Satisfaction with life among public and private university students in Sabah, Malaysia: A modification scale using factor analysis

Mohd. Dahlan Abdul Malek; Adeymend Reny Japil; Mahirah Masdin; Muhammad Idris Bullare Bahari; Adi Fahrudin; Alfred Chan Huan Zhi; Lailawati Madlan Endalan; Nur Farhana Ardillah Aftar; Ida Shafinaz Mohamed Kamil; Husmiati Yusuf

doi:10.31893/multirev.2023033

Keywords:

measurement

scale development

satisfaction with life

University students

Abstract

This research intended to develop a valid and reliable instrument of the Satisfaction with Life Scale (SWLS) to measure satisfaction with life (SWL) constructs among public and private university students in Sabah, Malaysia, through the exploratory factor analysis (EFA) procedure. The pilot study obtained a sample of 108 students from public and private education institutions in Sabah, Malaysia, through an online survey using a self-administered questionnaire. The researchers performed the EFA procedure on SWL construct using IBM SPSS 25. The Bartletts' Test of Sphericity is highly significant (Sig. = .000). Furthermore, the sampling adequacy by Kaiser‒Meyer‒Olkin (KMO = 0.839) is excellent. Using the extraction method of Principal Component Analysis (PCA) with Varimax Rotation, a component of the SWL construct is extracted with an eigenvalue of 3.101. The variance explained for this component is 62.030%. The construct of SWL has Cronbach's alpha value of .817. The development scale and validation confirmed that the instrument is consistent and stable with both private and public college and university student samples. It adds a remarkable contribution to the measurement of SWLS, mainly in the context of higher education institution students. The EFA outcomes formed a configuration that extracts a component of SWL, which can be measured by the original five items established in this research. This research reveals that the SWL construct is applicable in this study.
References
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7. Darling, C. A., McWey, L. M., Howard, S. N., & Olmstead, S. B. (2007). College student stress: The influence of interpersonal relationships on the sense of coherence. Stress and Health. Journal of the International Society for the Investigation of Stress, 23(4), 215– 229.
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14. Dirzyte, A., Perminas, A., & Biliuniene, E. (2021). Psychometric Properties of Satisfaction with Life Scale (SWLS) and Psychological Capital Questionnaire (PCQ-24) in the Lithuanian Population. Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health, 18(2608), 1-26.
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21. Holm-Hadulla, Rainer & Koutsoukou-Argyraki, Asimina. (2015). The mental health of Students in a globalized world: Prevalence of Complaints and Disorders, methods and effectivity of counselling, the structure of mental health Services for Students. Mental Health & Prevention, 3(1).
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23. López-Ortega, M., Torres-Castro, S., & Rosas-Carrasco, O. (2016). Psychometric properties of the Satisfaction with Life Scale (SWLS): Secondary analysis of the Mexican Health and Aging Study. Health and Quality of Life Outcomes, 14(170).
24. Maroufizadeh, S., Ghaheri, A., Omani-Samani, R., & Ezabadi, Z.. (2016). Psychometric properties of the satisfaction with life scale (SWLS) in Iranian infertile women. International journal of reproductive biomedicine (Yazd, Iran), 14, 57-62.
25. Neubauer, B. E., Witkop, C. T., & Varpio, L. (2019). How phenomenology can help us learn from the experiences of others. Perspectives on medical education, 8(2), 90-97.
26. Paschali, A., & Tsitsas, G. (2010). Stress and Life Satisfaction among University Students—A Pilot Study. Annals of General Psychiatry, 9, S96.
27. Rosa, F. H. D. (2006). Life satisfaction, parenting style, and personality in military and undergraduate students. (Doctoral dissertation).
28. Sancho, P., Galiana, L., Gutierrez, M., Francisco, E. H., & Tomás, J. M. (2014). Validating the Portuguese version of the satisfaction with life scale in an elderly sample. Social Indicators Research, 115(1), 457-466.
29. Schimmack, U., Radhakrishnan, P., Oishi, S., Dzokoto, V., & Ahadi, S. (2002). Culture, personality, and subjective wellbeing: integrating process models of life satisfaction. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 82(4), 582.
30. Yun, Y. H., Rhee, Y. E., Kang E., & Sim, J. A. (2019). The satisfaction with Life Scale and the Subjective Wellbeing Inventory in the General Korean Population: Psychometric Properties and Normative Data. International Journal of Environment Research and Public Health, 16(1538), 1-10.
31. Zanon, C., Bardagi, M. P., Layous, K., & Hutz, C. S. (2014). Validation of the satisfaction with life scale to Brazilians: Evidence of measurement noninvariance across Brazil and US. Social Indicators Research, 119(1), 443-45.

