Universal happiness? Cross-cultural measurement invariance of scales assessing positive mental health.
Research into positive aspects of the psyche is growing as psychologists learn more about the protective role of positive processes in the development and course of mental disorders, and about their substantial role in promoting mental health. With increasing globalization, there is strong interest in studies examining positive constructs across cultures. To obtain valid cross-cultural comparisons, measurement invariance for the scales assessing positive constructs has to be established. The current study aims to assess the cross-cultural measurement invariance of questionnaires for 6 positive constructs: Social Support (Fydrich, Sommer, Tydecks, & Brähler, 2009), Happiness (Subjective Happiness Scale; Lyubomirsky & Lepper, 1999), Life Satisfaction (Diener, Emmons, Larsen, & Griffin, 1985), Positive Mental Health Scale (Lukat, Margraf, Lutz, van der Veld, & Becker, 2016), Optimism (revised Life Orientation Test [LOT-R]; Scheier, Carver, & Bridges, 1994) and Resilience (Schumacher, Leppert, Gunzelmann, Strauss, & Brähler, 2004). Participants included German (n = 4,453), Russian (n = 3,806), and Chinese (n = 12,524) university students. Confirmatory factor analyses and measurement invariance testing demonstrated at least partial strong measurement invariance for all scales except the LOT-R and Subjective Happiness Scale. The latent mean comparisons of the constructs indicated differences between national groups. Potential methodological and cultural explanations for the intergroup differences are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record
Department of Clinical Psychology and Psychotherapy, Mental Health Research & Treatment Center, Ruhr-Universität Bochum.
Angela
A
Bieda
Department of Quantitative Methods, Osnabrück University of Applied Sciences.
Gerrit
G
Hirschfeld
Department of Clinical Psychology and Psychotherapy, Mental Health Research & Treatment Center, Ruhr-Universität Bochum.
Pia
P
Schönfeld
Department of Clinical Psychology and Psychotherapy, Mental Health Research & Treatment Center, Ruhr-Universität Bochum.
Julia
J
Brailovskaia
Department of Clinical Psychology and Psychotherapy, Mental Health Research & Treatment Center, Ruhr-Universität Bochum.
Xiao Chi
XC
Zhang
Department of Clinical Psychology and Psychotherapy, Mental Health Research & Treatment Center, Ruhr-Universität Bochum.
Jürgen
J
Margraf
D000328:Adult; D002681:China; D003431:Cross-Cultural Comparison; D005163:Factor Analysis, Statistical; D005260:Female; D005858:Germany; D006240:Happiness; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008603:Mental Health / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D000067656:Optimism / Q000523:psychology*; D010549:Personal Satisfaction; D011594:Psychometrics / Q000295:instrumentation*; D055500:Resilience, Psychological; D012426:Russia; D012944:Social Support; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires / Q000592:standards*; D055815:Young Adult