Psychometric properties of the Temporal Satisfaction with Life Scale among Turkish people

OBJECTIVES: The determinants of subjective well-being have been largely investigated in recent years. According to Pavot and Diener who have developed TSWL (Temporal Satisfaction with Life Scale), to assess the life satisfaction level of an individual according to temporal factors, subjective well-being is composed of two constructs: an emotional or affective component (i.e. positive and negative affects) and a conceptual or cognitive component (i.e. satisfaction with life, marriage, work, and leisure). The aim of this study was to adapt the Temporal Satisfaction with Life Scale into Turkish (TSWLS-T) and examine the reliability and validity of this new Turkish version.

METHODS: The study was conducted in four phases with randomly chosen 236 participants (113 females, 123 males) and the mean age of sample was 38.6 ± 12.5 years. Cultural adaptation was implemented according to the internationally suggested method and a pretest was administered to examine the language equivalence. Since the scale had high levels of language equivalence, validity and reliability studies were conducted. For construct validity, confirmatory factor analysis was employed. The Satisfaction with Life Scale (SWLS) was used in order to evaluate the validity of TSWLS-T, since internal consistency (Cronbach’s alpha and intra-class coefficients) and test–retest analysis were employed to estimate instrument reliability.

RESULTS: The TSWLS-T demonstrated acceptable internal consistency, with a Cronbach’s alpha of 0.87 for the total scale and ranging between 0.76 and 0.88 for the subscales. The test–retest reliability was also satisfactory, with intra-class correlation coefficients of 0.81 for the total scale and ranging between 0.61 and 0.74 for the subscales (p < 0.01). Fit indices of the model supported the factor structure. However, the 1st, 5th, and 11th items in scale (past, present, and future) showed a series of problems. With these items excluded, the 12-item model provided a better fit to the data than the 15-item model while the factor structure remained almost unchanged. The author recommends that the 12-item TSWLS be used to measure temporal life satisfaction.

CONCLUSIONS: The TSWLS-T is a valid and reliable measure to assess life satisfaction in Turkish.