Psychometric properties of the flourishing scale in a sample of Spanish emerging adults

Abstract

Flourishing is a recent conceptualization standing for people’s general well-being. It refers to the perception experienced by anyone whose life is going on well. It is a combination of feeling well and working with efficiency (Huppert & So, 2013; Huppert, 2009a; Huppert, 2009b; Keyes, 2002; Ryff & Singer, 1998). An individual who “flourishes” notices his or her life is going on well, learns things with efficiency and works productively. There is a higher possibility he or she would contribute to his or her community. He or she is healthier, has a longer life expectancy, as well as better social relationships (Diener, 2009; Huppert, 2010). Flourishing is synonymous of having a high level of mental well-being; moreover, it accounts for mental health and positive development. The flourishing scale (FS) (Diener et al., 2010), binds the essential components of recent welfare theories together. It is an adequate measure of general well-being. In fact, its major advantages compared with previously existing measures are its briefness and reasonable comprehension, which makes the scale easier to use solitarily or together with other tools. The FS, which is composed by eight items, has good psychometric properties. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the psychometric properties of the Spanish version of the FS. Spanish university students whose socio-cultural backgrounds differ are the subjects of the research. They come from Euskadi and Andalusia, two regions within Spain. Method The sample was composed by 1502 university students. This number was achieved through collecting two samples, one from the University of Basque Country (65.2% females, average age = 19.95, SD age = 1.97, age range 18-29, N = 747) and the other, from the University of Seville (55.1% females; average age = 20.69, SD age = 2.21, age range 18-29, N = 755). The participants agreed to voluntarily participate in the test session and fulfill the following questionnaires: Socio-demographic Questionnaire; Flourishing Scale (Diener et al., 2010), the Spanish version of the Ryff’s Scale of Psychological Well-Being, SPWB (Díaz et al., 2006) and the Spanish version of the Depression Anxiety Stress Scales: DASS-21 (Bados, Solanas & Andrés, 2005 ). Results The reliability analysis and Multigroup Confirmatory Factorial Analysis (MCFA) revealed that the Flourishing Scale shows strong internal consistency. The one-factor structure was invariant across the two samples, according to the results from the original version of the Flourishing Scale (Diener et al. 2010) and other later validations. Results also demonstrated convergent and discriminant validity with PWBS and DASS scales. Discussion According to the results of the study, FS could be appropriate for its use in assessing general wellbeing among emerging adults in Spain. It may be recognised as an alternative instrument in the evaluation of the positive mental health, as well as a complementary tool to estimate young adults’s general health. FS may as well be recognised as a potential tool for prevention and community involvement in the future.