Psychometric Qualities Evaluation of the Interdependent Happiness Scale across Malaysia, Philippines, and India

Abstract

The nine-item Interdependent Happiness Scale (IHS; Hitokoto & Uchida, 2015) is a self-report of interpersonal happiness that focuses on three dimensions: relationship-oriented happiness, quiescent happiness, and ordinary happiness. Few studies have evaluated the psychometric properties of the IHS in diverse cultural backgrounds and the findings are inconsistent. This study investigated whether the IHS has sound psychometric qualities in three Asian countries. University students from Malaysia (n = 263), Philippines (n = 239), and India (n = 310) answered the IHS and self-rated creativity scale. Confirmatory factor analysis on each sample supported the nine-item second-order model with error covariances. The overall IHS score showed good reliability in all samples. The subscales, however, had mixed results except for the Indian sample. Similarly, the convergent validity test showed mixed results while discriminant validity is supported in all samples except for the quiescent happiness subscale in the Indian sample. Concurrent validity was established across three samples by showing a positive relationship with creativity score. The results highlight that the higher-order structure of the IHS is consistently supported in different cultural contexts. However, some of the items are perceived differently and require further improvement in enhancing the cross-cultural usability of the IHS to measure socially-oriented happiness.