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Positive factors are increasingly recognized in the field of psychology, however, few studies have investigated the longitudinal measurement invariance (LMI) and reciprocal associations of positive core constructs, such as happiness, life satisfaction and positive mental health. This study evaluated the LMI of these constructs over four years in a Chinese Student Sample (n = 4400) using the Subjective Happiness Scale (SHS), the Satisfaction with Life Scale (SWLS) and the Positive Mental Health Scale (PMH-scale). The longitudinal reciprocal associations of the constructs were examined within a random intercept cross-lagged panel model (RI-CLPM). The results show that the SHS, SWLS and PMH-scale are measurement invariant over time and that the constructs are positively inter-related, but show different reciprocal patterns over time.
The Brief Symptom Inventory (BSI)-18 is a widely-used tool to assess changes in general distress in patients despite an ongoing debate about its factorial structure and lack of evidence for longitudinal measurement invariance (LMI). We investigated BSI-18 scores from 1,081 patients from an outpatient clinic collected after the 2nd, 6th, 10th, 18th, and 26th therapy session. Confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) was used to compare models comprising one, three, and four latent dimensions that were proposed in the literature. LMI was investigated using a series of model comparisons, based on chi-square tests, effect sizes, and changes in comparative fit index (CFI). Psychological distress diminished over the course of therapy. A four-factor structure (depression, somatic symptoms, generalized anxiety, and panic) showed the best fit to the data at all measurement occasions. The series of model comparisons showed that constraining parameters to be equal across time resulted in very small decreases in model fit that did not exceed the cutoff for the assumption of measurement in variance. Our results show that the BSI-18 is best conceptualized as a four-dimensional tool that exhibits strict longitudinal measurement invariance. Clinicians and applied researchers do not have to be concerned about the interpretation of mean differences over time.
Research into positive aspects of the psyche is growing as psychologists learn more about the protective role of positive processes in the development and course of mental disorders, and about their substantial role in promoting mental health. With increasing globalization, there is strong interest in studies examining positive constructs across cultures. To obtain valid cross-cultural comparisons, measurement invariance for the scales assessing positive constructs has to be established. The current study aims to assess the cross-cultural measurement invariance of questionnaires for 6 positive constructs: Social Support (Fydrich, Sommer, Tydecks, & Brähler, 2009), Happiness (Subjective Happiness Scale; Lyubomirsky & Lepper, 1999), Life Satisfaction (Diener, Emmons, Larsen, & Griffin, 1985), Positive Mental Health Scale (Lukat, Margraf, Lutz, van der Veld, & Becker, 2016), Optimism (revised Life Orientation Test [LOT-R]; Scheier, Carver, & Bridges, 1994) and Resilience (Schumacher, Leppert, Gunzelmann, Strauss, & Brähler, 2004). Participants included German (n = 4,453), Russian (n = 3,806), and Chinese (n = 12,524) university students. Confirmatory factor analyses and measurement invariance testing demonstrated at least partial strong measurement invariance for all scales except the LOT-R and Subjective Happiness Scale. The latent mean comparisons of the constructs indicated differences between national groups. Potential methodological and cultural explanations for the intergroup differences are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2019 APA, all rights reserved)