The Brief Multidimensional Students’ Life Satisfaction Scale (BMSLSS): Further Evidence of Factorial Structure, Reliability, and Relations with Other Indicators of Subjective Wellbeing

Purpose The purpose of the study was to test the psychometrics of the Brief Multidimensional Students’ Life Satisfaction Scale (BMSLSS) in a large sample of adolescents ( n = 4863, 54.2% females) from Portugal. The six-item version of the BMSLSS measures the self-perceived satisfaction with life in multiple domains (i.e. family life, friends, school experiences, self, where one lives and ‘in general’). Methods The internal consistency of the BMSLSS was evaluated through McDonald’s Omega. For the assessment of factorial structure, we employed a confirmatory factor analysis (CFA), and then tested measurement invariance with a multi-group CFA (MGCFA). Construct validity was obtained by correlating the BMSLSS scores with multiple wellbeing-related scales. Finally, Item Response Theory (IRT) allowed us to test the properties of the scale at the item and model levels. Results The full scale had good reliability (ω = 0.87), and the CFA’s provided evidences that the one-factor structure has excellent fit (CFI = 0.972, RMSEA = 0.052, 90% CI [0.046, 0.058], SRMR = 0.028). Additionally, the MGCFA indicated that the BMSLSS had configural, metric, and partial scalar invariance across grades, gender and academic ability. Furthermore, student’s LS was related to higher perceived quality of life, satisfaction with social support, and affective wellbeing. Item Response Theory revealed good item discrimination. Conclusions The Portuguese adaptation of the BMSLSS has good psychometrics, and is a reliable tool to measure LS in different groups of adolescents.