Li X, Sim W, Hill CE. Meaning in life measure: a five-Item short form and its measurement invariance across gender, age, and cultural contexts.
Psychother Res 2023;
33:387-400. [PMID:
35844193 DOI:
10.1080/10503307.2022.2098077]
[Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/16/2022] [Accepted: 06/30/2022] [Indexed: 10/17/2022] Open
Abstract
OBJECTIVE
The aims of this study were to develop a revised version of the Meaning In Life Measure (MILM; Hill et al., 2019) and investigate its multilevel measurement invariance at the between-person and within-person levels and multi-group measurement invariance across gender, age, and cultural groups.
METHODS
We analyzed an international dataset including data from 1600 sessions with 384 clients in five continents (Africa, Asia, Europe, Latin America, and North America) using multilevel item response theory and multilevel factor analysis.
RESULTS
We found that the revised 5-item MILM-5 had satisfactory reliability and structural validity with the overall sample. Further, it demonstrated measurement invariance across the between- and within-person levels, and also across gender and age groups. Across representative countries within continents, the MILM-5 had the same overall factor structure but all factor loadings and item intercepts significantly differed across cultural contexts. Implications are discussed regarding the assessment of meaning in life in international clinical settings.
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