Cross-Cultural Psychometric Analysis of the Mature Happiness Scale-Revised: Mature Happiness, Psychological Inflexibility, and the PERMA Model

Vol.:(0123456789) Journal of Happiness Studies (2023) 24:1075–1099 https://doi.org/10.1007/s10902-023-00633-7 1 3 RESEARCH PAPER Cross‑Cultural Psychometric Analysis oftheMature Happiness Scale‑Revised: Mature Happiness, Psychological Inflexibility, andthePERMA Model DavidF.Carreno1· NikolettEisenbeck2 · JamesGreville3· PaulT.P.Wong4 Accepted: 30 January 2023 / Published online: 16 February 2023 © The Author(s) 2023 Abstract The present study aimed to evaluate the psychometric properties of the Mature Happiness Scale, a measure focused on inner harmony. Mature happiness is achieved when a person can live in balance between both positive and negative aspects of their life. A total sample of 2,130 participants from five countries (Canada: n = 390, United States: n = 223, United Kingdom: n = 512, Spain: n = 724, and Hungary: n = 281) responded to an online survey including the original Mature Happiness Scale, the PERMA-Profiler, and the Acceptance and Action Questionnaire-II. Exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses yielded a onefactor solution with seven positive items (non-reversed). We called this new version of the questionnaire the Mature Happiness Scale-Revised (MHS-R). Measurement invariance was found across countries, age groups, gender, and mental disorder diagnosis. Internal consistency and test–retest reliability were high. Older people, males, and people without a mental disorder diagnosis scored higher in mature happiness than younger ones, females, and those with a mental health disorder diagnosis, respectively. Mature happiness showed strong positive associations with various subscales of the PERMA-Profiler, specifically with positive emotions and meaning in life. In addition, mature happiness was strongly correlated with less negative affect and inner conflict and lower psychological inflexibility, whereas it was moderately correlated with lower loneliness. This validity evidence supports the cross-cultural use of the MHS-R in the aforementioned countries to reliably measure happiness among adults. With its holistic approach, the MHS-R may be a unique complement to other well-being measures, particularly to better predict mental health problems. Keywords Mature Happiness Scale· Mature happiness· Inner harmony· PERMA· Psychological inflexibility· Validation * Nikolett Eisenbeck neisenbec[email protected] Extended author information available on the last page of the article 1076 D.F.Carreno et al. 1 3 1 Introduction The construct of well-being has evolved from different theoretical and philosophical approaches (e.g., Diener, 1984; Keyes, 2002; Ryff, 1989, 2014; Seligman, 2011). Among the challenges for traditional conceptualizations of well-being is the inclusion of negative emotions. The relationship between the so-called positive and negative emotions is much more complex than simply being opposite ends of a spectrum (Diener & Emmons, 1984; Watson etal., 1988; Zevon & Tellegen, 1982). Given their complex relationship, positive affect and negative affect have been considered two separate constructs to be assessed in traditional measures of well-being (Bradburn, 1969; Butler & Kern, 2016; Diener etal., 1985; Watson etal., 1988). However, most of these well-being approaches such as the PERMA model (acronym established by Seligman, 2011, to refer to a well-being model based on Positive emotions, Engagement, Relationships, Meaning, and Achievement) do not incorporate negative emotions into the conceptualization of well-being. One of the main critiques of the first wave of positive psychology (Seligman & Csikszentmihalyi, 2000) has been this neglection of negative emotions, framing them as if they simply represent the absence of positive states (e.g., Held, 2004; Wong & Roy, 2017). 1.1 Mature Happiness: AHolistic Approach toWell‑Being Based onInner Harmony An alternative approach to well-being has been formalized in existential positive psychology (PP2.0, Wong, 2009), also called the second wave of positive psychology (Ivtzan etal., 2015; Lomas & Ivtzan, 2016). PP2.0 may be distinguished from the first wave of positive psychology (Seligman & Csikszentmihalyi, 2000) because it highlights the importance of negative emotions and stressful events in the understanding of well-being. As noted by Lomas etal. (2021), from the second wave of positive psychology perspective, there is a difference between positive and negative valence (whether something is experienced as pleasant or unpleasant) and positive and negative outcome (whether something facilitates or hinders well-being). PP2.0 emphasizes that, while adverse experiences and suffering may intuitively be seen as undesirable parts of life, they are not only inevitable but can indeed serve as promoters of personal growth and resilience (Calhoun & Tedeschi, 2006; Ivtzan etal., 2015; Kashdan & Biswas-Diener, 2014). Negative emotions have of course played an adaptive, protective role in human evolution (see Nesse, 2019). In this vein, several studies have shown the mental health benefits of accepting painful emotions and thoughts (e.g., Levin etal., 2012; Stockton etal., 2019), meanwhile rigid patterns of avoiding unpleasantness or difficulty have been linked to psychological problems (e.g., Chawla & Ostafin, 2007; Spinhoven etal., 2014). These findings suggest that the relationship one has with suffering should be integrated into the conceptualization of well-being and happiness. In one of the recent efforts to do so, Wong and Bowers (2018) proposed an integrative concept of well-being called mature happiness. This construct refers to a positive state of mind characterized by inner harmony, calmness, acceptance, contentment, and satisfaction with life (Wong & Bowers, 2018). Mature happiness is understood as the positive mental state resulting from living in balance with the various aspects of one’s life, including both positive and negative. Rooted in the principles of Confucianism, Dao/Taoism, and Buddhism, mature happiness addresses the degree to which a person lives in harmony with their strengths and weaknesses, with other people, and with 1077 Cross‑Cultural Psychometric Analysis oftheMature Happiness… 1 3 the world in general (Haybron, 2013; Wong, 2014). It is called “mature” because this type of well-being requires a significant level of personal maturity, particularly to live in attunement with one’s vulnerabilities (accepting painful emotions, personal burdens, and the fragility of human existence). This concept of happiness thus goes beyond subjective/hedonic happiness and eudaimonic happiness, by including a third type of happiness, called chaironic happiness (Wong, 2011). Chaironic happiness (from Greek: “chairo” meaning “blessing” or “joy”) is related to harmony, the adoption of a positive mature attitude towards life, being mindful of the present moment, and being attuned to a self-transcendental existence (Wong, 2011; for similar considerations see Aydin & Khan, 2021). The positive state of mature happiness differs from the positive emotions included in the traditional approaches to subjective wellbeing such as joy, contentment, excitement, or enthusiasm (Diener etal., 1985; Watson etal., 1988) as it represents the overall positive state resulting from being in attunement with both positive and negative aspects of one’s life. In contrast, the positive emotions included in subjective well-being are related to fluctuating happiness, which normally is associated with higher arousal and less stability, and may not be that dependent on how one relates to their negative side. As a result, mature happiness is considered durable happiness because of its higher stability, low-arousal feelings, and relationship with self-transcend- ence (Wong etal., 2021). This difference between fluctuating happiness and durable happiness has been extensively reviewed by Dambrun and Ricard (2011). Mature happiness fits into the category of the so-called authentic-durable happiness. Apart from the previously mentioned aspects, authentic-durable happiness is characterized by selflessness and selftranscendence, while hedonic-fluctuating happiness is related to self-centeredness and selfenhancement (Dambrun etal., 2012). Although the research on harmony in psychology has been quite scattered and disconnected, the conceptualization of well-being based on harmony has gained considerable support in recent years (for a review, see Lomas, 2021). For example, Delle Fave etal. (2016) reported that inner harmony and relational connectedness are the most-mentioned aspects that laypeople associate with happiness. Definitions of inner harmony included terms such as inner peace, emotional stability, balance, acceptance of life, serenity, and contentment. Satisfaction (with life and oneself), positive emotions (joy, cheerfulness, vitality, enthusiasm, and elation), and health were also mentioned as facets of happiness but to a lesser degree. Mature happiness can be considered one of the experiential outcomes of living a meaningful life (Wong, 2020). This construct is related to the stoic concept of apatheia, which describes a state of peace of mind and equanimity in the face