Evaluating the religious commitment inventory for adolescents

Abstract

Although numerous studies link adolescent religiousness to a variety of outcomes, limitations in the measurement of adolescent religiousness constrain interpretation of the findings. We introduce a multi-item measure of adolescent religiousness, the Religious Commitment Inventory for Adolescents (RCI-A), that assesses both religious behavior and sentiments and is appropriate for use with adolescents of varying religious faiths. Ninth graders (N = 1,419) completed the RCI-A and several other survey instruments online. Results revealed that the RCI-A has strong psychometric properties (e.g., internal consistency, test-retest reliability, and construct validity) and is appropriate for use with adolescents from a variety of religious faiths. Furthermore, it predicted engagement in risk behavior (cigarette, marijuana, and alcohol use). © 2013 American Psychological Association.