Satisfaction with life scale in adolescents: evaluation of factor structure and gender invariance in a Norwegian sample

Abstract

In spite of the significance of life satisfaction (LS) for adolescent health and well-being, the past decades have yielded limited progress in investigating the psychometric properties of a well-used inventory measuring LS, The satisfaction with Life Scale (SWLS) in adolescents. The present study aimed at investigating the factor structure, gender invariance, and convergent validity of the Norwegian version of the five-item SWLS in adolescents 13–18 years. The study was based on a cross-sectional sample of 1,073 adolescents from rural areas in Mid-Norway, and the data were analysed using confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) and multi-group analyses in AMOS. Results from the CFA supported a single-factor structure with correlated residual variances between items 4 and 5. The results from the multi-group analyses indicated configural and metric invariance of SWLS between genders, as indicated by invariant factor structure and factor loadings. The SWLS also showed high reliability and correlated in expected directions with measures of emotional symptoms and self-esteem, supporting the convergent validity of the instrument. The psychometric properties of the SWLS need to be further evaluated in adolescents; however the present results indicate that the SWLS is a questionnaire appropriate for assessing LS in a population of Norwegian adolescents.