of passions (a term in the stoic literature that refers to disturbing emotions such as distress, fear, lust, and excessive delight). Apatheia has been considered to be a principal constituent of the eudaimonic life (Pigliucci, 2020). Despite the connection between eudaimonic well-being and mature happiness, an important distinction should be made; while eudaimonic happiness is focused on the pursuit of virtue, meaning, and flourishing; mature happiness aims to achieve equanimity and peace of mind, being mindful of and attuned to one’s nature as a human being, and finding a balance between the dialectics of life (Wong, 2011). From this theoretical perspective, mature happiness may represent a relevant facet of well-being to be taken into account, particularly in circumstances in which people are amid adversity (i.e. achievement and pursuit of excellence is difficult), such as during the challenges of the global COVID- 19 pandemic. An appropriate measure of mature happiness may therefore be an invaluable tool for research on suffering vs. flourishing, particularly during this unique period in our collective history. 1078 D.F.Carreno et al. 1 3 1.2 The Mature Happiness Scale andOther Related Measures Thus far there is only one scale aimed to measure mature happiness, called the Mature Happiness Scale (MHS, Wong & Bowers, 2018). This instrument has been used in recent studies (e.g., Carreno etal., 2021; Wong etal., 2021). For instance, in a study during the initial phase of the COVID-19 pandemic, Carreno etal. (2021) observed that mature happiness appeared as a related but separate factor from PERMA (latent correlation of 0.78). In this study, a revised version of the MHS, which contains exactly the same items as the scale presented in the current paper, predicted psychological distress beyond and above the PERMA-Profiler. Mature happiness was a better negative predictor of stress, anxiety, and general distress, while the PERMA-Profiler showed to be a better negative predictor of depression. Additionally, mature happiness acted as a moderator between the perceived noxious effects of the pandemic and all markers of distress (stress, anxiety, depression, and general distress). At the same time, the PERMA- Profiler moderated the relationship between stress and depression. The revised version of the MHS used by Carreno etal. (2021) was the result of an initial factorial analysis, however, the authors did not provide any detailed information about this and other steps of the scale validation process. Most of the MHS psychometric properties are yet to be analyzed and published. This was the main purpose of the present study. In the literature, we have identified at least other three existing measures of harmony. One is the Peace of Mind Scale (Lee etal., 2013) which assesses the affective wellbeing valued in Chinese culture. This measure includes feelings such as peace and stability (e.g., “I have peace and harmony in my mind”). The second related measure is the Harmony in Life Scale (Kjell etal., 2016) which assesses the subjective perception of overall harmony in life. According to the conceptualization of this scale (Kjell etal., 2016), harmony is characterized by selflessness, relatedness, mindfulness, psychological flexibility, sustainability, and secondary control, that is, it represents how an individual aligns or adapts to their environment (Kjell, 2011). This construct is different from the construct of satisfaction with life, which is characterized by self-centeredness, self-enhancement, fluctuation, and primary control; it addresses an individual’s ability to change their environment according to their wishes and needs. Thus, the Harmony in Life Scale measures cognitive evaluations of one’s relationship with life as a whole (e.g., “Most aspects of my life are in balance”, “I fit in well with my surroundings”). The third measure similar to the MHS is the Subjective Authentic-Durable Happiness Scale (Dambrun etal., 2012), which was developed to compare fluctuating happiness and authentic-durable happiness. In contrast with the MHS however, these three scales focus on either feelings of peace or harmony with life (in terms of fitting into the personal context). Furthermore, these scales do not explicitly address negative aspects of living. The MHS meanwhile combines both feelings of peace and harmony with life (e.g., “I feel comfortable in my own skin”, “I am able to live in harmony with people that matter to me”), including the acceptance of negative aspects of living (e.g., “I have learned to accept life as it is”; “I have learned to let go of all my cares and burdens”). Similar to the MHS, the recently developed Equanimity Scale (Juneau etal., 2020) measures equanimity (even-minded state of mind and hedonic independence), however, this instrument does not represent a measure of happiness since it does not include other positive features such as satisfaction with life and contentment. For the aforementioned reasons, the MHS may collect important features in the evaluation of happiness and inner harmony beyond other measures in the literature. 