Cited by 808Psychological Well-being and Life SatisfactionPsychometric Methodologies and TestingOptimism, Hope, and Well-being

Measuring happiness with a single-item scale

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Abdel-Khalek, Ahmed M.·2006·Social Behavior and Personality: an international journal

Abstract

This study examined the accuracy of measuring happiness by a single item (Do you feel happy in general?) answered on an 11-point scale (0–10). Its temporal stability was 0.86. The correlations between the single item and both the Oxford Happiness Inventory (OHI; Argyle, Martin, & Lu, 1995; Hills & Argyle, 1998) and the Satisfaction with Life Scale (Diener, Emmons, Larsen, & Griffin, 1985; Pavot & Diener, 1993) were highly significant and positive, denoting good concurrent validity. Moreover, the single item had a good convergent validity because it was highly and positively correlated with optimism, hope, self-esteem, positive affect, extraversion, and self-ratings of both physical and mental health. Furthermore, the divergent validity of the single item has been adequately demonstrated through its significant and negative correlations with anxiety, pessimism, negative affect, and insomnia. It was concluded that measuring happiness by a single item is reliable, valid, and viable in community surveys as well as in cross-cultural comparisons.

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Crossref · 10.2224/sbp.2006.34.2.139

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Authors
Abdel-Khalek, A. M.
Venue
Social Behavior and Personality: an international journal
Published
2006-01-01
Volume
34
Issue
2
Pages
139-150
ISSN
0301-2212 (ISSN-L)
OpenAlex
W1993979851
Cited by
808
References
38
Citations by year
2026: 52 · 2025: 64 · 2024: 66 · 2023: 63 · 2022: 84 · 2021: 59 · 2020: 66 · 2019: 48 · 2018: 44 · 2017: 39 · 2016: 40 · 2015: 35 · 2014: 27 · 2013: 18 · 2012: 24
FWCI
11.19
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Locations
Social Behavior and Personality An International Journal (publishedVersion)
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 › Psychology › Applied Psychology › Optimism, Hope, and Well-being
Keywords
happiness measurement, single-item scale, subjective well-being, temporal stability, concurrent validity, convergent validity, discriminant validity, Oxford Happiness Inventory, Satisfaction with Life Scale, optimism, hope, self-esteem, positive affect, extraversion, physical and mental health, anxiety, pessimism, negative affect, insomnia, cross-cultural comparison

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