Positive and Negative Emotional Experiences in Adolescents across 32 Countries: Cross-National and Gender Differences

Veljko Jovanović (), Sabirah Adams, Rebeca Aritio-Solana, Christ Billy Aryanto, Andreja Avsec, Ali Bakhshi, Michael Bender, Sophie Berjot, Sonia Betancourth Zambrano, Andreja Brajša-Žganec, Yunier Broche-Pérez, Carmen Buzea, Rosario Cabello, Rosalinda Cassibba, Judith Cavazos-Arroyo, Fatemeh Daemi, Diego D. Díaz-Guerra, Marija Džida, Mona Eidelsburger, Pablo Fernández-Berrocal, Evelyn Fernández-Castillo, Eduardo Fonseca-Pedrero, Tomasz Frackowiak, Teresa Freire, Vesna Gavrilov-Jerković, Biljana Gjoneska, Jesús Guerrero-Alcedo, Md Jamil Hossain, Jessie Hillekens, Stefan Höfer, Tareq Mahmud, Naved Iqbal, Szilvia Jámbori, Mohsen Joshanloo, Ljiljana Kaliterna Lipovčan, Tina Kavčič, Marta Kowal, Marija Krstevska Taseva, Kwok Kit Tong, Milica Lazić, Denisse Manrique-Millones, Alessia Mariano, Michal Misiak, Pasquale Musso, Vojana Obradović, Javier Ortuño Sierra, Ioana Orzea, Ahmet Özaslan, Joonha Park, Marija Pašić, Rasa Pilkauskaitė Valickienė, Rogelio Puente-Díaz, Lizbeth Puerta-Sierra, Gordana Ristevska Dimitrovska, S. Craig Roberts, Puji Tania Ronauli, Shazly Savahl, Danielius Serapinas, Sok Ian Kuan, Agnieszka Sorokowska, Piotr Sorokowski, Dijana Sulejmanović, Mst Sadia Sultana, Sze Man Yuen, Erzsébet Szél, Dušana Šakan, Henri Tilga, Aleksandar Tomašević, Wenceslao Unanue, Jesús Unanue, Marieke van Egmond, Murat Yıldırım, Gaja Zager Kocjan, Laura Zamarian and Marija Zotović-Kostić
Additional contact information
Veljko Jovanović: University of Novi Sad
Sabirah Adams: University of Cape Town
Rebeca Aritio-Solana: University of La Rioja
Christ Billy Aryanto: Atma Jaya Catholic University of Indonesia
Andreja Avsec: University of Ljubljana
Ali Bakhshi: State Welfare Organization of Iran
Michael Bender: Tilburg University
Sophie Berjot: Université de Reims Champagne-Ardenne
Sonia Betancourth Zambrano: Teacher University of Nariño
Andreja Brajša-Žganec: Institute of Social Sciences Ivo Pilar
Yunier Broche-Pérez: Prisma Behavioral Center
Carmen Buzea: Transilvania University of Brasov
Rosario Cabello: University of Málaga
Rosalinda Cassibba: University of Bari Aldo Moro
Judith Cavazos-Arroyo: Universidad Popular Autónoma del Estado de Puebla
Fatemeh Daemi: Islamic Azad University, Central Tehran Branch
Diego D. Díaz-Guerra: Universidad Central Marta Abreu de Las Villas
Marija Džida: Institute of Social Sciences Ivo Pilar
Mona Eidelsburger: Leopold Franzens University
Pablo Fernández-Berrocal: University of Málaga
Evelyn Fernández-Castillo: Universidad Central Marta Abreu de Las Villas
Eduardo Fonseca-Pedrero: University of La Rioja
Tomasz Frackowiak: University of Wroclaw
Teresa Freire: University of Minho
Vesna Gavrilov-Jerković: University of Novi Sad
Biljana Gjoneska: Macedonian Academy of Sciences and Arts
Jesús Guerrero-Alcedo: Universidad Científica del Sur
Md Jamil Hossain: Jahangirnagar University
Jessie Hillekens: Tilburg University
Stefan Höfer: Medical University of Innsbruck
Tareq Mahmud: Jahangirnagar University
Naved Iqbal: Jamia Millia Islamia
Szilvia Jámbori: University of Szeged
Mohsen Joshanloo: Keimyung University
Ljiljana Kaliterna Lipovčan: Institute of Social Sciences Ivo Pilar
Tina Kavčič: University of Ljubljana
Marta Kowal: University of Wroclaw
Marija Krstevska Taseva: Association Center for Intercultural Dialogue
Kwok Kit Tong: University of Macau
Milica Lazić: University of Novi Sad
Denisse Manrique-Millones: Universidad Científica del Sur
Alessia Mariano: University of Bari Aldo Moro
Michal Misiak: University of Wroclaw
Pasquale Musso: University of Bari Aldo Moro
Vojana Obradović: University of Novi Sad
Javier Ortuño Sierra: University of La Rioja
Ioana Orzea: National College Radu Negru
Ahmet Özaslan: Gazi University
Joonha Park: Kyoto University
Marija Pašić: Institute of Public Health of Montenegro
Rasa Pilkauskaitė Valickienė: Mykolas Romeris University
Rogelio Puente-Díaz: Universidad Anáhuac México
Lizbeth Puerta-Sierra: Universidad Anáhuac México
Gordana Ristevska Dimitrovska: University St. Kliment Ohridski Bitola
S. Craig Roberts: University of Wroclaw
Puji Tania Ronauli: Atma Jaya Catholic University of Indonesia
Shazly Savahl: University of Cape Town
Danielius Serapinas: Mykolas Romeris University
Sok Ian Kuan: University of Macau
Agnieszka Sorokowska: University of Wroclaw
Piotr Sorokowski: University of Wroclaw
Dijana Sulejmanović: University of Bihać
Mst Sadia Sultana: UC Irvine Joe C. Wen School of Population and Public Health
Sze Man Yuen: University of Toronto
Erzsébet Szél: University of Szeged
Dušana Šakan: Union University Belgrade
Henri Tilga: University of Tartu
Aleksandar Tomašević: University of Belgrade
Wenceslao Unanue: Universidad Adolfo Ibáñez
Jesús Unanue: Universidad Andres Bello
Marieke van Egmond: Tilburg University
Murat Yıldırım: Khazar University
Gaja Zager Kocjan: University of Ljubljana
Laura Zamarian: Medical University of Innsbruck
Marija Zotović-Kostić: University of Novi Sad

