Psychometric properties of the Spanish adaptation of the Mental Health Continuum—Short Form: A bifactor ESEM approach in an adolescent sample

Abstract

The mental health continuum—short form (MHC-SF) is a measure that has been increasingly used to assess the positive mental health of the general population. Past research has revealed that the exploratory structural equation modeling (ESEM) technique yielded the best results for exploring the factorial structure of this measure. However, this technique has not been applied to the Spanish adaptation of the MHC-SF in adolescents. The present study aims for an in-depth examination of the structure of this scale in a population of Spanish adolescents (n = 465) by implementing ESEM. Different competing models were tested using confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) and ESEM. Measurement invariance, internal reliability, and construct validity were also assessed (n = 382). The findings favored the bifactor ESEM model over the commonly used three-factor structure and the bifactor CFA. The general positive mental health factor was reliable and supported convergent and discriminant validity. The findings confirm that the MHC-SF in a Spanish adolescent sample is best represented by combining the bifactor structure with a general positive mental health factor and ESEM. This study considers the implications derived from implementing this model.