11/10/2020

www.isciweb.org
Subjective Well-Being psychometric
scales used in Children’s Worlds 3rd
wave
Ferran Casas ferran.casas@udg.edu
Emeritus Professor on Social Psychology
ERIDIQV research team. www.udg.edu/eridiqv
Research Institute on Quality of Life (IRQV). University of Girona (UdG)
Oradea, 12 October 2020

www.isciweb.org

Data analysis here presented

• We are presenting fit statistics and cross-

country comparability analysis for the four
multi-item subjective well-being psychometric
scales used in the 3rd Wave of the Children’s
Worlds international project.
• Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA) using
Structural Equation Modelling (SEM) is used
to check for the fit of the scales.
• Multi-group CFA is used to check for cross-
country comparability.

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 11/10/2020

Why to use multi-item

psychometric scales?
• Multiple-item scales are much more robust
measures then single-item scales – despite
single-item scales are frequently used in
international comparative research.
• In this project we have used 4 multiple-item
scales (CW-SWBS, CW-DBSWBS, CW-
PANAS, and CW-PSWBS) and 1 single item
scale.

Why to use Confirmatory Factor

Analysis (CFA) with Structural
Equation Modelling (SEM)?
• CFA is used to assess the construct validity of a
measurement model (e.g.: a psychometric scale on
subjective well-being).
• SEM is a multivariate technique that seeks to
explain the relationship between multiple
variables (even unobservable or “latent”),
including the measurement errors in the model. It
takes advantage of psychometric and econometric
knowledge, and its foundation lies in factor
analysis and multiple regression analysis.

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Why to use Multi-group CFA?

• When using the same model with different groups (e.g.:
samples from different countries) we need to examine the
degree to which the models are equivalent across groups
(i.e.: its comparability).
• In order to meaningfully compare statistics across groups
(e.g.: the mean of a latent variable) measurement
invariance is required. Three steps are required to check
for measurement invariance: (a) configural invariance
(unconstrained variables); (b) metric invariance
(constrained factor loadings); (c) scalar invariance
(constrained loadings and intercepts).
• Metric invariance allows meaningful comparison of
correlations and regressions.
• Scalar invariance allows meaningful comparison of the
latent means.

Testing the CW-SWBS. 3rd wave

10yo 35
• The new CW-SWBS countries
version - improving
the 2nd wave version
thanks to advice
from children’s in
different countries -
displays fit problems 12yo 30
countries
with the original 6
items, using both the
10yo and the 12yo
pooled samples in a
Confirmatory Factor
Analysis (CFA).

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Testing the CW-SWBS. 3rd wave (2)

10yo 35
• When item 5 (I like countries
my life) is excluded
from the model, fit
indexes become
excellent.
12yo 30
countries

Testing the CW-SWBS. 3rd wave (3)

10yo 35 2 df p- CFI RMSEA SRMR
countries Model value (confidence
• A multi-group model CFA 10yo. 35 countries interval)
1 CW-SWBS Initial 3218.53 9 .000 .984 .085 .018
SEM analysing cross- (.082-.087)
countries comparability 2 CW-SWBS Initial multi- 6462.69 315 .000 .973 .020 .031

shows that correlations

group by country. (.019-.020)
Unconstrained
and regressions are 3 CW-SWBS Initial 7834.99 485 .000 .967 .018 .067

comparable among all multi-group by country.

Constrained loadings
(.017-.018)

countries, but not mean 4 CW-SWBS Initial 10992.62 655 .000 .954 .018 .068
scores. multi-group by country. (.018-.018)
Constr load & intercepts
• When item 4 (The things 5 CW-SWBS 5 items 228.72 5 .000 .998 .030 .006
that happen in my life 6 CW-SWBS 5 items multi- 1634.95 175 .000 .991
(.027-.033)
.013 .030
are excellent) is tested group by country. (.012-.014)
without constrained Unconstrained

intercepts, the model

7 CW-SWBS 5 items 2910.93 311 .000 .984 .013 .051
multi-group by country. (.013-.013)
suggests that Constrained loadings

comparability of mean 8 CW-SWBS 5 items

multi-group by country.
5769.57 447 .000 .968 .016
(.015-.016)
.051

scores could be accepted Constr load & intercepts

for the other items. 9 CW-SWBS 5 items 4458.52 413 .000 .975 .014 .051
multi-group by country. (.014-.014)
Semip Constr load&interc

