The Japanese version of the Material Values Scale: construct assessment and relationship with age, personality, and subjective well-being

Abstract

Background Materialism indicates the extent to which an individual’s life is focused on consumerism, or the acquisition of money and possessions. The Material Values Scale (MVS), comprising the factors “success,” “centrality,” and “happiness,” is a well-known rating scale for materialism. However, a Japanese version of the materialism scale has not yet been established, and the details of the factors and effects related to materialism have not yet been clarified in Japan. The purpose of this study is to develop and evaluate the Japanese version of the MVS (J-MVS). Methods We developed the translated J-MVS using a back-translation process. To validate and evaluate the scale based on an online survey, we recruited 500 people, with 100 participants (50 men, 50 women) in five age groups, from 20 to 69 years. We compared and evaluated several factor structure models based on exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis. To evaluate the external criterion-referenced validity of the developed J-MVS scale, we examined the relationship between age, personality, and well-being, which have shown stable relationships with materialism in previous studies. Results We developed two six-item dual-factor models. Both models showed significant positive correlations with social comparison orientation and neuroticism, and had significant negative correlations with various subjective well-being indices, suggesting sufficient external criterion-referenced validity. The J-MVS comprising six positive-worded items (J-MVS-P6; without any reverse-worded items) showed a higher correlation with other indicators than the version comprising six items representing all item types and was considered to have higher external criterion-referenced validity. Conclusions We propose the J-MVS-P6 for use as a materialism scale in Japan. Compared with the findings from other countries, materialism in Japan may be more closely related to subjective well-being. This scale may be used to examine the effectiveness of various intervention methods for improving individuals’ happiness, based on changes in factors closely related to materialism in Japan.

Association of physical activity with psychological distress and happiness in mothers of children with autism spectrum disorders during the COVID-19 pandemic

“…The SHS score was moderately correlated with the K6 score, and the coefficient of determination was 0.31, indicating that most happiness among mothers of children with ASD could be explained by factors other than psychological distress. The mean SHS score of the general Japanese population surveyed before the COVID-19 pandemic was 4.37 points [ 38 ], which is similar to the scores of mothers of children with ASD in this study (4.46 points). The results of this study suggest that although mothers of children with ASD during the COVID-19 pandemic were more likely to suffer higher psychological distress, they can still feel happy, similar to other general populations.…”

Exploring Subjective Happiness, Life Satisfaction, and Sustainable Luxury Consumption in China and Japan Amidst the COVID-19 Pandemic

“…However, it is essential to note that certain universal factors that contribute to SWB, such as good health and social relationships, also exist (Diener et al 2018;Ohno et al 2023). Prior research has shown that SWB is negatively related to materialistic tendencies (Brown and Kasser 2005;Lee 2019;Ohno et al 2022) and feelings of personal relative deprivation (Ohno et al 2023). Specifically, the pursuit of happiness through materialistic consumerism tends to prioritize external goals and may run counter to SWB, giving rise to materialistic desires and anxiety about status and financial success (Dittmar et al 2014;Furukawa and Lee 2023;Kasser 2018).…”

“…While previous research suggests that SWB is positively related to sustainable consumption, it remains unclear whether SWB plays a significant role in consuming luxury products that emphasize status and prestige. The conspicuous nature of luxury products tends to appeal to materialistic consumers (Sun et al 2014), who not only prioritize possessions and are at odds with SWB (Ohno et al 2022), but also prefer eco-friendly luxury products to display their status and prestige socially (Furukawa and Lee 2020). Furthermore, luxury consumption is often perceived as incompatible with sustainability (Kunz et al 2020).…”

The Usefulness of a Revised Version of the Material Values Scale—Short Form in Italian Adolescents: Psychometric Evidence from Two Studies

“…Several studies have shown that today's individuals are more materialistic than in the past [2,3], even if materialism seems to have negative effects on well-being [4]. Material orientation is negatively related to well-being, quality of life, and self-esteem [5][6][7], and it is positively related to anxiety and depression [6,8,9]. It is also…”

“…Several studies have shown that today’s individuals are more materialistic than in the past [ 2 , 3 ], even if materialism seems to have negative effects on well-being [ 4 ]. Material orientation is negatively related to well-being, quality of life, and self-esteem [ 5 , 6 , 7 ], and it is positively related to anxiety and depression [ 6 , 8 , 9 ]. It is also positively related to work–family conflicts and job dissatisfaction [ 10 , 11 ], and associated with low pro-environmental attitude and behaviors [ 12 ].…”