Subjective well-being in French and American samples: scale development and comparative data

Area of Science:

• Psychology
• Cross-cultural research

Background:

• Subjective well-being is crucial for mental health.
• Existing scales may not be suitable for cross-national comparisons.
• A validated scale is needed for international mental health studies.

Purpose of the Study:

• To introduce and validate the English version of a French subjective well-being scale.
• To assess the reliability, validity, and cross-cultural equivalence of the scale.
• To compare subjective well-being scores between American and French populations.

Main Methods:

• Translation and adaptation of the French scale into English.
• Internal consistency analysis (Cronbach's alpha).
• Comparative study of subjective well-being scores in American and French adult samples.

Main Results:

• The English scale demonstrated high internal consistency (>0.80), similar to the French version.
• American participants reported significantly higher subjective well-being than French participants.
• Young French women reported lower subjective well-being compared to other groups.

Conclusions:

• The English version of the subjective well-being scale is reliable, valid, and equivalent to the French version.
• Cultural and socio-economic factors may influence subjective well-being scores across nations.
• The scale is suitable for both within- and cross-national mental health research.