Purpose The validity of the life satisfaction measures commonly used among adults has been rarely examined in adolescent samples. The present research had two main goals: (1) to evaluate the ...structural validity of the Satisfaction with Life Scale (SWLS) among adolescents and to test measurement invariance across gender; (2) to compare the criterion and convergent validity of the SWLS and single-item life satisfaction measures among adolescents. Methods Three samples of Serbian adolescents were recruited for the present research. Study 1 (N = 481, Mage = 17.01 years) examined the structure of the SWLS via confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) and evaluated measurement invariance of the SWLS across gender by a multi-group CFA. Study 2 (N = 283, Mage = 17.34 years) and Study 3 (N = 220, Mage = 16.73 years) compared the convergent validity of the SWLS and single-item life satisfaction measures. Results The results of Study 1 supported the original one-factor model of the SWLS among adolescents and provided evidence for strong measurement invariance of the SWLS across gender. The findings of Study 2 and Study 3 showed that the SWLS and single-item measures were equally valid and strongly associated (r = .734 in Study 2 and r = .668 in Study 3). No substantial differences in correlations with school success and well-being indicators were found between the SWLS and single-item measures. Conclusions Our findings support the use of the SWLS among adolescents and indicate that single-item life satisfaction measures perform as well as the SWLS in adolescent samples.
Research into the role of identity orientations (the relative importance an individual places on different personal and social attributes and characteristics when defining her or his identity) in ...adolescent mental health is extremely limited. Furthermore, the potential mechanisms that might explain the associations between identity orientations and adolescent mental health are poorly understood. This study protocol describes a one-year longitudinal study across three time points to be initiated with the purpose of investigating the mediating role of basic psychological needs satisfaction and frustration in the relationship between identity orientations and various mental health indicators in adolescence. We aim to recruit a large sample of Serbian adolescents (N = 2,000 at Time 1), using a two-stage stratified random sampling. The data will be analyzed using the random intercept cross-lagged panel model (RI-CLPM), and the results will be contrasted with the traditional CLPM. The goal of this study is to make a theoretical contribution to research in the fields of identity, self-determination theory, and adolescent mental health, as well as to provide insights towards the development of evidence-based recommendations for creating prevention and promotion programs aimed at improving the well-being of adolescents.
Previous research has established robust associations between adolescent subjective well-being (SWB) and internalizing behaviors, such as depression and anxiety. However, most studies have limited ...their focus to the relations between life satisfaction and internalizing behaviors. The current study examined the unique contributions of both cognitive (life satisfaction) and affective (positive and negative affect) components of SWB to global internalizing behaviors, depression, and anxiety in adolescence. The sample included 275 adolescents (50.2% female), with a mean age 16.64 years (SD = 1.02). The strongest predictor of global internalizing behaviors and anxiety was negative affect, followed by life satisfaction. Negative affect and life satisfaction had similar unique contributions to explaining depression. Positive affect was a significant predictor of depression, whereas its unique contribution to global internalizing behaviors and anxiety was negligible. Our findings support the importance of including both cognitive and affective dimensions of SWB when examining its associations with internalizing behaviors in adolescence. In addition, the results show that different measures of internalizing behaviors yield different associations with SWB indicators, and that a similar pattern of results is obtained using different measures of adolescent life satisfaction.
•The bifactor model of the Mental Health Continuum-Short Form (MHC-SF) was examined.•The general well-being factor explains the largest amount of the MHC-SF variance.•The MHC-SF subscales comprise ...too small amount of reliable variance to interpret.•Alternative measures of specific components of well-being should be considered.
The Mental Health Continuum-Short Form (MHC-SF) is a growingly popular questionnaire designed to assess three components of well-being: emotional, social, and psychological. The main goal of the present study was to evaluate the structural validity of the MHC-SF and test the bifactor model of the MHC-SF, which includes one general factor and three specific factors of well-being. Sample 1 consisted of 1095 Serbian students (aged 18–26years), while Sample 2 included 325 Serbian adults (aged 27–63years). The bifactor model of the MHC-SF yielded the best fit to the data across the two samples. The results showed that the general factor of well-being accounted for substantially greater amount of variance of the MHC-SF than three specific factors of well-being. After controlling for the general factor, three specific factors explained a small portion of variance in well-being. In addition, the three subscales of the MHC-SF showed low reliability as estimated by omega-subscale coefficients, indicating that these subscales comprise too small amount of reliable variance to interpret. The present findings suggest that researchers should not calculate separate scores for three types of well-being when using the MHC-SF and that alternative measures of specific components of well-being should be considered.
Trust is a core component of social capital and it captures two dimensions: interpersonal trust and institutional trust. The majority of previous studies have examined the role of trust in economic ...and political processes, whereas much less is known about the relationship between trust and subjective well-being (SWB). The present study aimed at examining the unique contribution of interpersonal and institutional trust to the three indicators of SWB (life satisfaction, positive affect, and negative affect) over and above socio-demographic variables. The sample included 969 Serbian adults (Mage=42.89years). The results showed that interpersonal trust was a robust predictor of SWB over and above socio-demographic variables, whereas institutional trust had limited predictive value for SWB. Our findings suggested that trust in other people was strongly related both to evaluative and to affective components of SWB, whereas the level of trust in institutions had negligible effects on SWB.
•The role of trust in subjective well-being (SWB) was examined.•Interpersonal trust was a robust predictor of SWB.•Institutional trust demonstrated limited predictive value for SWB.•Trust in other people is a crucial resource for SWB.
