Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Reliability reporting practices in youth life satisfaction research

  • Original Paper
  • Published:
Social Indicators Research Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Due to the emergence of positive psychology in recent years, a growing line of research has focused on aspects of psychological wellness rather than psychopathology. Within the context of positive psychology, life satisfaction has emerged as a key variable of study in relation to adult and youth populations. Accurate measurement of life satisfaction and subsequent interpretation of results requires that the assessment devices yield strong psychometric properties. In terms of consistent measurement, reliability estimates must be calculated with each administration, as changes in sample characteristics may alter the scale’s ability to generate reliable scores. Therefore, the present study was designed to address reliability reporting practices for three youth life satisfaction measures. Seventy-three occasions of use were identified in the literature for the three scales examined in this study. Results suggest that greater than half of the life satisfaction studies calculated reliability coefficients from their own data. A discussion of reliability from classical test theory is provided, examples of correct reliability reporting practices are given, and implications for reporting reliability are discussed.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • American Educational Research Association (1999). American Psychological Association, and National Council of Measurement in Education. Standards for educational and psychological testing. Washington DC: American Psychological Association.

    Google Scholar 

  • Barnes, L. L. B, Harp, D., & Jung, W. S. (1998). Reliability generalization of scores on the Spielberger State-Trait Anxiety Inventory. Educational and Psychological Measurement, 62, 603–618.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Buhi, E. (2005). Reliability reporting practices in rape myth research. Journal of School Health, 75, 63–66.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Caruso, J. C., & Edwards, S. (2001). Reliability generalization of the Junior Eysenck Personality Questionnaire. Personality and Individual Differences, 31, 173–184.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Crocker, L., Algina, J. (1986). Introduction to modern and classical test theory. Fort Worth: Brace Jovanovich.

    Google Scholar 

  • Dew, T., & Huebner, E. S. (1994). ‘Adolescents’ perceived quality of life: An exploratory investigation. Journal of School Psychology, 32, 185–199.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Edwards, L. (2004). Measuring perceived social support in Mexican American youth: Psychometric properties of the multidimensional scale of perceived social support. Hispanic Journal of Behavioral Sciences, 26, 187–194.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Funk, B., Huebner, S., & Valois, R. (2006). Reliability and validity of a brief life satisfaction scale with a high school sample. Journal of Happiness Studies, 7, 41–54.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Furr, R. M., & Funder, D. (1998). A multimodal analysis of personal negativity. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 74, 1580–1591.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gilman, R., & Huebner, S. (2003). A review of life satisfaction research among children and adolescents. School Psychology Quarterly, 18, 192–205.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gilman, R., Ashby, J., Sverko, D., Florell, D., & Varjas, K. (2005). The relationship between perfectionism and multidimensional life satisfaction among Croatian and American youth. Personality and Individual Differences, 39, 155–166.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Greenspoon, P., & Saklofske, D. (1997). Validity and reliability of the multidimensional students’ life satisfaction scale with Canadian children. Journal of Psychoeducational Assessment, 15, 138–155.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gross, E. F. (2004). Adolescent internet use: What we expect, what teens report. Applied Developmental Psychology, 25, 633–649.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Henson, R. K. (2001). Understanding internal consistency reliability estimates: A conceptual primer on coefficient alpha. Measurement and Evaluation in Counseling and Development, 34, 177–189.

    Google Scholar 

  • Henson, R. K., & Thompson, B. (2002). Characterizing measurement error in scores across studies: Some recommendations for conducting “reliability generalization” studies. Measurement and Evaluation in Counseling and Development, 35, 113–126.

    Google Scholar 

  • Huebner, S., Suldo, S. M., Smith, L. C., & McKnight, C. G. (2004). Life satisfaction in children and youth: Empirical foundations and implications for school psychologist. Psychology in the Schools, 41, 81–93.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Huebner, S., Suldo, S., & Valois, R. (2003). Psychometric properties of two brief measures of children’s life satisfaction: the students’ life satisfaction scale and the brief multidimensional students’ life satisfaction scale. Indicators of Positive Development Conference.

