Validation of an instrument to assess the meaning in sufering: a methodological study

Background Sufering is a complex, multidimensional and individual experience extensively described in literature concerning diferent life and health conditions, but often reduced to a physical perspective as a symptom. The relationship between sufering and meaning in life led to the development of measurement tools such as it is the case of the Meaning in Sufering Test (MIST). Additionally, recent studies have awakened the interest in the spiritual dimension and meaning in life lived by people with a reproductive health-condition, such as infertility. As such, there is an urge to study the psychometric properties of the Portuguese version of the Meaning in Sufering Test in the Portuguese context. Up to now, only one Portuguese study aimed to validate such tool in a sample of Portuguese adult patients with chronic rheumatic pain. Materials and methods More studies are needed to support structural validation and testing of the psychometric properties of MIST in diferent sets and samples. The Portuguese version of the Spiritual Wellbeing Questionnaire is a tool that could be used in such validation process. This study was approved by the Ethics Committee of Universidade Católica Portuguesa. It was performed a confrmatory factor analysis with a sample of 104 persons under fertility treatment. Results It was revealed a poor ft of previous structures and as such an exploratory factor analysis provided a fnal version with 16 items with three factors: “Meaning in life and subjective characteristics in the face of sufering”; “Positive responses to sufering”; and “Loss of control over sufering”. Conclusions Further research is necessary to better understand fluctuations in individuals undergoing long-term treatments and test the 16-item and three-factor version as a suitable, valid, and reliable structure for measuring meaning in suffering by nurses providing care to different patients with different health conditions and context.