Daily Spiritual Experience Scale (DSES)

The Daily Spiritual Experience Scale (DSES) is a widely used tool that quantifies the subjective experience of the transcendent. The concept of spirituality is defined here at the level of experience, and is therefore not tied to a particular religious orientation, and is therefore universally applicable for measuring subjective spiritual experience. In the original version, the questionnaire consists of 16 short sentences that are rated on a six-point modified Likert scale (except for the last item, which has a four-point scale).

Length of completion

The DSES takes approximately 5-10 minutes to complete.

Individualized feedback for the respondent

The respondent will gain awareness and intensity of their spiritual experience by completing the scale.

Keywords

DSES, spirituality, spiritual experience, spiritual experience, transcendence

Scoring and interpretation

At the outset, it should be noted that the last item 16 is reverse scoring and is the only one with a four-point scale. The author lists several scoring methods. The first way is to sum the scores of all items, including the reverse score of item 16 (total score between 16-94). Another option is to use an average score, where the author recommends spreading the 4 scores of item 16 over a six-point scale. A third option is to dichotomize the questions. High scores on the DSES counterintuitively correspond to low intensity of spiritual experience, so the overall result can be reversed.

Response Scale

Respondents answer items 1-15 on a six-point modified Likert scale (1 = many times a day, 2 = every day, 3 = most days, 4 = some days, 5 = sometimes, 6 = never). Last item 16 “Overall, how close to God do you feel?” has only 4 options on the scale (1 = not at all, 2 = quite close, 3 = very close, 4 = as close as possible).

References

Daily Spiritual Experience Scale. (2023). Retrieved February 22, 2023, from https://www.dsescale.org/

Maliňáková, K., Trnka, R., Šarníková, G., Smékal, V., Fürstová, J., & Tavel, P. (2018). Psychometrická analýza škály každodenní spirituální zkušenosti (DSES) v českém prostředí. Československá psychologie, 62(Supplement 1), 100-113. https://www.academia.edu/42034876/Psychometrick%C3%A1_anal%C3%BDza_%C5%A1k%C3%A1ly_ka%C5%BEdodenn%C3%AD_spiritu%C3%A1ln%C3%AD_zku%C5%A1enosti_DSES_v_%C4%8Desk%C3%A9m_prost%C5%99ed%C3%AD

Underwood, L. (2006). Ordinary Spiritual Experience: Qualitative Research, Interpretive Guidelines, and Population Distribution for the Daily Spiritual Experience Scale. Psychology of Religion, 28(1), 181-218. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1163/008467206777832562

Underwood, L., & Teresi, J. (2002). The daily spiritual experience scale: development, theoretical description, reliability, exploratory factor analysis, and preliminary construct validity using health-related data. Ann Behav Med, 24(1), 22-33. https://doi.org/10.1207/S15324796ABM2401_04