002/shi.296
ISSN: 1743-1867
Status: Published / Disseminated
Related URLs:
URI: http://nectar.northampton.ac.uk/id/eprint/2087

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