1079 Cross‑Cultural Psychometric Analysis oftheMature Happiness… 1 3 1.3 Psychological Inflexibility andMature Happiness On the other side of the spectrum, the opposite of mature happiness can be understood as a mental state in which the person feels broken, experiencing an inner battle with their emotions and their life as a whole. This negative state is often linked to feelings of being disconnected from oneself, others, and the world. Some of the proposed items in the original MHS are aimed to measure this state (e.g., “I am troubled by inner conflict”, “My conscience bothers me”). In this state of mind, the person usually attempts to avoid their painful emotions and thoughts at all costs because they have acquired strong aversive functions. Thus, it is very unlikely that the person would accept these private events and would be willing to be in contact with them. This approach strongly resembles the construct of psychological inflexibility: the rigid avoidance of negative emotions and thoughts that is incompatible with actions based on personal values (Bond etal., 2011). Not surprisingly, several studies have demonstrated the links between psychological inflexibility and mental health problems (Bond etal., 2011; Kashdan & Rottenberg, 2010; Levin etal., 2014). Instead, the opposite of psychological inflexibility, termed psychological flexibility, is defined as “the ability to contact the present moment more fully as a conscious human being, and to either change or persist when doing so serves valued ends” (Hayes etal., 2006). This construct is related to the ability to accept unpleasant emotions and thoughts and act in accordance with personal values, and it has been related to positive mental health outcomes (Kashdan & Rottenberg, 2010). Of note, the construct of psychological flexibility, because of its behavioral background, is defined in terms of the ability to respond to one’s emotions and thoughts. Therefore, this construct is based on cognitive-behavioral processes (Hayes etal., 2006; Hofmann & Hayes, 2019). However, the conceptualization and the evaluation of psychological flexibility do not include the experiential/emotional state (e.g., peace of mind, inner harmony, satisfaction with life) resulting from developing such processes. In contrast, the concept of mature happiness is based on this positive state, capturing the emotional experience of acceptance and living in harmony with most parts of oneself and the context in which one lives. Despite these theoretical connections between the two constructs, no previous study has empirically explored their relationship, which constitutes the second aim of this study. 1.4 The Present Study This study aimed to investigate for the first time the psychometric properties of the MHS (factor structure, measurement invariance, internal consistency, and validity evidence based on the relationship with other measures). In line with positive cross-cultural psychology (Lomas, 2015) and the third wave of positive psychology (Lomas etal., 2021) highlighting the inclusion of multiculturality in positive psychology research, a cross-cul- tural analysis was performed including participants from five different countries (Canada, United States, United Kingdom, Spain, and Hungary). For the evaluation of concurrent and discriminant validity, we analyzed the relationship of the MHS with the PERMA-Profiler (Butler & Kern, 2016) and the Acceptance and Action Questionnaire-II (AAQ-II; Bond etal., 2011), the latter being a measure of psychological inflexibility. The hypotheses tested to evaluate concurrent and discriminant validity were: 1080 D.F.Carreno et al. 1 3 Hypothesis 1 Mature happiness would be higher in older people as it requires emotional maturity, which normally increases across the lifespan (Lawton etal., 1992; Márquez- González etal., 2008). Hypothesis 2 Although mature happiness and PERMA represent different constructs (Carreno etal., 2021), MHS scores would be strongly associated (r above 0.50) with wellbeing scores of the PERMA-Profiler (positive emotions, engagement, relationships, meaning, and accomplishment) as both instruments assess subjective and eudaimonic aspects of well-being. Hypothesis 3 Mature happiness would present negative moderate relationships (r from − 0.30 to − 0.49) with mental health problems as measured by the PERMA subscale of negative affect and the previous diagnosis of a mental disorder. Hypothesis 4 Mature happiness would show a negative strong association (r above − 0.50) with psychological inflexibility since the latter refers to rigid avoidance of negative emotions and thoughts while mature happiness is about accepting and integrating most aspects of oneself. 