Applied Research in Quality of Life, 2025, vol. 20, issue 4, No 16, 1757 pages

Abstract: Abstract Despite a growing interest in adolescent subjective well-being, cross-cultural research on positive and negative affect in adolescents has been surprisingly scarce. Moreover, a cross-cultural evaluation of affective well-being measures in adolescents has lagged behind research in adults. The present study evaluated the cross-national and gender invariance of the Scale of Positive and Negative Experience (SPANE), using adolescent samples from 32 countries (N = 17,489; age range = 14–19) spanning five continents. The original two-factor structure of the SPANE was supported in 29 of the 32 countries. We could establish partial metric invariance of the SPANE across countries and full or partial scalar invariance across gender in 18 and 11 countries, respectively. The alignment method showed evidence for approximate invariance across countries, allowing for cross-national means comparisons of positive and negative affect. In most countries, girls reported higher levels of negative affect, and no substantial gender differences in positive affect were observed. Cross-national differences in mean levels of positive and negative affect yielded complex findings. Our results suggest that the SPANE is a solid candidate for measuring emotional experiences among adolescents in large-scale cross-national studies.

Keywords: Emotions; Culture; Adolescence; Positive affect; Negative affect; Gender; Measurement invariance (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025
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DOI: 10.1007/s11482-025-10486-2

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