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Validation of the 2012 European Social Survey Measurement of Wellbeing in Seventeen European Countries

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Abstract

The measurement of wellbeing provides an important indicator of the welfare of nations and presents opportunities for policy making. Researchers generally share the view of wellbeing as a multidimensional concept. The 2012 European Social Survey (ESS) measurement of personal and social wellbeing, a combination of theoretical models and evidence from statistical analysis, is defined as a six-dimensional construct: evaluative wellbeing, emotional wellbeing, functioning, vitality, community wellbeing and supportive relationships. In this paper, the proposed theoretical structure is investigated and the psychometric properties of the measure are assessed for 17 European countries. This involved splitting each country’s sample randomly into halves and performing Exploratory Factor Analysis (EFA) on the first half-samples. EFA resulted in a four-factor solution for Germany, Netherlands, Portugal, Slovenia, Spain, Switzerland and the UK, a five-factor solution for Belgium, Finland, France, Ireland, Norway, Poland, Russian Federation and Sweden, and a six-factor solution for Denmark and Hungary. These results were supported by Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA) performed on the second half-samples. Subscales were constructed based on analysis of the total samples, applying a simple transformation in order to deal with the different number of response categories used for the wellbeing items. Reliabilities and internal consistencies were investigated. Although the definition of each subscale differs from the proposed structure and across countries, the analysis did produce reliable and valid summary measures (subscales) of wellbeing for informing social policy in each country.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Social Policy, School of Political Sciences, Panteion University of Social and Political Sciences, 136 Syggrou Avenue, 176 71, Athens, Greece

    Anastasia Charalampi & Catherine Michalopoulou

  2. Department of Economic and Regional Development, School of Economic Sciences and Public Administration, Panteion University of Social and Political Sciences, 136 Syggrou Avenue, 176 71, Athens, Greece

    Clive Richardson

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  1. Anastasia Charalampi
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  2. Catherine Michalopoulou
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  3. Clive Richardson
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Correspondence to Anastasia Charalampi.

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Charalampi, A., Michalopoulou, C. & Richardson, C. Validation of the 2012 European Social Survey Measurement of Wellbeing in Seventeen European Countries. Applied Research Quality Life 15, 73–105 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11482-018-9666-4

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