The role of negative life events and personality traits in adult life satisfaction has been widely investigated, but has received less attention in adolescent samples. The main goal of the present ...study was to investigate the relationships between the Big Five personality traits, negative life events, and life satisfaction in adolescents. In addition, the moderating roles of personality traits in the relationship between negative life events and life satisfaction were examined. The sample consisted of 500 Serbian adolescents, aged 16 to 18 (Mage = 17.37; 67.7% females). The results showed that negative life events, extraversion, and agreeableness had unique contributions to predicting life satisfaction. The moderation analysis demonstrated that personality traits did not moderate the relationship between negative life events and life satisfaction. The results of the present study indicate that the association between negative life events and adolescent life satisfaction is independent of personality traits, and support the conclusion that the relative contribution of personality traits to life satisfaction among adolescents is culture-specific.
The Scale of Positive and Negative Experience (SPANE) is a recently developed measure of affective well-being, which can be considered an alternative to instruments commonly used to assess positive ...and negative affect. However, no previous research has tested whether the SPANE explains variance in important outcomes that is not accounted for by the Positive and Negative Affect Schedule (PANAS). The present study examined the incremental validity of the SPANE over the PANAS in predicting life satisfaction, depression, and general well-being. Two samples from Serbia were recruited for the study: young adults (N=513, Mage=23.81years) and adolescents (N=295, Mage=16.93years). The results showed that the SPANE subscales explained additional variance (ranging from 4% to 11% among young adults, and from 4% to 17% among adolescents) in life satisfaction, depression and general well-being beyond the PANAS subscales. The SPANE subscales proved able to explain the unique variance of well-being despite sharing a substantial amount of common variance with the PANAS in predicting well-being. The results of the present study demonstrated that the SPANE is a useful measure of affective well-being, which performs better than the PANAS in predicting well-being among young adults and adolescents.
•Incremental validity of the Scale of Positive and Negative Experience was evaluated.•The SPANE explained the unique variance in well-being beyond the PANAS.•The SPANE performed better than the PANAS in predicting well-being.•The SPANE is a useful measure of affective well-being.
The Vaccine Conspiracy Beliefs Scale (VCBS) is a widely used measure of conspiracy beliefs about vaccines, but evidence of its validity and measurement invariance, especially in youth samples, is ...still largely missing. The present study examined VCBS scores’ factor structure, measurement invariance, convergent and discriminant validity, and incremental predictive validity. A sample of 803 Serbian youths (age range 15–24; 59.2% females) was recruited for the study. A modified single-factor model of the VCBS was supported, and showed evidence of full scalar invariance across gender, age, vaccination status, and personal history of COVID-19. Evidence of the VCBS scores’ convergent and discriminant validity was obtained by examining associations with general conspiracy beliefs, vaccination attitudes, vaccination knowledge, intentions to get vaccinated against COVID-19, paranoia worries, fear of injections and blood draws, importance of God, self-rated health, and self-rated family’s financial situation. The VCBS scores predicted a unique variance in the intention to get vaccinated against COVID-19, over and above vaccination attitudes and vaccination knowledge. The results suggest that the VCBS is a valid measure of vaccine conspiracy beliefs in youth.
The present research aimed at examining measurement
invariance of the Serbian version of the Satisfaction with Life Scale (SWLS)
across age, gender, and time. A total sample in Study 1 consisted of ...2,595
participants from Serbia, with a mean age of 23.79 years (age range:
14-55 years). The final sample in Study 2 included 333 Serbian
undergraduate students (Mage = 20.81;
age range: 20-27 years), who completed the SWLS over periods of 6
and 18 months after the initial assessment. Confirmatory factor analysis
(CFA) supported the modified unidimensional model of the SWLS, with correlated
residuals of items 4 and 5 tapping past satisfaction. The results of the
multigroup confirmatory factor analysis supported the full scalar invariance
across gender and over time and partial scalar invariance across age. Latent
mean comparisons revealed that women reported higher life satisfaction than men.
Additionally, adolescents reported higher life satisfaction than students and
adults, with adults showing the lowest life satisfaction. Our findings indicate
that the SWLS allows meaningful comparisons in life satisfaction across age,
gender, and over time.
The present research has aimed to extend the previous research on the structure of subjective well-being (SWB) by applying the bifactor model. The Satisfaction with Life Scale (SWLS) and the Positive ...and Negative Affect Schedule (PANAS) were administered to two large samples of Serbian young adults (N1=1669, N2=1522). The bifactor model of SWB with one general and three specific factors (life satisfaction, positive affect, and negative affect) provided the best fit to the data and outperformed the original three-factor model and the higher-factor model in both samples. The results supported the multidimensional nature of SWB, with a strong general factor underlying the SWLS and PANAS. Bifactor modeling has shown that SWLS and PANAS reflect both common and specific variance in SWB, with about half of the reliable variance in life satisfaction, positive affect, and negative affect being independent of the general factor. The present findings imply that researchers should be careful when interpreting SWLS and PANAS scores and that general SWB factor should be taken into account. Implications for scale scoring and interpretation, and theoretical conceptualization of SWB are discussed.
•The bifactor model of subjective well-being (SWB) was evaluated.•The general factor explains the largest amount of SWB variance.•The common variance was equally spread across general and specific factors of SWB.•SWB should be conceptualized as a first-order breadth factor.
