Abstract

CASAS, Ferran et al. Adolescents' subjective well-being: a comparative study between two Autonomous Communities in Spain. Anal. Psicol. [online]. 2013, vol.29, n.1, pp.148-158. ISSN 1695-2294.  https://dx.doi.org/10.6018/analesps.29.1.145281.

In two samples of 15 to 18 year-olds adolescents from Asturias and Catalonia inter-linguistic and intercultural comparability of subjective well-being is analysed. Three scales have been used as psychosocial indicators of well-being: The SWLS of Diener, Emmons, Larsen y Smith (1985), a context free scale, the PWI of Cummins, Eckersley, van Pallant, Vugt y Misajon (2003), which evaluates personal well-being based on life domains, and a single-item scale on Overall Life Satisfaction (OLS). Using Confirmatory Factor Analysis models, the PWI shows good fit for both samples, supporting the comparability of results between the two populations. Overall scores are higher among Asturian adolescents than among Catalan's, like OLS. The SWLS shows bad fit when intercepts are restricted. That fact, added to that Cronbach alpha would increase if item 5 is deleted, gives support to the idea that this scale functions differently in diverse socio-cultural contexts. These results raise doubts about its appropriateness as comparative instrument to be used with populations with different linguistic and/or sociocultural characteristics.

Keywords : Subjective well-being; adolescence; PWI; SWLS; overall life satisfaction; personal well-being; confirmatory factor analysis; structural equation modelling.

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