The Satisfaction with Life Scale: Psychometric Properties, Measurement Invariance, and Latent Mean Differences in a Sample of Special Education Teachers

A popular and globally recognized measure for assessing the cognitive components of subjective well-being is the Satisfaction with Life Scale (SWLS). The purpose of this study is to adapt and validate the SWLS for special education teachers using convenience sampling. An online survey was completed by a total of 232 special education teachers. The McDonald omega and Cronbach’s alpha were used to evaluate internal consistency, while confirmatory factor analyses (CFAs) and multigroup analyses were used to assess the measurement invariance of the SWLS model. Correlations between the SWLS and other scales were determined using Pearson’s correlation analysis. A single-factor model of the SWLS was used to obtain good-fit indices for special education teachers. Evaluation of the internal consistency of the SWLS yielded a McDonald omega coefficient of .78 and a Cronbach’s alpha of .79. The Flourishing Scale (FS), Happiness Measures (HM), and Life Satisfaction (LS) were found to correlate with the SWLS, with Pearson correlational coefficient values ranging from .45 to .56, indicating convergent validity. To assess the discriminant validity of the SWLS, the correlation between the SWLS and the Center for Epidemiological Studies-Depression (CES-D) scale was determined. The results of a measurement invariance assessment using a multigroup CFA indicate that all levels of measurement invariance were achieved for gender and marital status. An assessment of the latent mean differences in SWLS scores across gender and marital status shows that male participants had significantly higher scores than females.