A validation study of the Multidimensional Life Satisfaction Scale for Children

INTRODUCTION: Recent studies on the life satisfaction in children and young people have investigated its association with vulnerability, discrimination, the individual’s school environment and network of relationships, and mental health. The growing interest in the area demands instruments with good psychometric properties. AIM: The aim of this study is to study the psychometric properties of the Multidimensional Life Satisfaction Scale for Children (MLSS-C). METHOD: The participants were 379 elementary schoolchildren aged 9 to 14 (M = 10.5 years), enrolled in public schools in a city in the state of São Paulo, Brazil. The instruments used were the MLSS-C, the Self-Description Assessment Questionnaire 1 (SDQ1), the Social Skills Rating System (SSRS), and the Childhood Stress Scale (CSS). Two data collections were made, one in the fifth year of elementary school and one in the sixth. Confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) was carried out to assess the structural model’s goodness of fit. The internal consistency (Cronbach’s alpha and composite reliability), test-retest reliability and the discriminant, convergent, and divergent validity were also assessed. RESULTS: Regarding CFA, after removing items with saturation values below .50, six dimensions proposed by the authors remained, five of them with alpha values above .70. The construct validity was confirmed by finding moderate and positive correlations between life satisfaction and self-concept and social skills (convergent validity) and lower and negative correlation with childhood stress (divergent validity). CONCLUSION: Together, the reported results provide preliminary evidence of the reliability and validity of this scale. It is suggested, therefore, that this scale is suitable for both research and practice with Brazilian schoolchildren.