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. 2022 Jun 28:13:884520.
doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2022.884520. eCollection 2022.

Single-Item Happiness Measure Features Adequate Validity Among Adolescents

Justė Lukoševičiūtė  1   2 , Geneviève Gariepy  3 , Judith Mabelis  4 , Tania Gaspar  5 , Roza Joffė-Luinienė  1 , Kastytis Šmigelskas  1   2
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Single-Item Happiness Measure Features Adequate Validity Among Adolescents

Justė Lukoševičiūtė et al. Front Psychol. .

Abstract

Background: Happiness is becoming increasingly relevant in recent research, including adolescents. Many studies are using the single-item measure for adolescent happiness, however, its validity is not well known. We aimed to examine the validity of this measure among adolescents in three countries from distinct European regions - Eastern (Lithuania), Southern (Portugal), and Western (Scotland).

Materials and methods: The analysis included data from Health Behaviour in School-aged Children (HBSC) study from three countries and three last surveys (2009/10, 2013/14, and 2017/18). The total sample comprised 47,439 schoolchildren. For validity, the indicators reflecting subjective health, life satisfaction, quality of life, well-being, social support, health complaints, bullying, and self-directed violence were assessed. The calculations were conducted in the total sample and by gender, age, survey year, and country.

Results: The different indicators of concurrent and convergent validity revealed consistent correlations with happiness, with better well-being, health, and subjective perceptions being related to higher happiness. Meanwhile, health complaints, bullying behaviors, and self-directed violence were related to lower happiness. The subgroup differences were consistent across gender, age groups, countries, and survey rounds. The extent of differences was more expressed among girls.

Conclusion: The single item for adolescent happiness measurement features a consistent pattern of validity concerning indicators of concurrent and convergent validity. Higher self-reported happiness is associated with better mental and physical health and well-being, and less expressed negative factors (complaints, bullying, and self-directed violence). In addition, among girls the correlations tend to be stronger than boys.

Keywords: bullying; happiness; health complaints; social support; validity; violence; well-being.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest.

Figures

FIGURE 1
FIGURE 1
Prevalence of happy adolescents by gender, age group, country, and survey round.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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