Reliability and criterion validity of the meaning in life scale in chilean chronic hemodialysis patients

Abstract

Objective: To evaluate the reliability and criterion validity of the Spanish version of the Meaning in Life Scale (MiLS) in Chilean chronic hemodialysis patients. Materials and methods: Cross-sectional descriptive study on a consecutive sample of 244 patients under chronic hemodialysis in the Ñuble Region Health Service. The MiLS questionnaire consists of 21 items and 4 dimensions: Life Purpose, Lack of Meaning, Inner Peace and Benefits of Spirituality. Descriptive statistics and correlational analysis were applied. Internal consistency was determined using Cronbach’s α. Data were analyzed with the statistical software SPSS v. 23. Results: Internal consistency of the questionnaire was 0.82. Standard global score was 6.3. The overall questionnaire score as well as the dimensions correlate significantly with all subjective well-being variables (p <0.01). Conclusions: The Meaning in Life Questionnaire has been shown to be a viable, reliable instrument and to present appropriate criterion validity to evaluate the spiritual well-being of patients under hemodialysis therapy. Consequently, the evaluation of spiritual well-being may be useful for clinical practice.