Abstract

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the psychometric properties of the subjective happiness scale (Lyubomirsky & Lepper, 1999). The objective of the first study involving 300 people from the general population was the estimated reliability (internal consistency and temporal stability) and construct validity of the scale. The second study involved 779 people, its purpose was to obtain definitive indicators of reliability and validity in samples with diverse age range. In addition, convergent and divergent validity was evaluated with instruments: Beck Depression Inventory (BDI), Big Five Questionnaire (BFI), and Dispositional Optimism Questionnaire (LOT-R). The main results of study showed an alpha of.78 and temporal stability of 61 (8 weeks apart) and a pure factorial structure. For the second study, the reliability estimation was between.73 and.87 according to the many samples studied, was found a pure factorial structure, the correlations between subjective happiness scale and instruments used to assess convergent and divergent validity were adequate, highly significant and in line with theoretical expectations. The evidence indicates adequacy of the scale for use in the assessment of this construct in the Chilean population. © 2011 Sociedad Chilena de Psicología Clínica.