Evaluation of the Life Satisfaction and Subjective Happiness Scales With Mexican American High School and College Students

Abstract

In the current study, we investigated the psychometric properties of two meaningful measures of subjective well-being among Mexican American high school and college students. Participants completed the Satisfaction With Life Scale (SWLS) or Subjective Happiness Scale (SHS) as measures of subjective well-being. A confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) was used to evaluate structural validity. A modest one-factor structure was found for the SWLS and SHS. Internal consistency was good (.81) and acceptable (.77) as measured by coefficient alpha. Findings provide support for the reliability and validity of the SWLS and SHS as measures of subjective well-being with Mexican American students. A discussion regarding the psychometric properties and implications for research is provided.

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