Development and Validation of the Christian Perception and Experience of Suffering Scale

The objective of this study was to develop and validate the Christian Perception and Experience of Suffering Scale (CPESS), an instrument designed to measure how Christians perceive and encounter suffering. In the first stage of the research process, a comprehensive literature review was conducted to identify key constructs and generate 62 preliminary items. After undergoing content validation by eight experts, the initial items were refined into a set of 47. Subsequently, a pilot study involving 26 Christians was conducted to further revise the items. For the main study, 702 Christians were surveyed, resulting in 687 valid responses retained for analysis after the exclusion of unusable data. Factor analyses were conducted using JAMOVI 2.3, SPSS 22, and AMOS 22. The total sample was split into two subsamples: 299 cases were allocated for exploratory factor analysis, and 388 cases for confirmatory factor analysis. Following validity and reliability assessment, the final scale consisted of 30 items across six factors: Spiritual Maturity through Suffering (10 items), Providential Trust in Suffering (6 items), Perceived Divine Intervention in Suffering (3 items), Support for the Suffering (3 items), Attitude toward Suffering (4 items), and Spiritual Discipline in Suffering (4 items). This theologically grounded, valid, and reliable scale will provide a valuable resource for advancing scholarly understanding of Christian suffering.