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How to cite

Abdul Malek, M. D., Reny Japil, A., Masdin , M., Bullare Bahari, M. I., Fahrudin, A., Huan Zhi, A. C., Madlan Endalan, L., Ardillah Aftar, N. F., Mohamed Kamil, I. S., & Yusuf, H. (2023). Satisfaction with life among public and private university students in Sabah, Malaysia: A modification scale using factor analysis. Multidisciplinary Reviews, 6(4), 2023033. https://doi.org/10.31893/multirev.2023033

[1] Albuquerque, F. J. B., de Sousa, F. M., & Martins, C. R. (2010). Validation of satisfaction with life scales and aﬀects for rural elderly. Psycho, 41(1), 85-92.

[2] Alghamdi, A. A. (2021). Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the social and educational aspects of Saudi university students' lives. PLoS ONE, 16(4).

[3] Baistaman, J., Awang, Z., Afthanorhan, A., & Rahim, M. (2020). Developing and validating the measurement model for financial literacy construct using confirmatory factor analysis. Humanities & Social Sciences Reviews, 8, 413-422.

[4] Browning, M. H. E. M., Larson, L. R., Sharaievska, I., Rigolon, A., McAnirlin, O., Mullenbach, L., et al. (2021). Psychological impacts from COVID- 19 among university students: Risk factors across seven states in the United States. PLoS ONE 16(1).

[5] Chow, H. P. H. (2005). Life Satisfaction among University Students in a Canadian Prairie City: A Multivariate Analysis. Social Indicators Research, 70, 139-150.

[6] Clench-Aas, J., Nes, R. B., Dalgard, O. S., & Aarø, L. E. (2011). Dimensionality and measurement invariance in the Satisfaction with Life Scale in Norway. Quality of Life Research, 20(8), 1307-1317.

[7] Darling, C. A., McWey, L. M., Howard, S. N., & Olmstead, S. B. (2007). College student stress: The influence of interpersonal relationships on the sense of coherence. Stress and Health. Journal of the International Society for the Investigation of Stress, 23(4), 215– 229.

[8] De Neve, J-E., Diener, E., Tay, L., & Xuereb, C. (2013), The Objective Benefits of Subjective Well-Being. In Helliwell, J., Layard, R., & Sachs, J., eds. World Happiness Report 2013. New York: UN Sustainable Development Solutions Network.

[9] de Sousa, E. M. P., Santos, W. S., Lopes, G. S., da Costa T. M., & Cristino, E. D. (2015). Satisfaction with Life Scale: Evidence of validity and reliability in the Brazilian context. Social Inquiry into Well-Being, 1(2), 41-50.

[10] Delgado-Lobete, L., Montes-Montes, R., Vila-Paz, A., Talavera-Valverde, M-Á., Cruz-Valiño, J-M., Gándara-Gafo, B., Ávila-Álvarez, A., & Santos-del-Riego, S. (2020). Subjective Well-Being in Higher Education: Psychometric Properties of the Satisfaction with Life and Subjective Vitality Scales in Spanish University Students. Sustainability, 12(6).

[11] Diener, E. (2000). Subjective wellbeing. The science of happiness and a proposal for a national index. The American psychologist, 55(1), 34-43.

[12] Diener, E., Emmons, R. A., Larsen, R. J., & Griffin, S. (1985). The Satisfaction with Life Scale. Journal of Personality Assessment, 49(1), 71–75.

[13] Diener, E., & Suh, E. M. (1999). National diﬀerences in subjective wellbeing. In D. Kahneman, E. Diener, & N. Schwarz (Eds.), Well-being: The foundations of hedonic psychology (pp. 434–452), New York: Russell Sage Foundation.

[14] Dirzyte, A., Perminas, A., & Biliuniene, E. (2021). Psychometric Properties of Satisfaction with Life Scale (SWLS) and Psychological Capital Questionnaire (PCQ-24) in the Lithuanian Population. Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health, 18(2608), 1-26.

