Abstract
Introduction: Personal wisdom has demonstrated important implications for the health of individuals. The aim of the present study was to validate a Spanish version of the Three-Dimensional Wisdom Scale (3D-WS), exploring the structure of a possible general factor, and assessing its explanatory power on psychological health-related variables.Methods: A cross-sectional study design was used, with a total sample of 624 Spanish participants recruited on the Internet and randomly split into two halves. The following instruments were applied: 3D-WS, Purpose in Life (PIL), Multidimensional State Boredom Scale (MSBS), Positive and Negative Affect Scale (PANAS), and Difficulties in Emotion Regulation Scale (DERS). Factorial structures were analyzed through exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis (EFA and CFA), and the general factor was characterized by using bifactor models. The explanatory power of the 3D-WS was established by multiple regression.Results: The original long and short versions of the 3D-WS were not replicated in the first subsample using EFA, and there was a high rate of cross-loadings. Thus, a new short 3D-WS was proposed by ordering the original items according to factorial weights. This three-correlated-factor (reflective, cognitive, and affective) proposal was tested by means of CFA in the second subsample, with adequate psychometrics and invariance, and a good fit (χ2/df = 1.98; CFI = 0.946; RMSEA = 0.056; 90% CI = 0.040-0.072). A bifactor structure, in which the reflective trait of wisdom was integrated into a general factor (G-Reflective) improved the model fit (χ2/df = 1.85; CFI = 0.959; RMSEA = 0.052; 90% CI = 0.035-0.070). The explained common variance of G-Reflective was 0.53; therefore, the new short 3D-WS should not be considered essentially unidimensional. The new short 3D-WS showed positive relationships with the PIL and PANAS-positive, and negative associations with the MSBS, PANAS-negative and DERS, contributing to explain all the referred variables. These results were consistent across subsamples.Conclusion: The new short 3D-WS appears to be a reliable instrument for measuring wisdom in the Spanish general population. The reflective facet might influence the cognitive and affective wisdom components through the G-Reflective general factor. There seems to be a high explanatory power of the 3D-WS on psychological health-related variables. This study will facilitate the development of future research and psychological knowledge regarding wisdom.
Highlights
Personal wisdom has demonstrated important implications for the health of individuals
We aimed to explore the structure of a possible general factor and the influence of the reflective characteristics on all the aspects of wisdom; as well as to estimate the explanatory power of the 3D-WS on psychological health-related variables to evaluate the extent to which wisdom may contribute to well-being
The general factor structure of the new short 3D-WS was tested by Confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) and a second-order solution using subsample 2
Summary
Personal wisdom has demonstrated important implications for the health of individuals. Not free of debate regarding what are the essential components of wisdom, both necessary and sufficient, and what constitutes predictors and consequences, one basic definition of wisdom that spans an especially broad range of facets of wisdom consider it formed by cognitive (general), reflective (self-related) and affective (otherrelated) components (Ardelt, 2011). The affective factor is based on the presence of positive emotions and a sympathetic and compassionate behavior toward other individuals, as well as the absence of indifferent or negative feelings and behaviors toward other individuals It may depend on the reflective dimension because a deep understanding of life and individuals from a positive point of view is only possible if one can perceive reality as it is with no major biases (Ardelt, 2003). No version exists in Spanish that enables investigations of the implications of this wisdom model in Spanish-speaking countries
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