The Psychometric Properties of the Mental Health Continuum‐Short Form (MHC‐SF) for Ecuadorian Teenagers

ABSTRACT The aim of this study is to find evidence of factorial validity, measure equivalence by gender, and internal consistency of the Mental Health Continuum‐Short Form (MHC‐SF) in a sample of Ecuadorian teenagers. The study uses a psychometric design to explore the validity and reliability of the measure. Participants of the study were 1154 teenagers between 14 and 19 years of age (mean = 15.69 years; sd = 1.06). In total, 67.7% of participants were women and 32.3% were men. Participants came from 21 cities across Ecuador. This study found that the most appropriate fit for the factorial structure of the MHC‐SF is a hierarchical factorial structure with three first‐order factors and one second‐order factor. The questionnaire presented strict measure invariance amongst women and men and showed differences ( p < 0.05) for the latent variables related to the emotional well‐being factor. Additionally, the study found that the MHC‐SF has high internal consistency. The MHC‐SF is a valid measure to evaluate the well‐being of Ecuadorian teenagers.