the Black Spiritual Creativity Scale (BSCS)

Description

The Black Spiritual Creativity Scale (BSCS; Drake et al., 2025) was developed to address the gap in research dedicated to understanding and evaluating how African Americans utilize spiritual creativity as a form of cultural empowerment to thrive in the face of systemic oppression. An initial pool of 76 items was developed to measure the attitudes and beliefs of African Americans regarding spiritual creativity toward and associated with cultural empowerment. A panel of content experts examined the content and face validity of the items, resulting in a 26-item measure. The BSCS was administered online to African American adults in the US as a pilot study. Exploratory factor analysis supported a 2-factor structure retaining 15 items. Results concerning reliability and validity were reported.

Purpose

The purpose of this measure is to assess the experience of creativity, rhythm, and soul as spiritual forces that contribute to a sense of personal transformation as well as resistance and liberation among African Americans.

Validity

Convergent Validity: Convergent validity was supported with a significant, positive relationship between the Spirituality Scale (Lindeman, Blomqvist, & Takada, 2012) and the BSCS (r = .52, p< . 01). Discriminant Validity: Discriminant validity was supported by a non-significant correlation between hopelessness and the BSCS (r = .021, p >.05). Test Methodology: Test Validity; Content Validity; Convergent Validity; Discriminant Validity.

Reliability

Internal Consistency: Internal consistency in the total 15-item BSCS was excellent (α = .932). Internal consistency reliability for the Resistance and Liberation subscale demonstrated a Cronbach’s alpha coefficient of .928. Reliability for the Personal and Communal Transformation subscale demonstrated a Cronbach’s alpha coefficient of .883. Split-half Reliability: High split-half reliability was demonstrated with a Guttman’s split half coefficient of .804. Test-retest Reliability: Test-retest reliability was also assessed at two intervals with one month between administrations. The intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC) for the total BSCS was .96 with a 95% confidence interval .92–.98, F(42,42) = 22.11, (p < .001). Test Methodology: Test Reliability; Internal Consistency; Split-Half Reliability; Test-Retest Reliability.

Factor Analysis

Exploratory Factor Analysis: The rotated factor solution produced 15 factors for the scale, which accounted for 80.5% of the variation in the data. The scree plot suggested retention of 2 of the factors, which also made conceptual sense for the dataset. Items were retained on factor 1 (13, 19, 15, 18, 14, 10, 17, 12, 21) and factor 2 (3, 4, 6, 8, 7, 2), which were all above an eigenvalue of .40. An exploratory factor analysis was then conducted with varimax rotation, which resulted in a rotated component matrix of the 15 items using a 2-factor solution. Parallel analysis was also conducted, confirming the 2-factor solution. Test Methodology: Factor Analysis; Exploratory Factor Analysis

Test Methodology

Test Validity; Content Validity; Convergent Validity; Discriminant Validity; Test Reliability; Internal Consistency; Split-Half Reliability; Test-Retest Reliability; Factor Analysis; Exploratory Factor Analysis

Population Details

Gender Identities Reported: Transgender/Gender Nonconforming/Nonbinary
Location: United States
Respondents: African Americans

Age Group

Adulthood (18 yrs & older)

Population Group

Human; Male; Female; Transgender

Test Type

Original

Instrument Type

Inventory/Questionnaire

Format

Items are measured on a 6-point Likert scale (strongly disagree to strongly agree). Administration Method: Electronic

Language Available

English; Language Present: English

Keywords

African Americans; Cultural Empowerment; Face Validity; Personal and Communal Transformation; Resistance and Liberation; Spiritual Creativity; Index Terms: Creativity; Empowerment; Racial and Ethnic Attitudes; Resistance; Spirituality; Religion and Spirituality Measures; Black People; Racial, Ethnic, and Cultural Measures

