Developing a Six‐Item Short Form of Ryff's Psychological Well‐Being Measure: Demonstration of Short Form Development Using Exhaustive Search

Using the Midlife in the United States data, this study developed a 6-item short form of Ryff's six-dimensional measure of psychological well-being, with a single item selected to represent each dimension. The study demonstrated the utility of an exhaustive search framework in which all permissible item combinations were systematically evaluated to identify an optimal ultra-short version. Model performance was assessed using global goodness of fit indices (e.g., RMSEA, CFI, SRMR), standardized factor loadings, and coefficient omega to ensure adequate construct representation, unidimensionality, and internal consistency. The resulting short form showed excellent model fit, strong internal consistency, and satisfactory representation of the targeted construct across the development sample and an independent replication sample. Measurement invariance analyses supported full invariance across gender and race, and partial invariance across age and education. Taken together, the findings indicate that the proposed ultra-short scale provides a valid and reliable index of global psychological well-being and is suitable for settings in which domain-level scores are not required and in which time or resource constraints preclude administration of longer measures.