Relationship of humour to health: A psychometric investigation

Abstract

The effects of humour on health were investigated using a sample of 504 individuals comprising three groups (community group, university students, and respondents with a medical condition). Hypotheses were: that after controlling for other variables, humour would be significantly associated with health: that individuals with a greater sense of humour would report significantly higher levels of good health as compared with those with less humour; and that the assessment of the factor structure of the Multidimensional Sense of Humour Scale (MSHS) would support its construct validity in the Australian context. The present findings supported the view that a sense of humour is associated with health, and also provided support for the validity and reliability of the MSHS instrument.

Validation of the multidimensional sense of humor scale in people with chronic kidney disease

“…The reliability values were similar to the original version (α = 0.92), [12] US samples (α = 0.91), [13,14] Croatia (α = 0.88), [14] Australia (α = 0.92), [16] Spain (α = 0.89), [17] Portugal (α ranged from 0.63 to 0.93), [6,18] China (α = 0.88) [19] and Mexico (α = 0.91). [20] The α values obtained in this study are considered good.…”

“…The 24-item scale showed a Cronbach's α of 0.92, comprising the dimensions "Social production and use of humor", "Adaptive humor", "Appreciation of the humor" and "Attitude toward humor". [12] This scale has been validated in several languages and cultures, particularly in the following countries: United States of America (USA), [12][13][14] Croatia, [15] Australia, [16] Spain, [17] Portugal, [6,18] China [19] and Mexico. [20] Factor analysis has showed some differences in the first study; [12] in a sample of elderly from the USA six factors emerged, that were not present in young people (four factors); [14] in Croatia [15] the validation study resulted in a scale with five factors identical to the Portuguese version.…”

“…[20] Factor analysis has showed some differences in the first study; [12] in a sample of elderly from the USA six factors emerged, that were not present in young people (four factors); [14] in Croatia [15] the validation study resulted in a scale with five factors identical to the Portuguese version. [6] Concerning construct validity, some studies conducted Exploratory Factorial Analysis (AFE) with principal components analysis and Varimax Rotation; [6, 12-15, 18, 19] or maximum likelihood method with Oblique Rotation [16] and Confirmatory Factorial Analysis (AFC). [20] In all cultures the reliability assessed by Cronbach's α showed values above 0.70, except for the Mexican version, in which two dimensions, "adaptive humor/coping" and "enjoy life" presented a 0.53 and 0.56 result, respectively.…”

“…[20] In all cultures the reliability assessed by Cronbach's α showed values above 0.70, except for the Mexican version, in which two dimensions, "adaptive humor/coping" and "enjoy life" presented a 0.53 and 0.56 result, respectively. The stability and reproducibility was studied only in the sample from Australia, [16] through test-retest. In the study of discriminant validity, MSHS was able to discriminate by gender [14] and age.…”

Pharmacy Practice, Research, Education, and Advocacy for Older Adults

“…35 Individuals who cultivate a positive outlook and approach challenges optimistically live longer than those who do not. 36 A sense of humor is associated with good health, 37 and laughter increases immune system activity and decreases the production of stress hormones. 38 Health professionals can effectively influence the lives of patients by helping them identify enhancements to their physical well-being and factors that improve their overall quality of life.…”