Psychometric integrity of the Chinese Happiness Inventory among retired older people in Taiwan.
OBJECTIVE
Happiness is an important indicator of mental and physical health. It has been emphasized as one kind of well-being, and its definition varies from culture to culture. The main objective of the present study was to examine the psychometric integrity and dimensions of the Chinese Happiness Inventory (CHI) in relation to scores on Ryff's Psychological Well-Being Scale among retired older people in Taiwan.


METHODS
A cross-sectional study was carried out at social service centers in Taipei, Taiwan. Retired adults gave informed consent from September to November 2010, and completed a package of structured questionnaires measuring happiness and psychological well-being. Internal consistency, the factor structure of the CHI and criterion validity were assessed.


RESULTS
Results from an exploratory factor analysis showed a three-factor solution for the CHI. These factors were named Positive Affect, Life Satisfaction and Interpersonal Relationships. Internal consistency coefficients were 0.95 (Positive Affect), 0.91 (Life Satisfaction), 0.85 (Interpersonal Relationships) and 0.97 (total scale). The results of a canonical correlation analysis showed the presence of a strong relationship between CHI and Ryff's Psychological Well-Being Scale (r = 0.69), and that two canonical variates could be derived from the relationship between them.


CONCLUSIONS
The results show that the CHI is a three-dimensional scale with high reliability and validity. The construct of happiness emphasizes relationships in relation to others and environment rather than autonomy in this sample. Although the components of happiness might be similar for Positive Affect and Life Satisfaction, their weights for Interpersonal Relationships should be considered when measuring happiness in different cultures. Geriatr Gerontol Int 2016; 16: 865-872.
Department of Nursing, Triservice General Hospital, Taipei, Taiwan.
Hui-Hsun
HH
Chiang
Department of Family Health Care Nursing, University of California, San Francisco, California, USA.
Lin
L
Lin
Department of Health Promotion and Health Education, National Taiwan Normal University, Taipei, Taiwan.
Tony Szu-Hsien
TS
Lee
D000339:Affect; D000368:Aged; D044466:Asian People / Q000523:psychology*; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D006240:Happiness; D006801:Humans; D007398:Interpersonal Relations; D008297:Male; D010549:Personal Satisfaction; D011594:Psychometrics; D011788:Quality of Life; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012179:Retirement / Q000523:psychology*; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D013624:Taiwan
Chinese; happiness; psychological well-being; retired elders