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Testing the CW-SWBS. 3rd wave (3)

12yo 30 2 df p- CFI RMSEA SRMR

countries
Model value (confidence
12yo. 30 countries interval)
• A multi-group model CFA 1 CW-SWBS Initial 4638.40 9 .000 .981 .106 .017
SEM analysing cross- (.103-.108)

countries comparability 2 CW-SWBS Initial multi-

group by country.
7388.50 270 .000 .972 .024
(.023-.024)
.052

shows that correlations Unconstrained

and regressions are 3 CW-SWBS Initial 8944.56 415 .000 .966 .021 .050
multi-group by country. (.021-.022)
comparable among all Constrained loadings
countries, but not mean 4 CW-SWBS Initial 12899.66 560 .000 .951 .022 .051

scores.
multi-group by country. (.022-.022)
Constr load & intercepts
• When item 4 (The things 5 CW-SWBS 5 items 506.31 5 .000 .997 .047 .007
(.043-.050)
that happen in my life are 6 CW-SWBS 5 items multi- 1546.37 150 .000 .992 .014 .020
excellent) is tested group by country. (.014-.015)

without constrained
Unconstrained
7 CW-SWBS 5 items 2956.49 266 .000 .985 .015 .034
intercepts, the model multi-group by country. (.014-.015)

suggests that 8
Constrained loadings
CW-SWBS 5 items 6432.36 382 .000 .967 .019 .037
comparability of mean multi-group by country. (.018-.019)
scores could be accepted Constr load & intercepts

for the other items.

9 CW-SWBS 5 items 4646.74 353 .000 .977 .016 .034
multi-group by country. (.016-.017)
Semip Constr load&interc

Explained variance (using SMC) of each

CW-SWBS5 item by the latent variable
Constrained loadings and intercepts
1

0,9 10yo 35
0,8
countries
0,7

0,6

0,5 Enjoy Life

Life Going Well
0,4
Have Good Life
0,3 Things Life Excellent

0,2 Happy With My Life

0,1

0
Bangladesh

Germany

Russia

Taiwan
Spain (Catalonia)

Vietnam
Greece
Hong-Kong

Switzerland
Hungary
India
Indonesia

Malaysia

Poland
Israel
Italy

Malta

South Africa

Sri Lanka
Pooled sample
Albania
Algeria

Belgium

Estonia
Finland
France

Norway

UK (Wales)
Chile
Croatia

Namibia

Romania
Brazil

England

Nepal

South Korea

• Squared Multiple Correlations (SMC) suggest that item 4 in general explains less
variance that any other, and less the lower the socio-economic level of the country is.

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Explained variance (using SMC) of each

CW-SWBS5 item by the latent variable
1 Constrained loadings and intercepts
0,9 10yo 35
0,8 countries
0,7

0,6

0,5 Enjoy Life

Life Going Well
0,4
Have Good Life
0,3 Things Life Excellent

0,2 Happy With My Life

0,1

0
Bangladesh

Germany

Hong-Kong

Russia

Spain (Catalonia)

Vietnam
Greece

Hungary
India
Indonesia

Italy
Malaysia
Malta

Poland

Switzerland
Taiwan
South Africa

Sri Lanka
Pooled sample
Albania
Algeria

Belgium

Estonia
Finland

Israel

Norway

UK (Wales)
Chile
Croatia

France

Namibia
Brazil

England

Nepal

Romania

South Korea
• Explained variance for the CW-SWBS5 items is mostly high, excepting in a few countries:
Albania, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Namibia, Nepal, S Africa, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh
• Things in my Life are Excellent in general explains less variance than any other, and less
the lower the socio-economic level of the country is. It displays the smallest explained
variance in all countries, excepting: Algeria, Brazil, Greece, Norway, Russia, Taiwan.
• Life Going Well & Have Good Life display the largest explained variances in most countries

Explained variance (using SMC) of each

CW-SWBS5 item by the latent variable
Constrained loadings and intercepts
12yo 30
1

0,9
countries
0,8

0,7

0,6
Enjoy Life
0,5
Life Going Well
0,4
Have Good Life
0,3 Things Life Excellent
Happy With My Life
0,2

