TY - JOUR
T1 - Measurement Invariance of the Satisfaction With Life Scale Across 26 Countries
AU - Jang, Seulki
AU - Kim, Eun Sook
AU - Cao, Chunhua
AU - Allen, Tammy D.
AU - Cooper, Cary L.
AU - Lapierre, Laurent M.
AU - O’Driscoll, Michael P.
AU - Sanchez, Juan I.
AU - Spector, Paul E.
AU - Poelmans, Steven A.Y.
AU - Abarca, Nureya
AU - Alexandrova, Matilda
AU - Antoniou, Alexandros Stamatios
AU - Beham, Barbara
AU - Brough, Paula
AU - Carikci, Ilker
AU - Ferreiro, Pablo
AU - Fraile, Guillermo
AU - Geurts, Sabine
AU - Kinnunen, Ulla
AU - Lu, Chang Qin
AU - Lu, Luo
AU - Moreno-Velázquez, Ivonne F.
AU - Pagon, Milan
AU - Pitariu, Horea
AU - Salamatov, Volodymyr
AU - Siu, Oi Ling
AU - Shima, Satoru
AU - Schulmeyer, Marion K.
AU - Tillemann, Kati
AU - Widerszal-Bazyl, Maria
AU - Woo, Jong Min
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2017, © The Author(s) 2017.
PY - 2017/5/1
Y1 - 2017/5/1
N2 - The Satisfaction With Life Scale (SWLS) is a commonly used life satisfaction scale. Cross-cultural researchers use SWLS to compare mean scores of life satisfaction across countries. Despite the wide use of SWLS in cross-cultural studies, measurement invariance of SWLS has rarely been investigated, and previous studies showed inconsistent findings. Therefore, we examined the measurement invariance of SWLS with samples collected from 26 countries. To test measurement invariance, we utilized three measurement invariance techniques: (a) multigroup confirmatory factor analysis (MG-CFA), (b) multilevel confirmatory factor analysis (ML-CFA), and (c) alignment optimization methods. The three methods demonstrated that configural and metric invariances of life satisfaction held across 26 countries, whereas scalar invariance did not. With partial invariance testing, we identified that the intercepts of Items 2, 4, and 5 were noninvariant. Based on two invariant intercepts, factor means of countries were compared. Chile showed the highest factor mean; Spain and Bulgaria showed the lowest. The findings enhance our understanding of life satisfaction across countries, and they provide researchers and practitioners with practical guidance on how to conduct measurement invariance testing across countries.
AB - The Satisfaction With Life Scale (SWLS) is a commonly used life satisfaction scale. Cross-cultural researchers use SWLS to compare mean scores of life satisfaction across countries. Despite the wide use of SWLS in cross-cultural studies, measurement invariance of SWLS has rarely been investigated, and previous studies showed inconsistent findings. Therefore, we examined the measurement invariance of SWLS with samples collected from 26 countries. To test measurement invariance, we utilized three measurement invariance techniques: (a) multigroup confirmatory factor analysis (MG-CFA), (b) multilevel confirmatory factor analysis (ML-CFA), and (c) alignment optimization methods. The three methods demonstrated that configural and metric invariances of life satisfaction held across 26 countries, whereas scalar invariance did not. With partial invariance testing, we identified that the intercepts of Items 2, 4, and 5 were noninvariant. Based on two invariant intercepts, factor means of countries were compared. Chile showed the highest factor mean; Spain and Bulgaria showed the lowest. The findings enhance our understanding of life satisfaction across countries, and they provide researchers and practitioners with practical guidance on how to conduct measurement invariance testing across countries.
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U2 - 10.1177/0022022117697844
DO - 10.1177/0022022117697844
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:85018735583
SN - 0022-0221
VL - 48
SP - 560
EP - 576
JO - Journal of Cross-Cultural Psychology
JF - Journal of Cross-Cultural Psychology
IS - 4
ER -