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Adaptation and validation of the Arabic version of the short depression-happiness scale

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Abstract

The Short Depression Happiness Scale (SDHS) was developed to simultaneously assess depression and happiness on the opposite ends of the emotional valence continuum. The present study aimed to investigate and further validate the factor structure of the SDHS in a convenience sample of a large Arabic-speaking community. As part of an online survey, participants (n = 656) completed the SDHS, the Satisfaction with Life Scale, the Depression, Anxiety and Stress Scale-21 and the Ten-Item Personality Inventory. To independently perform exploratory factor analysis (EFA) and confirmatory factor analysis (CFA), the data were randomly split into two halves. The results of the EFA and CFA provided a one-factor solution as the satisfactory-fitting model for the scale (X2 = 43.39, df = 9, p < .001; CIMIN/DF = 4.82, CFI = .94, TLI = .91, RMSEA = .11, SRMR = .05). The convergent validity of the SDHS was confirmed via the relationships with life satisfaction, depression, anxiety, stress and personality traits (correlations ranged between .23 and − .72). The SDHS explained unique variance (Δr2 = ranged between .06 and .23%) in well-being indicators above and beyond the personality traits. The Arabic translation of the SDHS was consistent with the original solution that would facilitate the advancement of happiness research across cultures.

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Data Availability

The datasets generated during and/or analysed during the current study are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request.

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Acknowledgements

The authors would like to thank all the participants who voluntarily took part in this study.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Psychology in the Faculty of Science and Letters, Ağrı İbrahim Çeçen University, Erzurum Yolu 4 Km 04100, Ağrı, Turkey

    Murat Yildirim

  2. Department of Neuroscience, Psychology and Behaviour, University of Leicester, Leicester, UK

    Murat Yildirim & Noor Bakr Balahmar

  3. Department of Communication Skills in the Faculty of Sciences, King Abdulaziz University, Rabigh, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia

    Noor Bakr Balahmar

Authors
  1. Murat Yildirim
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  2. Noor Bakr Balahmar
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Contributions

All authors contributed to the study conception and design. Study design, material preparation, analysis and writing up the manuscript were performed by Murat Yıldırım. Material preparation and data collection were performed by Noor Bakr Balahmar. The first draft of the manuscript was written by Murat Yıldırım. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.

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Correspondence to Murat Yildirim.

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The authors declare that there are no competing interests.

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All procedures performed in studies involving human participants were in accordance with the ethical standards of the institutional and/or national research committee and with the 1964 Helsinki declaration and its later amendments or comparable ethical standards.

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Informed consent was obtained from all individual participants included in the study.

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Yildirim, M., Balahmar, N.B. Adaptation and validation of the Arabic version of the short depression-happiness scale. Curr Psychol 41, 7024–7031 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12144-020-01214-0

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12144-020-01214-0

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