The present aim was to examine further the psychometric properties of the Depression–Happiness Scale. Test-retest data over 2 wk. are reported for this scale for a sample of 54 female Northern Irish university students. Stability was fairly high as r = .70, and there was no significant change between Time 1 and Time 2 (M = 49.7 and 50.8, respectively). The data suggest that the Depression–Happiness Scale might be considered a trait measure of happiness rather than a state measure.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.
References
1.
AndrewsF. M.RobinsonJ. P. (1991) Measures of subjective well-being. In RobinsonJ. P.ShaverP. R.WrightsmanL. S. (Eds.), Measures of personality and social psychological attitudes. San Diego, CA: Academic Press. Pp. 61–114.
2.
ArgyleM. (1987) The psychology of happiness. London: Routledge.
3.
ArgyleM.MartinM.CrosslandJ. (1989) Happiness as a function of personality and social encounters. In ForgasJ. P.InnesJ. M. (Eds.), Recent advances in social psychology: An international perspective. Amsterdam: North Holland-Elsevier Science. Pp. 189–203.
4.
CammockT.JosephS.LewisC. A. (1994) Personality correlates of scores on the Depression–Happiness Scale. Psychological Reports, 75, 1649–1650.
5.
JosephS.LewisC. A. (1998) The Depression–Happiness Scale: Reliability and validity of a bipolar self-report scale. Journal of Clinical Psychology, 54, 537–544.
6.
JosephS.LewisC. A.OlsenC. (1996) Convergent validity of Depression–Happiness Scale with measures of depression. Journal of Clinical Psychology52, 551–554.
7.
JosephS.McCollamP. (1993) A bipolar happiness and depression scale. Journal of Genetic Psychology, 154, 127–129.
8.
KlineP. (1986) Handbook of test construction. London: Methuen.
9.
LewisC. A.JosephS. (1995) Convergent validity of the Depression–Happiness Scale with measures of happiness and satisfaction with life. Psychological Reports, 76, 876–878.
10.
LewisC. A.JosephS. (1997) The Depression–Happiness Scale, a measure of a state or trait? Test-retest data over two years. Psychological Reports, 81, 1313–1314.
11.
LewisC. A.JosephS.McCollamP. (1996) Convergent validity of the Depression–Happiness Scale with the Crown-Crisp Experiential Index. Psychological Reports, 78, 497–498.
12.
LewisC. A.LaniganC.JosephS.de FockertJ. (1997) Religiosity and happiness: No evidence for an association among undergraduates. Personality and Individual Differences, 22, 119–121.
13.
McGrealR.JosephS. (1993) The Depression–Happiness Scale. Psychological Reports, 73, 1279–1282.
14.
MyersD. G.DienerE. (1995) Who is happy?Psychological Science, 6, 10–19.
15.
WalshJ.JosephS.LewisC. A. (1995) Internal-reliability and convergent validity of the Depression–Happiness Scale with the General Health Questionnaire in an employed adult sample. Psychological Reports, 76, 137–138.
