Adaptation of the Korean Version of the Personal Financial Wellness Scale

Abstract

Background: In South Korea, there are many situations that can threaten financial well-being, a factor that has been known to affect both mental and physical health. However, there has so far not been an instrument to measure an individual’s subjective financial well-being. Objective: This study aims to adapt the Korean version of the Personal Financial Wellness (PFW) scale. Methods: The Korean version of the PFW scale was evaluated with 2,044 adults who participated in an online survey in South Korea. Confirmatory factor analysis was conducted to examine the factor structure of the PFW scale. Its validity was assessed by examining factor loadings, average variances extracted (AVE), and conceptual reliability (CR). In addition, the relationships between the PFW scale and the scales measuring theoretically relevant constructs were analyzed. Reliability was examined using Cronbach’s alpha coefficient, the corrected item-to-total correlation, the inter-item correlation, and McDonald's omega. Results: The evaluation of the psychometric properties of the Korean version of the PFW scale indicates that it exhibits a single-factor structure, consistent with the English version. Factor loadings, AVE, and CR all exceeded the recommended thresholds. The model also demonstrated consistent fit indices regardless of the subsample. Invariance of both configural and factor loadings was established across gender, while invariance of configural, factor loadings, and intercepts was confirmed across regions. Additionally, the PFW scale, a subjective measure of financial well-being, is more strongly related to health-related variables than monthly income, which is an objective indicator of financial well-being. Internal consistency reliability for the Korean version of the PFW scale was found to be satisfactory. Conclusions: The adaptation of the Korean version of the PFW scale provides a valuable instrument for researchers and practitioners in South Korea, where an instrument measuring an individual’s subjective financial well-being does not exist.