0,1

0
Spain…
Hong-Kong

Russia

Vietnam
Bangladesh

Germany

Taiwan
Hungary
India
Indonesia

Italy

Poland

South Africa
Pooled sample

Belgium

Israel

Malta

Sri Lanka
Albania

UK (Wales)
Algeria

Estonia
Finland

Norway
Namibia
Brazil
Chile
Croatia

Romania

South Korea
Nepal

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 11/10/2020

Explained variance (using SMC) of each

CW-SWBS5 item by the latent variable
Constrained loadings and intercepts
12yo 30
1

0,9
countries
0,8

0,7

0,6
Enjoy Life
0,5
Life Going Well
0,4
Have Good Life
0,3 Things Life Excellent
Happy With My Life
0,2

0,1

Spain…
Bangladesh

Germany
Hong-Kong

Indonesia

Russia

Taiwan
Albania

Hungary

South Africa

Vietnam
Belgium

India

Israel
Italy
Malta

Poland

Sri Lanka
Chile
Croatia

Finland

Namibia
Pooled sample

Algeria

Brazil

Estonia

Norway

UK (Wales)
Romania

South Korea
Nepal
• Explained variance (SMC) for the CW-SWBS5 items is mostly high, excepting in some
countries: Albania, India, Nepal, S Africa – Bangladesh, Sri Lanka.
• Things in my Life are Excellent in general explains less variance than any other, and less
the lower the socio-economic level of the country is. It displays the smallest explained
variance in all countries, excepting: Brazil, Nepal, Sri Lanka.
• Life Going Well & Have Good Life display the largest explained variances in most countries

Testing the CW-SWBS5. 3rd wave

• Explained variance (SMC) for the CW-SWBS5 items is
mostly high, excepting in some countries:
– 10yo: Albania, India, Malaysia, Nepal, S Africa, Sri Lanka -
Bangladesh
– 12yo: Albania, India, Nepal, S Africa – Bangladesh, Sri Lanka.
• “Things Life Excellent” in general explains less variance
than any other, and less the lower the socio-economic
level of the country is. It displays the smallest explained
variance in all countries, excepting:
– 10yo: Algeria, Brazil, Greece, Norway, Russia, Taiwan.
– 12yo: Brazil, Sri Lanka
• Life Going Well and Have Good Life display the largest
explained variances in most countries.

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Testing the CW-DBSWBS. 3rd wave

10yo 35 2 df p- CFI RMSEA SRMR
countries Model value (confidence
10yo. 35 countries interval)
1 CW-DBSWBS Initial 75.29 5 .000 .998 .017 .007
(.014-.021)
2 CW-DBSWBS Initial 825.35 175 .000 .983 .009 .025
multi-group by country. (.008-.009)
Unconstrained
3 CW-DBSWBS Initial 2047.49 311 .000 .954 .011 .029
multi-group by country. (.010-.011)
Constrained loadings
4 CW-DBSWBS Initial 8390.01 447 .000 .791 .019 .031
multi-group by country. (.019-.020)
Constr load & intercepts

• A multi-group CFA SEM analysing cross-countries comparability shows that

correlations, regressions or mean scores of this psychometric scale are NOT
comparable among all countries.
• Apparently items have different cultural meanings, depending on the country.

Testing the CW-DBSWBS. 3rd wave

12yo 30 2 df p- CFI RMSEA SRMR
countries Model value (confidence
12yo. 30 countries interval)
1 CW-DBSWBS Initial 362.21 5 .000 .989 .040 .016
(.037-.044)
2 CW-DBSWBS Initial 740.30 150 .000 .984 .009 .031
multi-group by country. (.009-.010)
Unconstrained
3 CW-DBSWBS Initial 2211.98 266 .000 .947 .013 .077
multi-group by country. (.012-.013)
Constrained loadings
4 CW-DBSWBS Initial 11601.27 382 .000 .698 .026 .078
multi-group by country. (.025-.026)
Constr load & intercepts

• A multi-group CFA SEM analysing cross-countries comparability shows that

correlations, regressions or mean scores of this psychometric scale are NOT
comparable among all countries.
• Apparently items have different cultural meanings, depending on the
country.

