Developing a God/Higher Power Scale for use with Twelve Step Treatment Programs

Abstract An Attribution to God's Influence Scale [AGIS] was constructed to observe change in people's perception of God's influence on their lives. In a clinical sample comprising 55 volunteers, from five New Zealand alcohol and drug treatment programs, it was correlated against measures of personality, religious practices and beliefs, and the acceptance and use of the Twelve Steps. Forty-seven (85.5%) believed in God or a Higher Power, five (9%) were unsure, and three (5.5%) did not believe. Except for the three who did not believe in God, the rest of the sample completed an AGIS. There was evidence of concurrent validity and internal reliability. A correlation was also found between AGIS scores and time in current treatment which may indicate a treatment or a selection effect. Various levels of selection bias are proposed, and suggestions are made for further refinement of the AGIS and its use in future research. Abstract An Attribution to God's Influence Scale [AGIS] was constructed to observe change in people's perception of God's influence on their lives. In a clinical sample comprising 55 volunteers, from five New Zealand alcohol and drug treatment programs, it was correlated against measures of personality, religious practices and beliefs, and the acceptance and use of the Twelve Steps. Forty-seven (85.5%) believed in God or a Higher Power, five (9%) were unsure, and three (5.5%) did not believe. Except for the three who did not believe in God, the rest of the sample completed an AGIS. There was evidence of concurrent validity and internal reliability. A correlation was also found between AGIS scores and time in current treatment which may indicate a treatment or a selection effect. Various levels of selection bias are proposed, and suggestions are made for further refinement of the AGIS and its use in future research.