Abstract
Satisfaction with life (SWL) and subjective vitality (SV) are indicators of subjective well-being and quality of life. University students are at risk of low levels of subjective well-being, and therefore it is necessary to have properly validated tools to assess SWL and SV in this population. The aim of this study was to test the psychometric properties of the satisfaction with life scale (SWLS) and subjective vitality scale (SVS) in Spanish university students. Participants were 435 undergraduate students enrolled in 50 different courses (M = 20.9 years, SD = 2.1; female students = 71.2%). Confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) was used to test the structure of the scales. Internal consistency, criterion and discriminant validity were also evaluated. Results confirmed the 5-item model of the SWLS (NNFI = 0.975, CFI = 0.987, RMSEA = 0.076) and the six-item model of the SVS (NNFI = 0.980, CFI = 0.988, RMSEA = 0.102). Internal consistency was excellent in both scales. The SWLS and the SVS were significantly associated, and students with low self-esteem showed lower SWL and SV, indicating good criterion and discriminant validity. These findings support the use of the SWLS and SVS for the assessment of subjective well-being in higher education context.
Highlights
Subjective well-being has become a topic of major interest in sustainability research and psychosocial and public health [1,2,3]
The aim of this study was to examine the psychometric properties of two widely used instruments to measure cognitive and affective components of subjective well-being in Spanish university students: the Spanish versions of the satisfaction with life scale (SWLS) and the subjective vitality scale (SVS)
The factor structure of SWLS has been widely confirmed in previous research across different cultural contexts and populations, including Spanish, German, Chilean, Mexican, Korean, Italian and Israeli adults [37,45,60,61,63,80,81], and Mexican, Mexican-American, Korean, Togolese, Czech, Brazilian, American, Chilean and Turkish higher education students [56,62,63,82,83,84,85,86,87]
Summary
Subjective well-being has become a topic of major interest in sustainability research and psychosocial and public health [1,2,3]. Subjective well-being is a comprehensive concept that refers to multiple self-evaluations of overall life and is composed of both cognitive and emotional constructs [4,5,6,7]. While the later factor refers to emotional, short-term experiences, the cognitive aspect of subjective well-being focuses on a more stable perspective of life. Satisfaction with life is considered the cognitive component of subjective well-being as it entails the person’s evaluation of their life as a whole in relation to their ideal life [4]. A person with high levels of subjective well-being will report a global sense of satisfaction with life alongside high rates of positive affect, in contrast to low rates of negative affect [9]
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