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Development and Validation of the Brief Adolescents’ Subjective Well-Being in School Scale (BASWBSS)

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Abstract

Adolescents report differing subjective experiences across various life domains necessitating the development of domain-specific measures of subjective well-being. This study aimed to develop a brief, specialized, comprehensive measure of adolescents’ subjective well-being (SWB) in school and assess its psychometric properties in Chinese adolescents. Toward this aim, we first developed eight items for the Brief Adolescents’ Subjective Well-Being in School Scale (BASWBSS) based on the theoretical frame of SWB in school proposed by Tian in the measurement model for her Adolescents’ Subjective Well-Being in School Scale (ASWBSS; Tian in Psychol Dev Edu 24(3):100–106, 2008). Second, we conducted exploratory factor analysis and confirmatory factor analysis to investigate the structure of the BASWBSS. Third, we tested its measurement invariance across gender using multigroup analyses. Last, we examined its internal consistency reliability, convergent and discriminant validity, test–retest reliability, and predictive validity. The results revealed that the BASWBSS has promising psychometric properties. Overall, the findings offered preliminary support for the BASWBSS as a useful alternative to the longer ASWBSS, especially for studies with adolescents when brevity is an important consideration.

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Acknowledgments

This research was supported by the Project of Key Research Base for Humanities and Social Sciences Research of Ordinary Higher Institutions in Guangdong Province (No. 11JDXM19001) and “12th Five-Year” Plan of Philosophy and Social Science Development in Guangzhou City (No. 11Y24). This study was also supported by Key Laboratory of Mental Health and Cognitive Science of Guangdong Province, South China Normal University, and Research Center for Crisis Intervention and Psychological Service of Guangdong Province, South China Normal University. We gratefully acknowledge the reviewers for their very helpful comments and suggestions. We also gratefully acknowledge the assistance of schools, teaching staff and students who participated in this study.

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  1. School of Psychology, South China Normal University, 55 Zhongshan Avenue West, Guangzhou, 510631, Guangdong, People’s Republic of China

    Lili Tian & Dushen Wang

  2. Department of Psychology, University of South Carolina, Columbia, SC, 29208, USA

    E. Scott Huebner

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  1. Lili Tian
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  2. Dushen Wang
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Tian, L., Wang, D. & Huebner, E.S. Development and Validation of the Brief Adolescents’ Subjective Well-Being in School Scale (BASWBSS). Soc Indic Res 120, 615–634 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11205-014-0603-0

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