Factorial Analysis of the Pemberton Happiness Index: General Well-Being, Positive and Negative Experiences

Factorial Analysis of the Pemberton Happiness Index: General Well-Being, Positive and Negative Experiences | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Research Article Factorial Analysis of the Pemberton Happiness Index: General Well-Being, Positive and Negative Experiences Gulden Esat, Hanjoe Kim, Chloe M. Rodriguez, Nema Kebbeh, Bradley Smith This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-8311115/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Under Revision Version 1 posted 10 You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract Accurate measurement of well-being is critical for advancing both psychological research and public policy aimed at improving individual and societal flourishing. The Pemberton Happiness Index (PHI), developed by Hervás and Vázquez in 2013, is a cross-culturally validated instrument available in nine languages that assesses multiple dimensions of well-being. Despite its robust foundation on reliability and validity, there has been considerable variability in how the PHI is scored. We reviewed 35 studies and found the PHI scored as general well-being, eudaimonic well-being, and hedonic well-being, as well as positive and negative experiences. To address this conceptual and scoring ambiguity, we conducted confirmatory factor analyses using data from three distinct samples: Turkish-speaking adults ( n = 244), undergraduate students ( n = 206), and high school students ( n = 141). Findings indicate that a three-factor model best fits the data, with the Remembered subscale forming one factor and the Positive and Negative Experienced subscales separating into two correlated factors, demonstrating adequate discriminant validity. Notably, the Remembered Well-being subscale functioned as a unified construct without clear differentiation among hedonic, eudaimonic, or social components. These findings offer conceptual clarity regarding the PHI’s structure and support the use of a three-factor scoring approach, which may enhance consistency and interpretability in future research. confirmatory factor analysis longitudinal factorial invariance well-being measure eudaimonic well-being hedonic well-being Full Text Additional Declarations No competing interests reported. Cite Share Download PDF Status: Under Revision Version 1 posted Editorial decision: Revision requested 17 Apr, 2026 Reviews received at journal 10 Mar, 2026 Reviews received at journal 10 Mar, 2026 Reviewers agreed at journal 13 Feb, 2026 Reviewers agreed at journal 28 Jan, 2026 Reviewers invited by journal 15 Jan, 2026 Editor assigned by journal 07 Jan, 2026 Editor invited by journal 06 Jan, 2026 Submission checks completed at journal 04 Jan, 2026 First submitted to journal 04 Jan, 2026 You are reading this latest preprint version Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. As a division of Research Square Company, we’re committed to making research communication faster, fairer, and more useful. We do this by developing innovative software and high quality services for the global research community. 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Also discoverable on Platform About Our Team In Review Editorial Policies Advisory Board Help Center Resources Author Services Accessibility API Access RSS feed Manage Cookie Preferences © Research Square 2026 | ISSN 2693-5015 (online) Privacy Policy Terms of Service Do Not Sell My Personal Information {"props":{"pageProps":{"initialData":{"identity":"rs-8311115","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Research Article","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":576232815,"identity":"7cdba11b-efc3-43cd-b6c6-a7870711088e","order_by":0,"name":"Gulden Esat","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Sam Houston State University","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Gulden","middleName":"","lastName":"Esat","suffix":""},{"id":576232816,"identity":"a8578fa4-f438-4c42-afee-c10cb2a16b4b","order_by":1,"name":"Hanjoe Kim","email":"data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAZAAAAAyAQMAAABI0h/eAAAABlBMVEX///8AAABVwtN+AAAACXBIWXMAAA7EAAAOxAGVKw4bAAAA+klEQVRIiWNgGAWjYBACAwhO4GFgbwAL8IAIxgaitPAcIEELECQwMEgkIETxajFnP3ug4ENFmozuzDeGjwv+2MgwsB9+wDhzD24tlj15CYYzzuTwmN3OMTae2ZYGdGGaAeOGZ3gcdiDHwJi3rQKkxUyat+Ew0C85DIwPDuDRcv4NUMs/oJabZ8ykef7852Hgf0NAyw2QLQ1Ah93gAWphO8DDIAG0ZQNeLW8MDGccS+MxO5NWDHRhMg+bxDODgzPwOizHzOBDTbK92fHDGx/z/LGz5+dPfviwB48WIGCDxg0HhGYDYvwaGBiYH0Bo9gcEFI6CUTAKRsFIBQD3sE4xdV418gAAAABJRU5ErkJggg==","orcid":"","institution":"Yonsei University","correspondingAuthor":true,"prefix":"","firstName":"Hanjoe","middleName":"","lastName":"Kim","suffix":""},{"id":576232817,"identity":"8a022ad2-bb92-481c-86b5-bc20316d8216","order_by":2,"name":"Chloe M. 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