The Construct Validity of Ryff's Scales of Psychological Well-Being (SPWB) and their Relationship to Measures of Subjective Well-Being

Abstract

The factor structure of Ryff's Scales of Psychological Well-Being (SPWB) and their relationship to standardized measures of subjective well-being (SWB) were investigated. Two hundred seventy-seven participants ranging in age from 18 to 48 years were administered the Memorial University of Newfoundland Scale of Happiness (MUNSH), the Satisfaction With Life Scale (SWLS), and the SPWB. Results failed to support either the hypothesis that performing factor analytic procedures on the items of the SPWB should produce a six-factor solution, with scale-specific items loading most highly on their respective factors or the hypothesis that subjecting the sub-scales of the SPWB to factor analytic procedures along with standardized measures of SWB would produce one higher-order well-being factor. Instead, item loadings clustered around three major factors that could not be identified with the six scales proposed by Ryff. Moreover, the factor analysis of SPWB and SWB scale totals produced three, instead of one, higher-order factors. Implications of findings are discussed with respect to the relationship of the PWB construct to the SWB construct.