Psychometric properties of the satisfaction with life scale (SWLS): secondary analysis of the Mexican health and aging study
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BACKGROUND: The Satisfaction with Life Scale (SWLS) has been widely used and has proven to be a valid and reliable instrument for assessing satisfaction with life in diverse population groups, however, research on satisfaction with life and validation of different measuring instruments in Mexican adults is still lacking. The objective was to evaluate the psychometric properties of the Satisfaction with Life Scale (SWLS) in a representative sample of Mexican adults. METHODS: This is a methodological study to evaluate a satisfaction with life scale in a sample of 13,220 Mexican adults 50 years of age or older from the 2012 Mexican Health and Aging Study. The scale's reliability (internal consistency) was analysed using Cronbach's alpha and inter-item correlations. An exploratory factor analysis was also performed. Known-groups validity was evaluated comparing good-health and bad-health participants. Comorbidity, perceived financial situation, self-reported general health, depression symptoms, and social support were included to evaluate the validity between these measures and the total score of the scale using Spearman's correlations. RESULTS: The analysis of the scale's reliability showed good internal consistency (α = 0.74). The exploratory factor analysis confirmed the existence of a unique factor structure that explained 54% of the variance. SWLS was related to depression, perceived health, financial situation, and social support, and these relations were all statistically significant (P < .01). There was significant difference in life satisfaction between the good- and bad-health groups. CONCLUSIONS: Results show good internal consistency and construct validity of the SWLS. These results are comparable with results from previous studies. Meeting the study's objective to validate the scale, the results show that the Spanish version of the SWLS is a reliable and valid measure of satisfaction with life in the Mexican context.
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The SWLS has good reliability and validity in its English, Spanish, Brazilian Portuguese, and Dutch versions.
“SWLS has good reliability and validity in its versions in English (Diener et al., 1985), Spanish (López-Ortega et al., 2016), Brazilian Portuguese (Zanon et al., 2014), and Dutch (Arrindell et al., 1999).”
From Internet-based self-administered intervention to reduce anxiety and depression symptomatology and improve well-being in 7 countries: protocol of a randomized control trial (2024) · cites this paper as López-Ortega et al., 2016
The Satisfaction With Life Scale has been validated in the Mexican population, obtaining good results of internal consistency (α = 0.74).
“This scale has been validated in the Mexican population, obtaining good results of internal consistency (α = 0.74) (López-Ortega et al., 2016).”
From A Self-Applied Multi-Component Psychological Online Intervention Based on UX, for the Prevention of Complicated Grief Disorder in the Mexican Population During the COVID-19 Outbreak: Protocol of a Randomized Clinical Trial (2021) · cites this paper as López-Ortega et al., 2016
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References 34 · Cited by 204
- Authors
- López-Ortega, M., Torres-Castro, S., & Rosas-Carrasco, O.
- Venue
- Health and Quality of Life Outcomes
- Published
- 2016-12
- Volume
- 14
- Issue
- 1
- Pages
- 170-170
- ISSN
- 1477-7525 (ISSN-L)
- PMC
- PMC5148901
- OpenAlex
- W2560460920
- Cited by
- 204
- References
- 34
- Citations by year
- 2026: 22 · 2025: 28 · 2024: 38 · 2023: 30 · 2022: 24 · 2021: 27 · 2020: 15 · 2019: 16 · 2018: 4
- FWCI
- 10.46
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- gold
- doi.org
- Licence
- cc-by
- Locations
- Health and Quality of Life Outcomes (publishedVersion, cc-by)
- PubMed Central (publishedVersion, cc-by)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Greater South Information System
- Funders
- National Institute on Aging (R01AG018016)
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Social Psychology › Psychological Well-being and Life Satisfaction
- Social Sciences › Decision Sciences › Management Science and Operations Research › Psychometric Methodologies and Testing
- Social Sciences › Education › Health Education and Validation
- Keywords
- Satisfaction with Life Scale, life satisfaction, psychometric validation, scale reliability, construct validity, factor structure, Mexican adults, older adults, depression, social support, financial conditions, self-rated health, Mexican Health and Aging Study
- MeSH terms
- Aged, Aged, 80 and over, Factor Analysis, Statistical, Female, Health Status Indicators, Health Surveys, Humans, Male, Mexico, Middle Aged, Personal Satisfaction, Psychometrics, Quality of Life, Translations, Reproducibility of Results
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