Psychometric Properties and the Network Analysis of the Turkish Version of the Multidimensional Flourishing Scale: Associations with Psychological Distress

In recent years, the role of flourishing in mental health has gained growing recognition, making the establishment of psychometrically and culturally validated instruments crucial for advancing theory and practice. The aim of this study is twofold: first, to adapt the Multidimensional Flourishing Scale for use in Turkey and investigate its psychometric properties; second, to explore the interrelationships between indicators of flourishing and psychological distress symptoms using network analysis. A total of 529 undergraduate students, comprising 316 females (59.7%) and 213 males (40.3%), with a mean age of 21.65 years (SD = 1.67), participated in the study. The Multidimensional Flourishing Scale, the Flourishing Scale, and the Kessler Distress Scale (K10) were utilized for data collection. Confirmatory factor analysis, Pearson correlation analysis, and the EBICglasso algorithm for network analyses were performed. The findings revealed that the Turkish version of the Multidimensional Flourishing Scale demonstrated a three-dimensional structure consistent with its original version, with satisfactory psychometric properties, including structural and convergent validity as well as reliability. Domain-level network analysis demonstrated that psychological well-being emerged as the most central node within the network, closely followed by psychological distress. Additionally, psychological distress was negatively associated with all domains of flourishing. At the item level, two symptoms of psychological distress, feeling depressed and feeling restless or fidgety, as well as three indicators of flourishing, feeling positive, feeling happy, and perceiving life as full of meaning, emerged as the most central nodes. These findings provide valuable insights into the central features of flourishing and psychological distress, which could potentially guide clinical practice. Further discussion and implications are elaborated upon in the study.