[15] Ehido, A., Awang, Z., Abdul Halim, B., & Ibeabuchi, C. (2020). Establishing Valid and Reliable Measures for Organizational Commitment and Job Performance: An Exploratory Factor Analysis. International Journal of Social Sciences Perspectives, 7, 58-70.

[16] Extremera, N., Durán, A., & Rey, L. (2009). The moderating effect of trait meta-mood and perceived stress on life satisfaction. Personality and Individual Differences, 47(2), 116–121.

[17] Field, A.P. (2005). Discovering Statistics Using SPSS (2nd Ed.). London: Sage Publications.

[18] Gleasner, H., Grande, G., Braehler, E., & Roth, M. (2011). The German version of the satisfaction with life scale (SWLS). European Journal of Psychological Assessment, 27(2), 127-132.

[19] Gouveia, V. V., Chaves, S. D. S., Oliveira, I. D., Dias, M. R., Gouveia, R. S., & Andrade, P. D. (2003). The use of the GHQ-12 in a general population: A study of its construct validity]. Psicologia. Teoria e Pesquisa, 19(3), 241-248.

[20] Gouveia, V. V., Milfont, T. L., da Fonseca, P. N., & Coelho, J. A. P. M. (2009). Life satisfaction in Brazil: Testing the psychometric properties of the satisfaction with life scale (SWLS) in five Brazilian samples. Social Indicators Research, 90(2), 267-277.

[21] Holm-Hadulla, Rainer & Koutsoukou-Argyraki, Asimina. (2015). The mental health of Students in a globalized world: Prevalence of Complaints and Disorders, methods and effectivity of counselling, the structure of mental health Services for Students. Mental Health & Prevention, 3(1).

[22] Kim, J. U., Majid, A., Judge, R., Crook, P., Nathwani, R., Selvapatt, N., Lovendoski, J., Manousou, P., Thursz, M., Dhar, A., & Lewis, H. (2020). Effect of COVID-19 lockdown on alcohol consumption in patients with preexisting alcohol use disorder. The Lancet Gastroenterology & Hepatology, 5(10), 886–887.

[23] López-Ortega, M., Torres-Castro, S., & Rosas-Carrasco, O. (2016). Psychometric properties of the Satisfaction with Life Scale (SWLS): Secondary analysis of the Mexican Health and Aging Study. Health and Quality of Life Outcomes, 14(170).

[24] Maroufizadeh, S., Ghaheri, A., Omani-Samani, R., & Ezabadi, Z.. (2016). Psychometric properties of the satisfaction with life scale (SWLS) in Iranian infertile women. International journal of reproductive biomedicine (Yazd, Iran), 14, 57-62.

[25] Neubauer, B. E., Witkop, C. T., & Varpio, L. (2019). How phenomenology can help us learn from the experiences of others. Perspectives on medical education, 8(2), 90-97.

[26] Paschali, A., & Tsitsas, G. (2010). Stress and Life Satisfaction among University Students—A Pilot Study. Annals of General Psychiatry, 9, S96.

[27] Rosa, F. H. D. (2006). Life satisfaction, parenting style, and personality in military and undergraduate students. (Doctoral dissertation).

[28] Sancho, P., Galiana, L., Gutierrez, M., Francisco, E. H., & Tomás, J. M. (2014). Validating the Portuguese version of the satisfaction with life scale in an elderly sample. Social Indicators Research, 115(1), 457-466.

[29] Schimmack, U., Radhakrishnan, P., Oishi, S., Dzokoto, V., & Ahadi, S. (2002). Culture, personality, and subjective wellbeing: integrating process models of life satisfaction. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 82(4), 582.

[30] Yun, Y. H., Rhee, Y. E., Kang E., & Sim, J. A. (2019). The satisfaction with Life Scale and the Subjective Wellbeing Inventory in the General Korean Population: Psychometric Properties and Normative Data. International Journal of Environment Research and Public Health, 16(1538), 1-10.

[31] Zanon, C., Bardagi, M. P., Layous, K., & Hutz, C. S. (2014). Validation of the satisfaction with life scale to Brazilians: Evidence of measurement noninvariance across Brazil and US. Social Indicators Research, 119(1), 443-45.

Abstract

References

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