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Social Indicators Research
Published in: Social Indicators Research 1/2014

01-10-2014

Validation of the Satisfaction with Life Scale to Brazilians: Evidences of Measurement Noninvariance Across Brazil and US

Authors: Cristian Zanon, Marucia P. Bardagi, Kristin Layous, Claudio S. Hutz

Published in: Social Indicators Research | Issue 1/2014

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Abstract

Satisfaction with life is one of three hallmarks of subjective well-being, along with frequent positive emotions and infrequent negative emotions (Diener et al. in Psychol Bull 125:276–302, 1999), and the satisfaction with life scale (SWLS; Diener et al. in J Pers Assess 49:91–95, 1985) has been used worldwide to evaluate it. The current study seeks to (a) adapt and gather evidence of validity and reliability of the SWLS for a Brazilian sample, (b) evaluate gender equivalence on Brazilian university students, and (c) test for invariance between Brazilian and US samples. Participants were US (N = 241), and Brazilian (N = 1,388) undergraduates. Results from the Brazilian sample, based on confirmatory factor analyses and measurement invariance tests, showed: (a) evidence of validity of the scale, (b) scalar invariance across gender, (c) scalar invariance within group. However, nonequivalence between Brazil and US samples was found. Such results suggest that within comparisons can be conducted with Brazilian undergraduates, but comparisons between Brazil and the US might be misleading due to lack of invariance. Similar findings have already been reported in other cultures and raise questions about cross cultural studies with this scale.
previous article Measuring Precarious Employment: A Proposal for Two Indicators of Precarious Employment Based on Set-Theory and Tested with Dutch Labor Market-Data
next article Assessing Adjustment to Aging: A Validation Study for the Adjustment to Aging Scale (AtAS)

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Appendix
Available only for authorised users
Footnotes
1
No measurement invariance tests were conducted between American males and females because structural equation modeling is a method more appropriate to larger sample sizes.
 
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Metadata
Title
Validation of the Satisfaction with Life Scale to Brazilians: Evidences of Measurement Noninvariance Across Brazil and US
Authors
Cristian Zanon
Marucia P. Bardagi
Kristin Layous
Claudio S. Hutz
Publication date
01-10-2014
Publisher
Springer Netherlands
Published in
Social Indicators Research / Issue 1/2014
Print ISSN: 0303-8300
Electronic ISSN: 1573-0921
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1007/s11205-013-0478-5

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