@article{2983355,
    title = "Measurement Invariance of the Satisfaction With Life Scale Across 26 Countries",
    author = "Jang, S. and Kim, E.S. and Cao, C. and Allen, T.D. and Cooper, C.L. and Lapierre, L.M. and O’Driscoll, M.P. and Sanchez, J.I. and Spector, P.E. and Poelmans, S.A.Y. and Abarca, N. and Alexandrova, M. and Antoniou, A.-S. and Beham, B. and Brough, P. and Carikci, I. and Ferreiro, P. and Fraile, G. and Geurts, S. and Kinnunen, U. and Lu, C.-Q. and Lu, L. and Moreno-Velázquez, I.F. and Pagon, M. and Pitariu, H. and Salamatov, V. and Siu, O.-L. and Shima, S. and Schulmeyer, M.K. and Tillemann, K. and Widerszal-Bazyl, M. and Woo, J.-M.",
    journal = "Journal of Cross-Cultural Psychology",
    year = "2017",
    volume = "48",
    number = "4",
    pages = "560-576",
    publisher = "SAGE Publications Inc.",
    issn = "0022-0221, 1552-5422",
    doi = "10.1177/0022022117697844",
    keywords = "Bulgaria;  Chile;  confirmatory factor analysis;  human;  life satisfaction;  physician;  Satisfaction with Life Scale;  scientist;  Spain;  statistics",
    abstract = "The Satisfaction With Life Scale (SWLS) is a commonly used life satisfaction scale. Cross-cultural researchers use SWLS to compare mean scores of life satisfaction across countries. Despite the wide use of SWLS in cross-cultural studies, measurement invariance of SWLS has rarely been investigated, and previous studies showed inconsistent findings. Therefore, we examined the measurement invariance of SWLS with samples collected from 26 countries. To test measurement invariance, we utilized three measurement invariance techniques: (a) multigroup confirmatory factor analysis (MG-CFA), (b) multilevel confirmatory factor analysis (ML-CFA), and (c) alignment optimization methods. The three methods demonstrated that configural and metric invariances of life satisfaction held across 26 countries, whereas scalar invariance did not. With partial invariance testing, we identified that the intercepts of Items 2, 4, and 5 were noninvariant. Based on two invariant intercepts, factor means of countries were compared. Chile showed the highest factor mean; Spain and Bulgaria showed the lowest. The findings enhance our understanding of life satisfaction across countries, and they provide researchers and practitioners with practical guidance on how to conduct measurement invariance testing across countries. © 2017, © The Author(s) 2017."
}