Measurement Invariance of the Meaning in Life Questionnaire Across 17 Countries

Lusilda Schutte (), Ingrid Brdar (), Marié P. Wissing (), Marko Tončić (), Ulisses Araujo (), Erik Carlquist (), Alejandro Castro Solano (), Teresa Freire (), María del Rocío Hernández-Pozo (), Paul E. Jose (), Tamás Martos (), Jeanne Nakamura (), Pamela Nuñez del Prado Chaves (), Pninit Russo-Netzer (), Kamlesh Singh (), Alena Slezackova (), Lawrence Soosai-Nathan (), Wenceslao Unanue (), Dianne A. Vella-Brodrick () and Antonella Delle Fave ()
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Lusilda Schutte: North-West University
Ingrid Brdar: University of Rijeka
Marié P. Wissing: North-West University
Marko Tončić: University of Rijeka
Ulisses Araujo: University of Sao Paulo
Erik Carlquist: Oslo New University College
Alejandro Castro Solano: University of Palermo
Teresa Freire: University of Minho
María del Rocío Hernández-Pozo: National Autonomous University of Mexico
Paul E. Jose: Victoria University of Wellington
Tamás Martos: University of Szeged
Jeanne Nakamura: Claremont Graduate University
Pamela Nuñez del Prado Chaves: Pontificia Universidad Católica del Perú
Pninit Russo-Netzer: University of Haifa
Kamlesh Singh: Indian Institute of Technology Delhi
Alena Slezackova: Masaryk University
Lawrence Soosai-Nathan: MK University
Wenceslao Unanue: Universidad Adolfo Ibáñez
Dianne A. Vella-Brodrick: University of Melbourne
Antonella Delle Fave: University of Milano

Applied Research in Quality of Life, 2023, vol. 18, issue 3, No 16, 1519 pages

Abstract: Abstract The Meaning in Life Questionnaire assesses presence of and search for meaning in life. Although the questionnaire has shown promising psychometric properties in samples from different countries, the scale’s measurement invariance across a large number of nations has yet to be assessed. This study is aimed at addressing this gap, providing insight into how meaning in life is constructed and experienced across countries and into the extent to which cross-country comparisons can be made. A total of 3867 adult participants from 17 countries, aged 30–60, balanced by gender, and with at least secondary education, completed the questionnaire as part of the Eudaimonic and Hedonic Happiness Investigation. Single sample confirmatory factor analysis, multigroup confirmatory factor analysis, and alignment optimization were applied to investigate the scale’s performance across the samples. Good psychometric properties and high levels of approximate measurement invariance emerged for the Presence subscale after removal of item 9, the only reverse-phrased item. Performance of the Search subscale varied more across samples, suggesting caution in interpreting related results supporting approximate measurement invariance. The conceptualization of presence of meaning operationalized in the corresponding subscale (without item 9) appears consistent across countries, whereas search for meaning seems to be less universally homogenous and requires further exploration. Moreover, the Meaning in Life Questionnaire does not reflect the conceptual distinction between “purpose” and “meaning” currently acknowledged by researchers. This issue should be further explored in studies addressing the scale’s performance across cultures.

Keywords: Alignment optimization; Cross-cultural measurement invariance; Eudaimonic and Hedonic Happiness Investigation (EHHI); Meaning in Life Questionnaire; Measurement (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2023
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DOI: 10.1007/s11482-023-10150-7

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