Reliability and Validity of Japanese Versions of the Flourishing Scale and the Scale of Positive and Negative Experience

Abstract

The Flourishing Scale (FS) and the Scale of Positive and Negative Experience (SPANE) developed by Diener et al. (Soc Indic Res 97:143–156, 2010) are brief subjective measures to assess psychological flourishing and feelings. The FS provides a single score from eight items. The 12-item SPANE yields three scores: a positive score (SPANE-P), a negative score (SPANE-N), and a balance score (SPANE-B). In this study, the reliability and validity of the Japanese versions of these scales were evaluated using a sample of 520 Japanese college students. Results showed that the Japanese versions had good internal consistency (Cronbach’s alpha of 0.88–0.95). The proposed single-factor structure of the FS and two-factor structure of the SPANE were supported by both principal axis factor analysis and confirmatory factor analysis. Acceptable convergent validity of both Japanese versions was shown by correlations with scores for life satisfaction, subjective happiness, optimism, pessimism, positive and negative affect, depression, anxiety, and psychological stress. Moreover, the FS scores expectedly correlated with SPANE-P, SPANE-N, and SPANE-B. The Japanese versions of the FS and SPANE had acceptable reliability and validity, similar to the properties of the original versions