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Explained variance (using SMC) of each

CW-DBSWBS item by the latent variable
1 Constrained loadings

0,9
10yo 35
0,8 countries
0,7

0,6

0,5 Sat people live with

Sat your friends
0,4 Sat your life as student
Sat area where you live
0,3
Sat the way you look

0,2

0,1

0
Bangladesh

Germany

Hong-Kong

Malaysia

Spain (Catalonia)

Switzerland
Taiwan
England (UK)

Indonesia

Russia
Albania

Belgium

Finland

Hungary

South Africa

Vietnam
Sri Lanka
Greece

India

Israel
Italy

Malta

Poland
Pooled sample

Chile
Croatia

France
Algeria

Brazil

Estonia

Namibia

Norway

UK (Wales)
Romania

South Korea
Nepal

0,9 Explained variance (using SMC) of each10yo 35

0,8
CW-DBSWBS item by the latent variable countries
0,7 Constrained loadings
0,6

0,5 Sat people live with

Sat your friends
0,4 Sat your life as student
Sat area where you live
0,3
Sat the way you look

0,2

10yo 35
0,1

0 countries
Bangladesh

Taiwan
England (UK)

Germany

Hong-Kong

Malaysia

Russia

Spain (Catalonia)

Vietnam
Greece

Switzerland
Hungary
India
Indonesia

Italy

Malta

Poland

South Africa
Pooled sample

Belgium

France
Albania
Algeria

Estonia
Finland

Israel

Sri Lanka
Croatia

Norway

UK (Wales)
Namibia

Romania
Brazil
Chile

South Korea
Nepal

• Explained variance (SMC) for the CW-DBSWBS items is in general clearly

smaller than for CW-SWBS items.
• Satisfaction with life as student displays the largest SMC in many countries,
but in many others it is for Satisfaction with people living with.
• Satisfaction with the area living in displays the smallest SMC in most countries,
but it others it is for Sat with the way you look, or Satisfaction with friends.

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Explained variance (using SMC) of each

CW-DBSWBS item by the latent variable
Constrained loadings
1

0,9 12yo 30
countries
0,8

0,7

0,6

Sat people live with

0,5
Sat your friends
0,4 Sat your life as student
Sat area where you live
0,3
Sat the way you look

0,2

0,1

1
Explained variance (using SMC) of each
CW-DBSWBS item by the latent variable
0,9

0,8
Constrained loadings
0,7

0,6

Sat people live with

0,5
Sat your friends
0,4 Sat your life as student
Sat area where you live
0,3
Sat the way you look

0,2

0,1
12yo 30
0
countries

• Explained variance (SMC) for the CW-DBSWBS items is in general clearly

smaller than for CW-SWBS items.
• Satisfaction with life as student displays the largest SMC in many countries,
but in many others it is for Satisfaction with people living with.
• Satisfaction with the area living in displays the smallest SMC in most countries,
but it others it is for Sat with the way you look, or Satisfaction with friends.

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Testing the CW-DBSWBS. 3rd wave

• Explained variance (SMC) for the CW-DBSWBS items is
in general clearly smaller than for CW-SWBS items for
both age groups.
• Satisfaction with life as student displays the largest
SMS in many countries for both age groups, but in others
it is for Satisfaction with people living with:
– 10yo: Croatia, England, Estonia, Greece, Hungary, Israel, Norway, Poland,
Wales). Exceptions: Russia (sad) and Switzerland (the area where you live).
– 12yo: Belgium, Croatia, Estonia, Finland, Hungary, Israel, Italy, Norway,
Poland, Romania, Russia, Wales.
• Satisfaction with the area living in displays the smallest
SCM in most countries, but it others it is for Satisfaction
with the way you look, or Satisfaction with friends for
both age groups.

Testing the CW-SWBS. 3rd wave

• The new CW-PANAS
is an abridged
version of previous
scales of positive
and negative affect.
• Confirmatory Factor 10yo 35
countries
Analysis (CFA) using
the pooled sample
fits well for both 10
and 12yo samples.
• However, multi-
group CFA does not
fit for 12yo´s.
12yo 30
countries

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 11/10/2020

Testing the CW-PNAS. 3rd wave

2
10yo 35 df p- CFI RMSEA SRMR
countries Model value (confidence
10yo. 35 countries interval)
1 CW-DBSWBS Initial 1032.09 8 .000 .975 .051 .029
(.049-.054)
2 CW-DBSWBS Initial 1947.20 280 .000 .964 .011 .026
multi-group by country. (.011-.012)
Unconstrained
3 CW-DBSWBS Initial 3386.61 416 .000 .935 .012 .062
multi-group by country. (.012-.013)
Constrained loadings
4 CW-DBSWBS Initial 10393.35 552 .000 .786 .019 .057
multi-group by country. (.019-.020)
Constr load & intercepts
• A multi-group CFA SEM analysing cross-countries comparability shows that
correlations, regressions or mean scores of this psychometric scales are
NOT comparable among all countries.
• Apparently items have different cultural meanings, depending on the country.

