An 8-item scale for the measurement of happiness: validation and application of the Oxford happiness questionnaire in an Italian sample

Abstract

Happiness is a basic human emotional state associated with positive life and work-related outcomes. Despite being currently considered a central topic in public health research and practice, there is a paucity of valid and reliable brief measures of happiness that have been adapted in Italian. Thus, the present study sought to investigate the psychometric properties of a brief 8-item measure of subjective happiness, namely the Oxford Happiness Questionnaire, within an Italian sample. A total of 917 Italian adults (mean age = 37.58 ± 12.69 years; 75.7% females) volunteered for this study, and completed measures of happiness, perceived stress, emotion dysregulation, mindful attention, and life satisfaction. The OHQ revealed optimal psychometric properties in terms of internal validity and reliability, with an excellent fit to the data. Further, the measure evidenced a good convergent validity, being associated with other outcomes and psychological skills with medium-to-large effects.