Psychometric properties of the Oxford Happiness Questionnaire-Short Form in Spanish Undergraduates

Abstract

The Oxford Happiness Questionnaire-Short Form (OHQ-SF) is an 8-item scale that assesses happiness, and it has been adapted for use with Spanish individuals. However, no study has examined its structural validity and gender invariance in young adults. To check this, the psychometric properties of the OHQ-SF were analyzed in a sample of 625 Spanish undergraduates (175 men, 28%, and 450 women, 72%), with an age range between 18 and 29 years (M = 20.80, SD = 2.40). Spanish adaptations of the OHQ-SF, Purpose In Life Test-10 Items (PIL-10), Satisfaction With Life Scales (SWLS), and Seeking of Noetic Goals (SONG) were used. The OHQ-SF showed an internal consistency of .66, a composite reliability of .68, an average inter-item correlation of .21, and total-item correlations ranging from .27 to .52 (M = .36). Confirmatory procedures revealed an excellent fit for the OHQ-SF (SBχ2(20) = 22.387, p = .320, CFI = .996, TLI = .995, RMSEA = .014), and configural, metric, scalar, and strict invariance across gender groups. The difference between the women’s mean (36.40, SD = 5.3) and the men’s mean (36.27, SD = 5.09) in the OHQ-SF was not significant (t(623) = -.285, p = .776). Correlations between the OHQ-SF, the PIL-10, the SWLS, and the SONG-8 were strong and significant (ρ = .61, p < .001; ρ = .64, p < .001; and ρ = -.38, p < .001 respectively). These results confirm that the Spanish version of the OHQ-SF, used with Spanish undergraduates in the present study, is a reliable and valid scale.