Testing the CW-PNAS. 3rd wave

12yo 30 2 df p- CFI RMSEA SRMR
countries Model value (confidence
12yo. 30 countries interval)

1 CW-PNAS Initial 1236.51 8 .000 .970 .059 .030

2 CW- PNAS Initial multi- Does not 240
group by country. fit
Unconstrained
3 CW- PNAS Initial 4207.39 356 .000 .918 .016 .063
multi-group by country.
Constrained loadings
4 CW- PNAS Initial 13448.40 472 .000 .724 .025 .049
multi-group by country. (.024-.025)
Constr load & intercepts

• A multi-group CFA SEM analysing cross-countries comparability shows that

correlations, regressions or mean scores of this psychometric scales are
NOT comparable among all countries.
• Apparently items have different cultural meanings, depending on the country.

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Correlation of Positive Affect and

Negative Affect by country 10 & 12 yo
Constrained loadings

10yo 35
1

0,8 countries
0,6
12yo 30
0,4
countries
0,2
PA↔NA 10yo
PA↔NA 12yo
0

-0,2

-0,4

-0,6

-0,8
Bangladesh

Switzerland
Taiwan
England (UK)

Germany

Hong-Kong

Indonesia

Russia

Spain (Catalonia)

Vietnam
Hungary
Belgium

Malaysia
Estonia

Greece

India

Poland
Italy

Malta

South Africa

Sri Lanka
Pooled sample
Albania
Algeria

Finland
France

Israel

Norway

UK (Wales)
Chile
Croatia

Namibia

Romania
Brazil

Nepal

South Korea

Correlation of Positive Affect and

0,8

0,6

0,4 Negative Affect by country 10 & 12 yo

0,2
Constrained loadings
PA↔NA 10yo
PA↔NA 12yo
0

-0,2

-0,4

-0,6

-0,8
Taiwan
Bangladesh

Germany
England (UK)

Hong-Kong

Indonesia

Malaysia

Russia
Hungary

Spain (Catalonia)

Switzerland

Vietnam
Sri Lanka
Albania

Belgium

Greece

India

Israel
Croatia

Finland

Italy

Malta

Poland
Namibia

South Africa
Pooled sample

Algeria

Brazil
Chile

Estonia

France

Norway

UK (Wales)
South Korea
Romania
Nepal

• In a few countries, the negative correlation between PA and NA is very high (Germany, Chile,
Croatia, Spain, for 12-yo)(highest observed for 10yo in Italy, England, Wales and Switzerland),
but in some other is almost non-existing (Indonesia, Namibia, Nepal, S Africa and Sri Lanka,
for 10yo; Bangladesh, Taiwan. Indonesia, Sri Lanka, for 12yo).
• In general correlation between PA and NA is larger for the 10yo than for the 12yo, but scores
are not very different, although in a few countries the difference is noticeable (Nepal,
Namibia, Spain). Exceptions: Bangladesh (much higher for the 12yo); Russia (higher for the
12yo); Hong Kong and Taiwan (slightly higher).

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Explained variance (using SMC) of each

CW-PNAS item by the latent variable
Constrained loadings
1
10yo 35
0,9 countries
0,8

0,7

0,6
Happy
0,5
Calm
0,4 Full of energy
Sad
0,3
Stressed
0,2 Bored

0,1

0
Bangladesh

Switzerland
England (UK)

Germany

Indonesia

Russia

Spain (Catalonia)

Taiwan
Vietnam
Belgium

Hong-Kong
Hungary

Malaysia
Finland

Greece

India

Italy

Malta

Poland

South Africa
Pooled sample

France

Sri Lanka
Albania

UK (Wales)
Algeria

Estonia

Israel

Norway
Chile
Croatia

Namibia

Romania
Brazil

South Korea
Nepal

0,9

0,8

0,7

0,6
Happy
0,5
Calm
0,4 Full of energy
Sad
0,3
Stressed
0,2 Bored

0,1

0 10yo 35
countries
England (UK)

Russia

Spain (Catalonia)

