Psychometric Qualities Evaluation of the Interdependent Happiness Scale across Malaysia, Philippines, and India

Chee-Seng Tan, Shue-Ling Chong, Argel Bondoc Masanda and Sanju George
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Chee-Seng Tan: Department of Psychology and Counselling, Faculty of Arts and Social Science, University Tunku Abdul Rahman (UTAR), Kampar 31900, Malaysia
Shue-Ling Chong: Department of Psychology, School of Medicine, International Medical University, Kuala Lumpur 57000, Malaysia
Argel Bondoc Masanda: Guidance Services Unit, Office of Student Affairs, Central Luzon State University, Science City of Munoz 3119, Nueva Ecija, Philippines
Sanju George: Lisie Hospital, Kochi 682025, Kerala, India

IJERPH, 2021, vol. 19, issue 1, 1-11

Abstract: The nine-item Interdependent Happiness Scale (IHS; Hitokoto & Uchida, 2015) is a self-report of interpersonal happiness that focuses on three dimensions: relationship-oriented happiness, quiescent happiness, and ordinary happiness. Few studies have evaluated the psychometric properties of the IHS in diverse cultural backgrounds and the findings are inconsistent. This study investigated whether the IHS has sound psychometric qualities in three Asian countries. University students from Malaysia ( n = 263), Philippines ( n = 239), and India ( n = 310) answered the IHS and self-rated creativity scale. Confirmatory factor analysis on each sample supported the nine-item second-order model with error covariances. The overall IHS score showed good reliability in all samples. The subscales, however, had mixed results except for the Indian sample. Similarly, the convergent validity test showed mixed results while discriminant validity is supported in all samples except for the quiescent happiness subscale in the Indian sample. Concurrent validity was established across three samples by showing a positive relationship with creativity score. The results highlight that the higher-order structure of the IHS is consistently supported in different cultural contexts. However, some of the items are perceived differently and require further improvement in enhancing the cross-cultural usability of the IHS to measure socially-oriented happiness.

Keywords: Asia; factor structure; happiness; interdependent happiness (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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