Validity of the Hungarian version of the Subjective Happiness Scale (SHS-HU)

Abstract

Validated in several languages, the Subjective Happiness Scale (SHS) is a popular and reliable instrument used in the assessment of perceived happiness. The aims of two current studies were to determine the psychometric properties of the Hungarian version in volunteer adults (N = 252) and non-volunteer university students (N = 142). Exploratory factor analysis of the data gathered from volunteers confirmed the unidimensional structure of the Hungarian SHS (SHS-HU). One component explained 53.69% of the variance. The internal reliability in this sample was .80. Confirmatory factor analyses on the non-volunteer university students’ data yielded excellent model fit (SRMR = .0208; NFI = . 990; GFI = .995; RMSEA < .001; CFI = 1.00) and acceptable internal reliability (.75). The one-week test-retest reliability of the SHS-HU was 0.83. In both studies, the SHS-HU revealed positive correlations with life satisfaction and optimism, while it was inversely related to pessimism (p < .001). The more optimistic individuals scored higher on SHS-HU in both studies (p < .001) which confirmed the scale’s divergent validity. Further, when controlling for life satisfaction, optimism and pessimism, there were no gender differences in the SHS-HU scores. These results lend support for the adequate psychometric properties of SHS-HU. Therefore, preliminary evidence suggests that the SHS-HU is appropriate for the assessment of perceived happiness in the Hungarian population.