A multidimensional measure of adolescent psychological well-being: Psychometric properties of the Hungarian version of the EPOCH scale (EPOCH-H)

Abstract

Background: Psychological well-being is one of the most important research fields in positive psychology. In the last decade, measures of well-being are developed following the development of theoretical models in the field. However, it is developmentally inappropriate to expect the dimensions of well-being to be fully fledged in adolescence. The EPOCH measure by Kern, Benson, Steinberg, and Steinberg (2016) is a good response for this challenge. Aim: The aim of this research was the Hungarian adaptation of EPOCH. Structural reliability, concurrent, discriminant, and incremental validity of the Hungarian translation were tested. Method: Seven hundred and fiftyeight secondary school students between the ages of 14 to 19 participated in the study. After receiving informed consent from their parents, the adolescents completed the Hungarian translation of EPOCH and measures of general well-being, satisfaction with life, need satisfaction, and general attachment. Results: Confirmatory factor analysis indicated a good fit between the original five-dimensional model and our data. Correlations with other measures were of medium strength in average, which indicated an adequate concurrent and discriminative validity of EPOCH-H. Dimensions of EPOCH-H were significantly correlated with general attachment and need satisfaction even after controlling for the effects of traditional indices of well-being. Conclusions: EPOCH-H is an age-appropriate and theoretically sound measure of well-being that can be used by any researcher who wants to measure multiple dimensions of well-being in adolescents via self-report.