162 Spirituality Studies mean “atheistic”, and views on vertical transcendence vary widely. Some adherents of more orthodox religious traditions will not feel comfortable with or familiar with the contemporary spirituality discourse. At the same time, there is also heterogeneity among those who have a secular outlook on life. Secular can encompass a range of worldviews, including agnosticism (not knowing) or a sense or belief in “something” transcendent, without reference to religious terminology (de Hart 2011, 160–161). So, there is no consensus within the secular group of people on terminology for the transcendent aspect of spirituality. For our purposes, we therefore distinguish between religious language (terms such as God, creator, heaven) and non-denominational transcendence language that may still be acceptable to religious people, (such as what gives my life direction, something greater than myself, a sense of connection outside myself). (2) questionnaires restricted to a particular group, situation, or stage of life; (3) identical questionnaires appearing under different names; (4) questionnaires that were only mentioned but not actually investigated; (5) questionnaires not available in English. 2.3 Items Screening From the remaining questionnaires, items were systematically evaluated with respect to potential spiritual domains or dimensions, with particular emphasis on meaningfulness and connectedness to the self, other people, nature, or transcendence. Given that meaningfulness constitutes a central construct within the conceptualization of spirituality, items explicitly referring to this aspect were retained. In relation to spiritual coping, only items that expressed the supportive role of connectedness whether to oneself, to others, or to a transcendent dimension in the coping process were considered for inclusion. General statements about coping that did not reveal potential underlying aspects of spirituality were therefore excluded from further categorization. Connectedness with oneself is expressed by aspects such as authenticity, inner harmony or inner peace, consciousness and self-knowledge (de Jager Meezenbroek et al. 2012, 143). Therefore, items should concern whether and how the respondent feels about spirituality, has personal spiritual experiences or how important spiritual beliefs are. Connectedness with others is linked to compassion, caring, and a sense of belonging. Therefore, items should reflect meaningful relationships, a contribution to society or an awareness of connectedness to others. Concerning connectedness with nature, items should refer to how the respondent is aware of nature. Connectedness with the transcendent includes connectedness with something or someone beyond the human level, such as the universe, transcendent reality, or a higher power (de Jager Meezenbroek et al. 2012, 143). 2.4 Second Research Question, Transcendent Items Formulation Screening Regarding the second research question concerning item formulation, items addressing connection with and support from the transcendent were subjected to thematic qualitative analysis. The screening was according to criteria of Fowler Jr. (1995). Five dimensions were assessed: (1) cognitive complexity, (2) inclusivity across religious and secular worldviews, (3) clarity of formulation, (4) level of abstraction, and (5) an overall usability score that synthesizes these aspects. In the two series of items on “transcendent spirituality” and “transcendent spiritual coping”, two authors (ASch and ABr) read and reread all items to identify thematical codes with respect to their content and to their suitability and applicability as questionnaire items. The researchers discussed their main codes and when they did not arrive to one solution, the first author made the final decision. After the first orientation, the researchers agreed to apply three types of content categories which allowed for further, detailed mixed deductive and inductive coding: (1) the specific content meaning; (2) a reference to the experience or feeling; and (3) the “actor” (i.e., either the respondent or another transcendent agency).
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