Taiwan
Vietnam
Bangladesh

Germany

Hong-Kong
Greece

Hungary
India
Indonesia

Malaysia
Italy

Poland

Switzerland
South Africa
Pooled sample

Belgium
Albania
Algeria

Estonia
Finland

Israel

Malta

Sri Lanka
Norway
Namibia
Brazil
Chile
Croatia

France

UK (Wales)
Romania

South Korea
Nepal

• Explained variance for the Happy item is the largest for most countries, and rather near to
that of the CW-SWBS items. Exceptions: Albania, Bangladesh, Malta, Russia.
• Sad displays the second largest explained variance in most countries. Exceptions: Nepal.
• Calm displays the smallest explained variance in most countries. Exceptions: Bangladesh,
Estonia, Germany, Nepal, Russia. It is extremely small for Albania, Malta, Italy.
• Bored displays relatively small explained variance in most countries, but very large and the
largest in Albania - & relatively large for Bangladesh, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Nepal, Sri Lanka.
• Full of energy displays the second smallest explained variance in many countries, and the
smallest in Bangladesh, Germany, Poland, Russia. However, it is rather large in Indonesia
and South Korea.
• Stressed is the item displaying the medium explained variance in most countries, but the
largest in Bangladesh and the second largest in Nepal.

14
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Explained variance (using SMC) of each

CW-PNAS item by the latent variable
Constrained loadings
1
12yo 30
countries
0,9

0,8

0,7

0,6
Happy
0,5 Calm
Full of energy
0,4
Sad
0,3 Stressed
Bored
0,2

0,1

0,9

0,8

0,7

0,6
Happy
0,5 Calm
Full of energy
0,4
Sad
0,3 Stressed
Bored
0,2

0,1
12yo 30
countries
0

• Explained variance for the Happy item is the largest for most countries, and rather near to that of
the CW-SWBS items. Exceptions: Albania, India, Vietnam. Ex-equo with sad in Russia.
• Sad displays the second largest explained variance in most countries. Exceptions: the same.
• Calm displays the smallest explained variance in most countries. Exceptions: Bangladesh, Chile,
Estonia, Germany, Nepal. It is extremely small for Belgium and India.
• Bored displays relatively small explained variance in most countries, and the lowest in Chile; but
relatively large for Albania, and noticeable for Bangladesh, Finland, Nepal, Russia.
• Full of energy displays the second smallest explained variance in many countries and the smallest
in Bangladesh and Germany. However, it is noticeable in Hong-Kong, Indonesia, South Korea,
Brazil, Chile and Taiwan.
• Stressed is the item displaying the medium explained variance in most countries.

15
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Testing the CW-PSWBS. 3rd wave

2 df p- CFI RMSEA SRMR
12yo 30
Model value (confidence
countries
interval)
1 CW-PSWBS Initial 781.30 9 .000 .992 .044 .015
(.041-.046)
2 CW-PSWBS Initial multi- 1858.94 270 .000 .984 .011 .033
group by country. (.011-.012)
Unconstrained
3 CW-PSWBS Initial 3232.15 415 .000 .971 .012 .053
multi-group by country. (.012-.013)
Constrained loadings
4 CW-PSWBS Initial 9411.81 560 .000 .908 .019 .055
multi-group by country. (.018-.019)
Constr load & intercepts

• A multi-group CFA SEM analysing cross-countries comparability shows that

correlations, regressions or mean scores of this psychometric scale are NOT
comparable among all countries.
• Apparently items have different cultural meanings, depending on the country.

Testing the CW-PSWBS. 3rd wave

2 df p- CFI RMSEA SRMR
10yo 4 Model value (confidence
countries 10yo. 4 countries interval)
1 CW-PSWBS Initial 28.69 9 .000 .998 .019 .009
(.012-.027)
2 CW-PSWBS Initial multi- 126.57 36 .000 .990 .021 .018
group by country. (.017-.024)
Unconstrained
3 CW-PSWBS Initial 282.15 51 .000 .975 .028 .061
multi-group by country. (.024-.031)
Constrained loadings
4 CW-PSWBS Initial 560.35 66 .000 .947 .035 .070
multi-group by country. (.033-.038)
Constr load & intercepts

• A multi-group CFA SEM analysing cross-countries comparability shows that

correlations, regressions or mean scores of this psychometric scale are NOT
comparable among all countries.
• Apparently items have different cultural meanings, depending on the country.

