Personal Wellbeing Index: A Cross-Cultural Measurement Invariance Study Across Four Countries

Veljko Jovanović (), Robert A. Cummins (), Melissa Weinberg (), Ljiljana Kaliterna () and Zvjezdana Prizmic-Larsen ()
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Veljko Jovanović: Faculty of Philosophy, University of Novi Sad
Robert A. Cummins: Deakin University
Melissa Weinberg: Deakin University
Ljiljana Kaliterna: Ivo Pilar Institute of Social Sciences
Zvjezdana Prizmic-Larsen: Washington University in St. Louis

Journal of Happiness Studies, 2019, vol. 20, issue 3, No 5, 759-775

Abstract: Abstract The comparison of subjective well-being scores across countries is increasingly being used as an indicator of societal progress. In this study we examined measurement invariance for the Personal Wellbeing Index (PWI), which measures subjective well-being, across Australia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, and Serbia. The sample included a total of 5275 adult participants. Initially, the single-factor model of the PWI showed an adequate fit to the data only in Australia. Due to a poor fit in the remaining three countries we decided to test the single-factor structure on an abbreviated version of the scale. In order to shorten the PWI, we excluded two items (satisfactions with community-connectedness and future security) which demonstrated the lowest unique value in predicting global life satisfaction. The single-factor structure of the 5-item PWI (PWI-5) was supported in all four countries. Measurement invariance testing supported the partial scalar invariance of the PWI-5, thus allowing for latent mean comparisons. Latent mean analysis indicated higher life satisfaction in Australia, as compared with the other three countries. The PWI-5 correlated highly with the full scale. These findings suggest that the 5-item version of the PWI may be more suitable for cross-cultural comparisons.

Keywords: Measurement invariance; Personal Wellbeing Index; Life satisfaction; Domain satisfaction; Cross-cultural comparison (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2019
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (3)

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DOI: 10.1007/s10902-018-9966-2

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