Subjective Happiness Scale: Measurement properties of the online and paper-pen administrations in Nepali adults with musculoskeletal pain

Ritu Basnet¹, Anupa Pathak², Mark P Jensen³, Narendra Singh Thagunna⁴, James H McAuley⁵, Saurab Sharma⁶

Affiliations

¹ Department of Psychology, K and K International College, Tribhuvan University, Nepal; Department of Physiotherapy, Scheer Memorial Adventist Hospital, Banepa, Nepal; Department of Psychiatry and Mental Health, Institute of Medicine, Tribhuvan University Teaching Hospital, Kathmandu, Nepal.
² School of Public Health, Faculty of Medicine and Health, University of Sydney, Camperdown, Sydney, NSW, Australia.
³ Department of Rehabilitation Medicine, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA.
⁴ Department of Psychology, K and K International College, Tribhuvan University, Nepal; Department of Psychology, Padma Kanya Multiple Campus, Tribhuvan University, Nepal.
⁵ School of Health Sciences, Faculty of Medicine and Health, University of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia; Centre for Pain IMPACT, Neuroscience Research Australia, Sydney, Australia.
⁶ Pain Management and Research Centre, Royal North Shore Hospital, Northern Sydney Local Health District, Sydney, NSW, Australia; Pain Management Research Institute, Kolling Institute, Faculty of Medicine and Health, The University of Sydney and Northern Sydney Local Health District, Sydney, NSW, Australia; School of Health Sciences, Faculty of Medicine and Health, University of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia; Centre for Pain IMPACT, Neuroscience Research Australia, Sydney, Australia. Electronic address: saurab.sharma@health.nsw.gov.au.

PMID: 40782529
PMCID: PMC12355072
DOI: 10.1016/j.bjpt.2025.101245

Subjective Happiness Scale: Measurement properties of the online and paper-pen administrations in Nepali adults with musculoskeletal pain

Ritu Basnet et al. Braz J Phys Ther. 2025 Sep-Oct.

. 2025 Sep-Oct;29(5):101245.

doi: 10.1016/j.bjpt.2025.101245. Epub 2025 Aug 8.

Authors

Ritu Basnet¹, Anupa Pathak², Mark P Jensen³, Narendra Singh Thagunna⁴, James H McAuley⁵, Saurab Sharma⁶

Affiliations

¹ Department of Psychology, K and K International College, Tribhuvan University, Nepal; Department of Physiotherapy, Scheer Memorial Adventist Hospital, Banepa, Nepal; Department of Psychiatry and Mental Health, Institute of Medicine, Tribhuvan University Teaching Hospital, Kathmandu, Nepal.
² School of Public Health, Faculty of Medicine and Health, University of Sydney, Camperdown, Sydney, NSW, Australia.
³ Department of Rehabilitation Medicine, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA.
⁴ Department of Psychology, K and K International College, Tribhuvan University, Nepal; Department of Psychology, Padma Kanya Multiple Campus, Tribhuvan University, Nepal.
⁵ School of Health Sciences, Faculty of Medicine and Health, University of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia; Centre for Pain IMPACT, Neuroscience Research Australia, Sydney, Australia.
⁶ Pain Management and Research Centre, Royal North Shore Hospital, Northern Sydney Local Health District, Sydney, NSW, Australia; Pain Management Research Institute, Kolling Institute, Faculty of Medicine and Health, The University of Sydney and Northern Sydney Local Health District, Sydney, NSW, Australia; School of Health Sciences, Faculty of Medicine and Health, University of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia; Centre for Pain IMPACT, Neuroscience Research Australia, Sydney, Australia. Electronic address: saurab.sharma@health.nsw.gov.au.

PMID: 40782529
PMCID: PMC12355072
DOI: 10.1016/j.bjpt.2025.101245

Abstract

Background: Happiness is a positive psychological construct often described as subjective well-being. It is associated with a meaningful life, and better social support and coping with stress or trauma. Happiness may have a role in buffering the negative effects of musculoskeletal pain on quality of life. Validating measures that assess subjective happiness in individuals with musculoskeletal pain can help advance research and patient care in this emerging field.

Objective: We sought to: (1) evaluate the measurement properties of the Subjective Happiness Scale (SHS) in a sample of Nepali adults with musculoskeletal pain; and (2) compare its measurement properties when administered using hard-copy and online methods.

Methods: The Consensus-based Standards for the selection of health status Measurement Instruments (COSMIN) guidelines informed the conduct and reporting. A total of 180 (120 hard-copy and 60 online administrations) individuals with musculoskeletal pain were recruited in Nepal. Content validity, structural validity (exploratory factor analysis), internal consistency (Cronbach's alpha), construct validity (hypothesis testing), and test-retest reliability (Intraclass Correlation Coefficient, ICC_2,1), measurement error were assessed.

Results: Single factor structure of the SHS was supported. The SHS showed good internal consistency for the combined, hard-copy, and online samples (Cronbach's alphas 0.857, 0.848, and 0.847, respectively). It evidenced moderate to good test-retest reliability [ICCs = 0.86 (95 % CI: 0.80, 0.93), 0.89 (95 % CI: 0.82, 0.93), and 0.66 (95 % CI: 0.32, 0.87), respectively]. The findings also supported the construct validity for both administration types.

Conclusions: This study supports the validity of the SHS for assessing subjective happiness in adults with musculoskeletal pain, with moderate to good reliability.

Keywords: Developing countries; Happiness, musculoskeletal pain, low back pain; Reliability, Validity.

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Conflict of interest statement

Declaration of competing interest The authors declare no competing interest.

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References

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Subjective Happiness Scale: Measurement properties of the online and paper-pen administrations in Nepali adults with musculoskeletal pain

Affiliations

Subjective Happiness Scale: Measurement properties of the online and paper-pen administrations in Nepali adults with musculoskeletal pain

Authors

Affiliations

Abstract

Conflict of interest statement

Figures

References

MeSH terms

LinkOut - more resources

Full Text Sources