Faith Communities Psychometric Validation Study

Two research grants from the National Science Foundation have supported the AAFCP research efforts. The first funded research study (Award Number 0109206) explored the development and refinement of the African American Protestant Faith Communities Scale, (AAPFCS) which consist of a parent and adolescent version. The AAPFCS examines the theological orientations within African American Christian faith communities. The initial scale focused on this-worldly versus other-worldly theological orientation (N=212 adults and N=135 adolescents).

In the second iteration of the scale, the underlying factor structure was revised. This scale includes three sub scales: 1) biblical principles (a = .62 adults, a = .80 adolescents), social legacy (a = .82 adults, a = .69 adolescents) and otherworldliness (a = .75 adults, a = .75 adolescents). The overall alpha for the parent version is .76 and the adolescent measure is .74. Biblical principles refer to the universal truths communicated through the Ten Commandments and the common genesis of all humanity created in God’s Image. Social legacy is defined as both implicit and explicit application of socialization by African Americans about faith to empower, transform, and deliver their communities during different historical periods-chattel slavery, racial segregation, and Modern Civil Rights. Otherworldliness focuses on the individual sanctification which exclusively emphasizes the preparation to enter heaven. Preliminary analyses indicate that both versions of the AAPFCS represent valid and reliable measures. In the replication study, a sample of 206 African American adults and 212 African American adolescents from a large Mid-western city was used to investigate the underlying factor structure of the AAPFCS.