Establishing the Preliminary Validity of Spiritual Eco-Maps with Native Americans

The use of validated instruments is particularly important with populations of color such as Native Americans. Drawing upon the concept of social validity, this mixed method study validates an existing qualitative spiritual assessment instrument—spiritual eco-maps—using a sample of recognized experts in Native American culture (N = 50). The study identifies: (1) the degree of cultural consistency, strengths, and limitations of the spiritual eco-map concept, and (2) how the questions designed to help operationalize the concept might be improved to be more valid, relevant and consistent with Native culture. The results suggest that spiritual eco-maps are relatively consistent with Native American culture as long as they are operationalized appropriately. The paper concludes by providing a more culturally valid question protocol along with suggestions for administering the instrument in a culturally competent manner.