Measurement invariance of human values across time and countries – an analysis using 11 rounds of the European social survey

Values have become central to the study of social and psychological processes across cultures and across time. To date, there has been no conclusive analysis of the cross-cultural and cross-temporal comparability of values in Europe. We conduct invariance tests of the Portrait Values Questionnaire collected as part of the European Social Survey (ESS, k = 261 samples, N = 374,565) from 2002 to 2024. Using confirmatory factor analysis, we found that the theoretical value model fits the overall data. Ignoring temporal information, covariances and mean value patterns can be compared across countries. Testing separate country samples collected in specific rounds, we found evidence that sample-specific results may not be comparable. Considering cross-temporal invariance, only 17 out of 35 countries with multiple participation in the ESS showed metric invariance. We observed patterns of deteriorating model fit and changes in the basic value structure over time.