2 Method 2.1 Participants andProcedure A sample of 2130 people from five different countries participated in the present study (Canada: n = 390, United States: n = 223, United Kingdom: n = 512, Spain: n = 724, and Hungary: n = 281). This sample was selected from a larger research project (Carreno etal., 2021; Eisenbeck et al., 2022; link to the project: https:// www. resea rchga te. net/ proje ct/ Psych ologi calcoping- withthe- COVID- 19- pande mic). The entry criterion was to be older than 18years old. The average age of the participants was 38.88years (SD = 13.76), ranging between 18 and 84. The majority of the participants were female (77.4%) and most had no diagnosed mental health condition (83.3%). Detailed sociodemographic characteristics of the sample in each country are provided in Table1. As a part of a larger project, in this study participants completed various questionnaires about psychological distress and different coping strategies before participating in this part of the project (Eisenbeck etal., 2022). The questionnaires of this study were the last ones of the package (order: PERMA, AAQ-II, and finally, MHS). The participating investigators agreed on the theoretical framework and the objectives of the study. All translations were made based on the recommended best practices (Beaton etal., 2000), including various translators and back-translations. Data collection methods were identical in all participating countries (for the importance of establishing as much equivalence as possible in cross-cultural research, see for instance Matsumoto & Yoo, 2006). The study was approved by institutional ethics boards for all participating countries. Participants were recruited through email invitations and social media announcements using snowball sampling. Participation consisted of responding to an online survey that took approximately 15min. It was anonymous, voluntary, and without any monetary compensation except for part of the Canadian sample that we recruited via MTurk. Participants reported their socio-demographic characteristics (age, gender, mental health diagnosis, 1081 Cross‑Cultural Psychometric Analysis oftheMature Happiness… 1 3 Table 1 Socio-demographic characteristics of the sample Canada United States United Kingdom Spain Hungary Total n390 223 512 724 281 2130 Age M (SD) 36.92 (13.23) 43.70 (15.64) 42.37 (15.26) 36.55 (11.83) 37.40 (12.40) 38.88 Range 18–84 18–77 18–76 18–73 18–71 18–84 Gender (female %) 52.8 81.6 88.1 77.1 89.3 77.4 Mental health diagnosis (no %) 84.6 73.1 74.2 84.4 92.9 88.3 Religiousness (yes %) 55.9 70.4 42.8 41.7 64.1 50.5 Marital status (%) Single/divorced/widowed 32.6 33.2 36.6 34.9 35.2 34.7 In a relationship 12.3 12.1 13.9 20.0 14.9 15.6 Married/cohabiting with partner 55.1 54.7 47.9 45.0 49.8 49.2 Highest level of education (%) Primary/secondary 15.1 13.9 28.9 14.9 22.4 19.2 Higher education 74.9 71.3 48.8 72.7 70.1 66.9 Still a student 10.0 14.8 22.3 12.4 7.5 13.9 1082 D.F.Carreno et al. 1 3 religiousness, marital status, economic status, and highest level of education) and completed the MHS, the PERMA-Profiler, and the AAQ-II. Respondents were given the option to leave their email addresses to partake in the second part of the study to evaluate the test–retest reliability of the questionnaire. This measurement took place 3 to 4 weeks after the first one. 2.2 Measures 2.2.1 Mature Happiness Scale The MHS measures different aspects of mature happiness such as inner harmony, calmness, acceptance, contentment, and satisfaction with life (Wong & Bowers, 2018). Participants rate items on a Likert scale from 1 (not at all) to 5 (all of the time). The original scale contains 12 items with three reversed items that measure inner conflict. However, after the analyses reported in this paper, the final scale, which we called the Mature Happiness Scale-Revised (MHS-R), was composed of seven items without reversed statements (see Appendix). In this analysis, two of the original three reversed items (“I am troubled by inner conflict”, “My conscience bothers me”) appeared as a separate factor from mature happiness (termed “inner conflict”, see Results). Total scores of the MHS-R oscillate between 7 and 35, with higher scores indicating higher levels of mature happiness. Correlations between the two items of inner conflict ranged between 0.433 and 0.497 in all countries, p > 0.001. 