  • Huebner, S. (1994). Preliminary development and validation of a multidimensional life satisfaction scale for children. Psychological Assessment, 6, 149–158.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Huebner, S., & Dew, T. (1994). The interrelationships of positive affect, negative affect and life satisfaction in an adolescent sample. Social Indicators Research, 38, 129–137.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lazarus, R. (1991). Emotion and adaptation. New York: Oxford University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lewinsohn, P., Redner, J., & Seeley, J. (1991). The relationship between life satisfaction and psychological variables: New perspectives in subjective well-being. New York: Plenum Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Meier, S. T., & Davis, S. R. (1990). Trends in reporting psychometric properties of scales used in counseling psychology research. Journal of Counseling Psychology, 37, 113–115.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Park, N. (2005). Life satisfaction among Korean children and youth. School Psychology International, 26, 209–223.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Pedhazur, E. J., & Schmelkin, L. P. (1991). Measurement, Design, and Analysis: An Integrated Approach. Hillsdale: Erlbaum.

    Google Scholar 

  • Reinhardt, B. (1996). Factors affecting coefficient alpha: A mini Monte Carlo study. In B. Thompson (Ed.), Advances in social science methodology (pp. 3–20). Greenwich: JAI Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Seligman, M. E. P., & Csikszentmihalyi, M. (2000). Positive psychology: An Introduction. American Psychologist, 55, 5–14.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Seligson, J., Huebner, S., & Valois, R. (2003). Preliminary validation of the brief multidimensional students’ life satisfaction scale. Social Indicators Research, 61, 121–145.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Suldo, S. (2006). Is extremely high life satisfaction during adolescence advantageous? Social Indicators Research, 78, 179–203.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Suldo, S., & Huebner, S. (2004). The role of life satisfaction in the relationship between parenting styles and adolescent problem behavior. Social Indicators Research, 66, 165–195.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Thompson, B. (1994). Guidelines for authors. Educational and Psychological Measurement, 54, 837–847.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ullman, C., & Tatar, M. (2000). Psychological adjustment among Israeli adolescent immigrants: A report on life satisfaction, self-concept, and self-esteem. Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 30, 449–457.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Vacha-Haase, T. (1998). Reliability generalization: Exploring variance in measurement error affecting score reliability across studies. Educational and Psychological Measurement, 58, 6–20.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Vacha-Haase, T., Kogan, L. R., & Thompson, B. (2000). Sample compositions and variabilities in published studies versus those in test manuals: Validity of score reliability inductions. Educational and Psychological Measurement, 60, 509–522.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Veenhoven, R. (1988). The utility of happiness. Social Indicators Research, 20, 333–354.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wilkinson, L. (2002). American Psychological Association Task Force on Statistical Inference. Statistical methods in psychology journals: Guidelines and explanations. American Psychological Journal, 54, 594–604.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Willson, V. L. (1980). Research techniques in AERJ articles: 1969 to 1978. Educational Research, 9, 5–10.

    Google Scholar 

  • Zullig, K., Huebner, S., Gilman, R., Patton, J., & Murray, K. (2005). Validation of the multidimensional students’ life satisfaction scale among college students. American Journal of Health Behavior, 29, 206–214.

    Google Scholar 

  • Zullig, K., Valois, R., Huebner, S., Oeltmann, J., & Drane, W. (2001). Relationship between perceived life satisfaction and adolescent substance abuse. Journal of Adolescent Health, 29, 279–288.

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Author notes

  1. Matt Vassar

    Present address: American Educational Research Association, American Psychological Association, Psychometric Society, 3717 E. 9th St, Cushing, OK, 74023, USA

  2. William Hale

    Present address: American College of Sports Medicine, 5207 N. Husband, Stillwater, OK, 74075, USA

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Oklahoma State University, College of Osteopathic Medicine, Tulsa, OK, USA

    Matt Vassar

  2. Department of Health and Human Performance, Oklahoma State University, Tulsa, OK, USA

    William Hale

Authors
  1. Matt Vassar
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. William Hale
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Matt Vassar.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Vassar, M., Hale, W. Reliability reporting practices in youth life satisfaction research. Soc Indic Res 83, 487–496 (2007). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11205-006-9074-2

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11205-006-9074-2

Keywords

Search

Navigation