Measurement invariance of the Satisfaction with Life Scale by gender, age, marital status and educational level

Abstract

Introduction The Satisfaction with Life Scale (SWLS) has shown strong evidence of acceptability, reliability, validity and invariance for gender, whereas there is mixed evidence of invariance by culture and age and the literature has not explored the roles of marital status and educational level. The SWLS should be invariant by marital status and educational level to be able to compare scores between groups. We aimed to explore the invariance of the SWLS by marital status and educational level. Method A convenience sample of 726 Spanish adults participated in a survey. We tested a one-factor model using confirmatory factor analysis. We tested the configural, metric and scalar invariance of the factorial structure of the SWLS by gender, age, marital status and level of education. Results The results show a scalar invariance by gender and educational level and a partial scalar invariance by marital status. Women and individuals in a relationship show greater subjective well-being while no differences are observed among people with different educational levels. Discussion The SLWS is valid for comparisons between genders, age, educational levels but not for marital status. It is essential to verify its invariance to interpret mean differences and significance values appropriately.

Satisfaction with life and depressive symptoms in living organ donors and non‐donors: New insights from the National Living Donor Assistance Center

“…The SWLS and PHQ‐8 are validated survey instruments that have been applied in a variety of general population contexts, as well as in subgroup studies 24,38‐43 . SWLS has been thought to be a stable longitudinal measure of well‐being that was largely immune to external effectors.…”

Catch them young: Impact of financial socialization, financial literacy and attitude towards money on financial well‐being of young adults

“…A confirmatory factor analysis was conducted through AMOS 16 to assess the applicability of the scale in the Indian context. Maximum likelihood estimation method was used because it is considered the best estimator with Likert scales of more than five items (Checa, Perales & Espejo, 2019; Finney & DiStefano, 2006). Furthermore, a descriptive analysis of the responses was performed to assess the level of financial well‐being of young adults.…”

Cross-Cultural Validation of the Compulsive Internet Use Scale in Four Forms and Eight Languages

“…The Tech Use Disorders online survey study data using a convenience sample recruited via announcements in several universities was used [38][39][40] . This sampling strategy is acceptable and widely used for the MI [41][42][43][44] . Indeed, because the first aim was validation of the CIUS in different languages, participants needed to have direct experience of using the internet, which was almost assured by recruiting a self-selected sample of university students.…”