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Explained variance (using SMC) of each

CW-PSWBS item by the latent variable
Constrained loadings
1
12yo 30
0,9
countries
0,8

0,7

0,6

I feel positive about future

0,5
I feel I am learning a lot

0,4 I have enough choice how spend time

people generally friendly towards me
0,3 I am good managing daily responsibilities
likewayiam
0,2

0,1

0
Bangladesh

Germany
Hong-Kong

Spain (Catalonia)

Taiwan
Indonesia

Russia
Hungary

South Africa

Vietnam
Sri Lanka
Albania

Belgium

Finland

India

Israel
Italy
Malta

Poland
Pooled sample

Chile
Croatia
Algeria

Brazil

Estonia

Namibia

Norway

UK (Wales)
Romania

South Korea
Nepal

Explained variance (using SMC) of each

1
CW-PSWBS item by the latent variable
Constrained loadings
0,9

0,8

0,7

0,6
I feel positive about future
0,5
I feel I am learning a lot
0,4
I have enough choice how spend time
0,3 people generally friendly towards me
0,2 I am good managing daily responsibilities

0,1 likewayiam

0
Hong-Kong

Russia

Spain (Catalonia)
Bangladesh

Germany

Taiwan
India
Indonesia

Vietnam
Hungary
Belgium

Italy

Poland

South Africa

Sri Lanka
Albania

Estonia
Chile
Croatia

Finland

Israel

Malta

Norway
Namibia

UK (Wales)
Pooled sample

Algeria

Brazil

Romania

South Korea
Nepal

12yo 30
countries

• Explained variance for all items display important differences across countries: is large in some countries (Finland,
Hong Kong, Malta, S Korea) and very small in some other (India, Namibia, Albania), while diverse in other.
• Good managing daily responsibilities displays the largest SMC in 9, but People friendly towards me is the largest in 8
other, Positive about my future is the largest in 6, Enough choice how to spend time is the largest in Wales, I am
learning a lot is the largest in Hong Kong, and I like the way I am is the largest in 5 countries.
• I am learning a lot displays the smallest SMC in 14 countries, People friendly towards me in some other countries
(Algeria, Namibia, Nepal, S Africa, Sri Lanka), Positive about my future in Albania, Taiwan and Vietnam, Enough choice
how to spend time is the smallest in Bangladesh, India, Indonesia, Italy and Spain, and I like the way I am is the largest
in Brazil, Hong Kong, and S Korea.

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Explained variance (using SMC) of each

CW-PSWBS item by the latent variable
Constrained loadings
1
10yo 4
0,9 countries
0,8

0,7

0,6 I feel positive about future

I feel I am learning a lot
0,5 I have enough choice how spend time
people generally friendly towards me
0,4 I am good managing daily responsibilities
likewayiam
0,3

0,2

0,1

0
Pooled sample UK (England) Namibia S Africa Taiwan

1
Explained variance (using SMC) of each
CW-PSWBS item by the latent variable
0,9

0,8
Constrained loadings
0,7

I feel positive about future

0,6
I feel I am learning a lot
0,5 I have enough choice how spend time
people generally friendly towards me
0,4 I am good managing daily responsibilities
likewayiam
0,3

0,2
10yo 4
countries
0,1

0
Pooled sample UK (England) Namibia S Africa Taiwan

• SMC display important differences across countries for each of the items in this scale.
Explained variance for all items is rather large in some countries (England and Taiwan) and
small in some other (Namibia, S Africa).
• Enough choice how to spend time displays the largest explained variance in England and S
Africa; I am learning a lot in Namibia and People friendly towards me in Taiwan.
• Positive about my future displays the smallest explained variance in Taiwan; People friendly
towards me in Namibia; I like the way I am in England; and Good managing daily
responsibilities in S Africa.

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Summary and Conclusions

• From the 4 multi-item SWB scales here analysed, the most
advisable to be used for international comparisons is,
doubtless, the CW-SWBS5 for both 10 and 12yo groups.
• Its item 4 (Things in my Life are Excellent) seems to be very
sensitive to the socio-economic level of the country, but in
general tends to explain less variance than any other.
• Apparently, items of both, the CW-DBSWBS and the CW-
PSWBS may have different cultural meanings, depending on
the country, and the scales do not display metric or scalar
invariance across countries.
• CW-PNAS deserves special attention. Although it does not
display scalar or metric invariance either, correlation
between PA and NA show interesting variation among
countries that should be further explored.

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