2.2.2 PERMA‑Profiler The PERMA-Profiler (Butler & Kern, 2016) measures the five domains of the PERMA model of flourishing: Positive emotion, Engagement, Relationships, Meaning, and Accomplishment. It contains three items for each domain, with the total score representing a global measure of well-being. Additionally, we included the subscales of physical health (three items), negative emotion (three items), and loneliness (one item) proposed by the authors (Butler & Kern, 2016). To be consistent with the rest of the questionnaires, in this study, participants rated on a Likert scale from 0 to 6 instead of 0–10 (as in the original) and questionnaire means were calculated (the sum of all items of each subscale) (see Dawes, 2008). In the participating five countries, Cronbach’s alphas for well-being, physical health, and negative emotion ranged between 0.73 and 0.94. 2.2.3 Acceptance andAction Questionnaire‑II The Acceptance and Action Questionnaire-II (AAQ-II; Bond et al., 2011) consists of seven items that measure psychological inflexibility. Respondents rate each statement on a 7-point scale from 1 (never true) to 7 (always true). Higher scores indicate higher psychological inflexibility, that is, a higher tendency to experiential avoidance that is incompatible with personal values. This questionnaire has shown satisfactory psychometric properties in English (Bond etal., 2011), Spanish (Ruiz etal., 2013), and Hungarian (Eisenbeck & Szabó-Bartha, 2018). Alphas in this study ranged between 0.91 and 0.93. 1083 Cross‑Cultural Psychometric Analysis oftheMature Happiness… 1 3 2.3 Data Analytic Strategy Data were analyzed using Mplus (Muthén & Muthén, 2016) and SPSS (Version 25). Due to a technical issue, basic demographic data (age, gender) of 40 participants were not recorded and these cases were discarded. Data were excluded in the case of participants (n = 11) who failed to complete at least 50% of any of the measures of the study or showed straightlining (e.g., employed the same to all items of a questionnaire even though the items aim to measure in opposite directions, n = 12). Missing data were then less than 0.01%, missing completely at random, χ2 (43) = 56.43, p = 0.082, and were not replaced. The final sample consisted of 2130 participants. Distribution of the variables was assessed with evaluation of kurtosis, and skewness, and with the Kolmogorov–Smirnov and Shapiro–Wilk tests. Following the best practices, to evaluate the factor structure of the MHS, we employed exploratory factor analysis (EFA) using principal component analysis with oblimin rotation on the first randomly selected half of the Canadian sample (n = 201). Subsequently, confirmatory factor analyses (CFAs) were used on the second random half of the Canadian sample (n = 189) and on the rest of the samples to assess the proposed factor structure of the scale (see for instance Clark & Watson, 2019; Fenn etal., 2020; Rosellini & Brown, 2021). To besensitive to the possible influence of culture to the measures and conclusions (e.g., Chen, 2008), the samples of the five participating countries were treated separately regardless of the language of the country. People can give slightly different meanings to different items based on their culture,which eventually can affect their view of that item and the underlying factor structure of the measure. All analyses were performed using the robust maximum likelihood (MLR) estimator because violations of univariate and multivariate normality were observed. In all cases, sample sizes were adequate for factor analyses: ratios of the number of cases to the number of estimated parameters were above the established threshold of 20 (see Jackson, 2003). Due to the χ2 test’s sensitivity to sample size (e.g., Hu & Bentler, 1998), model fits were assessed using the Comparative Fit Index (CFI), the Tucker–Lewis index (TLI), the Root-Mean-Square Error of Approximation (RMSEA), and the Standardized Root-Mean-Square Residual (SRMR). Values of CFI and TLI are considered acceptable above 0.90 and excellent above 0.95 (Hu & Bentler, 1998), while SRMR values below 0.80 indicate a good fit (Schreiber etal., 2006). An RMSEA value lower than 0.08 shows a reasonable fit, between 0.08 and 0.10 a mediocre fit, and above 0.10 is unacceptable (Browne & Cudeck, 1993). Configural, measurement, and scalar invariance were evaluated across countries (Canada, United States, United Kingdom, Spain, and Hungary), age groups (cut-off points for three approximately equal groups were: 18–30, 30–45, and 45 +), gender (male/female), and mental disorder diagnosis (yes/no) in the entire sample. Successively restrictive models were compared with the Satorra–Bentler scaled χ2 difference tests using scaling correction factors and with CFI, RMSEA, and SRMR difference scores, the latter serving as indices for final decisions. As the sample size was large, changes of ≤ − 0.010 for CFI, ≤ 0.015 for RMSEA, and ≤ 0.030 / ≤ 0.010 for SRMR (depending on the level of testing) showed invariance (Chen, 2007). Descriptive statistics (scale/questionnaire means depending on the measure, medians, standard deviations), Cronbach’s alphas, and Spearman’s correlation coefficients were calculated for continuous variables. Test–retest reliability was assessed with intraclass 1090 D.F.Carreno et al. 1 3 Table 5 Descriptive statistics across variables M represents questionnaire means Canada United States United Kingdom Spain Hungary Total PERMA-Profiler Positive emotion M (SD) 11.39 (3.67) 11.79 (3.55) 10.52 (4.01) 11.92 (3.62) 11.98 (3.27) 11.48 (3.72) Engagement M (SD) 12.01 (3.36) 12.56 (3.45) 11.62 (4.03) 12.89 (3.42) 12.91 (2.89) 12.39 (3.54) Relationship M (SD) 12.49 (3.79) 13.17 (3.75) 12.21 (4.36) 13.62 (3.63) 13.76 (3.97) 13.04 (3.95) Meaning M (SD) 12.47 (3.92) 13.84 (3.37) 11.74 (4.49) 13.17 (4.15) 13.78 (3.62) 12.85 (4.12) Accomplishment M (SD) 11.83 (3.16) 12.58 (3.36) 10.99 (3.86) 11.36 (3.74) 13.15 (2.90) 11.72 (3.60) Wellbeing M (SD) 64.28 (16.24) 68.22 (15.44) 60.89 (18.92) 67.18 (17.07) 69.74 (13.98) 65.58 (17.12) Negative emotion M (SD) 7.90 (3.80) 7.57 (3.90) 9.04 (3.98) 7.18 (3.71) 8.05 (3.54) 7.91 (3.85) Health M (SD) 12.00 (3.60) 12.21 (3.80) 10.83 (4.22) 12.42 (3.6) 12.82 (3.48) 11.99 (3.84) Loneliness M (SD) 2.68 (1.85) 2.50 (1.91) 2.70 (2.03) 2.08 (1.83) 2.35 (2.00) 2.42 (1.93) Psychological inflexibility M (SD) 21.64 (9.67) 18.68 (9.00) 23.12 (11.03) 19.85 (9.70) 20.55 (10.20) 20.93 (10.13) Inner conflict M (SD) 4.93 (1.98) 4.37 (1.86) 5.20 (2.15) 4.72 (1.96) 4.67 (1.93) 4.83 (2.01) Mature happiness M(SD) 24.53 (5.37) 24.79 (5.32) 22.67 (5.57) 24.56 (5.14) 23.79 (5.13) 24.02 (5.36) 1091 Cross‑Cultural Psychometric Analysis oftheMature Happiness… 1 3 Table 6 Correlations between mature happiness (MHS-R) and other measures of the study using rho *p < .050; **p < .010; ***p < .001. Two-tailed Measure Canada (n = 390) United States (n = 223) United Kingdom (n = 512) Spain (n = 724) Hungary (n = 281) Total sample (N = 2130) PERMA-Profiler Positive emotion .74*** .69*** .70*** .69*** .73*** .71*** Engagement .48*** .49*** .55*** .48*** .29*** .48*** Relationship .56*** .41*** .47*** .50*** .23*** .46*** Meaning .64*** .59*** .63*** .59*** .55*** .61*** Accomplishment .55*** .56*** .56*** .56*** .54*** .55*** Well-being .72*** .67*** .71*** .68*** .63*** .69*** Negative emotion − .54*** − .61*** .56*** − .42*** − .56*** − .53*** Health .48*** .38*** .40*** .39*** .28*** .41*** Loneliness − .47*** − .36*** − .37*** − .25*** − .42*** − .36*** Psychological inflexibility − .54*** − .61*** − .66*** − .54*** − .63*** − .59*** Inner conflict − .44*** − .48*** − .54*** − .43*** − .57*** − .49*** 1092 D.F.Carreno et al. 1 3 4.2 Validity Evidence Based onRelations withOther Variables To evaluate the validity of the MHS-R based on relations with other variables, we formulated four hypotheses. Hypothesis 1 predicted that mature happiness would increase across the lifespan. This hypothesis was supported since older people showed higher scores in mature happiness than younger ones, albeit the effect size was small. This may be because mature happiness requires high levels of emotional maturity and regulation, which typically increases with age (e.g., Lawton etal., 1992; Márquez-González etal., 2008). The findings are consistent with previous studies showing that well-being increases across the lifespan in Western countries (e.g., Schönfeld etal., 2017), similarly to meaning in life (Carreno etal., 2020; Schnell, 2009; Steger etal., 2009) At the same time, levels of mental illness typically decrease (e.g., Westerhof & Keyes, 2010). In addition, males scored higher in mature happiness than females. In the literature, there seems to be a controversy about the possible gender-based differences in well-being, thus this finding requires further studies (e.g., Batz-Barbarich etal., 2018; Schönfeld etal., 2017). In line with Hypothesis 2, mature happiness was strongly associated with the PERMA- Profiler scores in physical health and well-being, including the