Test Year

2025

Author

Drake, Danielle; Mizock, Lauren; Bryant-Davis, Thema; Harris-Britt, April

Author Orcid Identifier

No data is Available

Affiliation

Drake, Danielle: Faculty Development, Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Office of the Provost California Institute of Integral Studies
Mizock, Lauren: Clinical Psychology, Fielding Graduate University School of Psychology
Bryant-Davis, Thema: American Psychological Association
Harris-Britt, April: Clinical Psychology, Fielding Graduate University School of Psychology

Email

Drake, Danielle: [email protected]

Files

No file is Available

Permissions

Contact Publisher

Fee

No Commercial: No Fee: No

Correspondence Address

Drake, Danielle: California Institute of Integral Studies, Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Office of the Provost, Faculty Development, San Francisco, California, United States, 94103, [email protected]

Reference’s

Drake, D., Mizock, L., Bryant-Davis, T., & Harris-Britt, A. (2025). Pilot development and initial validation of the Black Spiritual Creativity Scale. Journal of Spirituality in Mental Health, 27(1), 120–140. https://doi.org/10.1080/19349637.2024.2304895

Items of the Black Spiritual Creativity Scale (BSCS)

Test Items Available: Yes
Number of items: This measure consists of 15 items.
Factors and Subscales: Factors: Resistance and Liberation; Personal and Communal Transformation.

Black Spiritual Creativity Scale – Revised (BSCS-R)

Instructions: Please read each statement carefully. Indicate the extent to which you agree or disagree with each statement as it applies to your own experiences, beliefs, and feelings. There are no right or wrong answers. Please respond honestly based on your perspective.

Use the following scale to record your answers:

1 = Strongly Disagree
2 = Disagree
3 = Slightly Disagree
4 = Slightly Agree
5 = Agree
6 = Strongly Agree

Part 1: Cultural Empowerment

Please rate your agreement with the following statements:

1. My creativity has nothing to do with my spirituality. (R)

2. My sense of spirituality helps me creatively resist oppressive forces.

3. When I am creative I feel spiritually liberated.

4. When I am creative I experience spiritual transformation.

5. My creativity allows me to spiritually define myself.

6. My sense of creativity and my sense of spirituality come from the same place.

7. I feel a sense of liberation when my creativity is spiritually connected.

8. I am better able to resist oppression when my creativity is spiritually connected.

9. I feel creative as a member of the Black community through my spirituality.

Part 2: Resistance and Liberation

Please rate your agreement with the following statements:

1. The spirit flows through me when I am creating art, music, dance, poetry, etc.

2. When I create, I want it to touch the spirit of those with whom I share it.

3. When I am creating artistic expressions, I feel more spiritually alive.

4. My creativity is a spiritual gift.

5. My creative expression has been spiritually healing for me.

6. I feel spiritually connected when I experience rhythm and soul.

Scoring Information:

• Response Scale: 6-point Likert scale (1 = Strongly Disagree, 6 = Strongly Agree).

• Reverse Scoring: Item 1, marked with (R), should be reverse scored before analysis. To reverse score on a 6-point scale: 1 becomes 6, 2 becomes 5, 3 becomes 4, 4 becomes 3, 5 becomes 2, 6 becomes 1.

• Subscale Scores:

  • Cultural Empowerment Score: Sum the responses for items 1 (after reverse scoring) through 9. Higher scores indicate a stronger sense of cultural empowerment derived from the intersection of Black identity, spirituality, and creativity.

  • Resistance and Liberation Score: Sum the responses for items 10 through 15. Higher scores indicate a stronger perception of creativity as a site of spiritual connection, expression, resistance, and liberation.

• Total Score: Sum the scores from both subscales (items 1-15, with item 1 reverse scored). Higher scores indicate a stronger overall sense of Black spiritual creativity.

Note: This scale format assumes the original item numbering (e.g., 10, 12, 13…) was not essential to retain, and sequential numbering (1-15) provides better clarity for administration and scoring. The original item content and subscale structure have been preserved.