title: A cross-national analysis of measurement invariance of the Satisfaction With Life Scale.
abstract: Measurement invariance of the Satisfaction With Life Scale (SWLS) was examined in probability samples of adults 50-79 years of age living in the United States, England, and Japan. Confirmatory factor analysis modeling was used to test for multigroup measurement invariance of a single-factor structure of the SWLS. Results support a single-factor structure of the SWLS across the 3 countries, with tests of measurement invariance of the SWLS supporting its configural invariance and metric invariance. These results suggest that the SWLS may be used as a single-factor measure of life satisfaction in the United States, England, and Japan, and that it is appropriate to compare correlates of the SWLS in middle-aged and older adults across these 3 countries. However, results provided evidence for only partial scalar invariance, with the intercept for SWLS Item 4 varying across countries. Cross-national comparisons of means revealed a lower mean at the latent variable level for the Japanese sample than for the other 2 samples. In addition, over and above the latent mean difference, the Japanese sample also manifested a significantly lower intercept on Item 4. Implications of the findings for research on cross-national comparisons of life satisfaction in European American and East Asian countries are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology and Neuroscience, University of Colorado Boulder.
authors.forename: Mark A
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Whisman
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology and Neuroscience, University of Colorado Boulder.
authors.forename: Charles M
authors.initials: CM
authors.lastname: Judd
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D004739:England; D005163:Factor Analysis, Statistical; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007564:Japan; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010549:Personal Satisfaction; D011594:Psychometrics; D011788:Quality of Life; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D014481:United States