subscales of positive emotions, engagement, relationships, meaning, and accomplishment. Mature happiness explained up to half of the variance of the PERMA well-being. These results provide evidence of the concurrent validity of the MHS-R as a measure of well-being. The strongest correlations were observed with positive emotions and meaning in life, demonstrating that mature happiness most probably includes aspects of both subjective and eudaimonic wellbeing (Carreno etal., 2021). Despite these positive associations, there is empirical evidence showing that mature happiness represents a different construct from the PERMA-Profiler (Carreno et al., 2021). Mature happiness is a positive state based on inner harmony and peace of mind as a result of living in balance between the positive and negative aspects of one’s life. Other traditional measures of well-being such as the PERMA-Profiler (Butler & Kern, 2016), the Oxford Happiness Questionnaire (Hills & Argyle, 2002), or the Satisfaction with Life Scale (Diener etal., 1985) do not include these harmony-based features as they exclusively focus on subjective and eudaimonic well-being. Indeed, recent findings have shown that the PERMA-Profiler and Diener’s (1984) model of subjective well-being do not represent different factors but the same well-being factor (Goodman etal., 2018). This is not the case of mature happiness (see Carreno etal., 2021), which supports the idea that mature happiness may represent a third type of happiness called chaironic happiness (Wong, 2011). As predicted by Hypothesis 3, mature happiness was negatively related to negative affect and inner conflict. In the case of negative affect, this association was stronger than predicted. We observed that people diagnosed with a mental health disorder scored significantly lower in mature happiness than people without such diagnosis (although with a small effect). In general, these findings show the discriminant validity of the MHS-R for the prediction of mental health problems. Based on the inclusion of negative aspects of living into the conceptualization of mature happiness (Wong, 2020; Wong & Bowers, 2018), the MHS-R seems to be a measure of well-being with more predictive power of distress than other well-being measures. For instance, Carreno etal. (2021) observed that the MHS-R showed a better predictive power of psychological distress (particularly of stress and anxiety) during the COVID-19 pandemic than the PERMA-Profiler. Together with the measurement invariance between clinical and non-clinical samples, the evidence collected 1093 Cross‑Cultural Psychometric Analysis oftheMature Happiness… 1 3 in this paper encourages the reliable use of the MHS-R in studies and interventions including people with mental health problems. Moreover, mature happiness was negatively associated with loneliness, a factor linked to mental illness (Hawkley & Cacioppo, 2010; Mushtaq etal., 2014; Wang etal., 2018). The conceptualization of mature happiness highlights the relational facet of well-being (Wong, 2020; Wong & Bowers, 2018), being explicitly represented in one of the MHS-R items (“I am able to live in harmony with people that matter to me”). These results manifest the importance of social relatedness in the achievement of inner harmony and happiness in general, as previously suggested (e.g., Delle Fave etal., 2016; Kjell etal., 2016; Seligman, 2011). Finally, we observed a strong negative relationship between mature happiness and psychological inflexibility, confirming our Hypothesis 4. Participants with higher scores on mature happiness reported a lower tendency to avoid negative emotions and thoughts. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first empirical study showing a connection between inner harmony and psychological flexibility, which thus far had been only theorized (Kjell etal., 2016; Wong, 2020). This finding supports the idea that mature happiness may be considered the experiential component of psychological flexibility. Putting it differently, to achieve mature happiness, most probably it is necessary to be psychologically flexible. The results also suggest that psychological inflexibility, understood as the rigid avoidance of negative emotions and thoughts (Bond etal., 2011), may represent an opposite state to mature happiness, the latter being characterized by acceptance (Wong & Bowers, 2018). 5 Limitations andConclusion The main limitations of this study include a convenience sampling method, meaning that the distribution of the sample based on gender, age, educational level and other demographic data is not representative of the general population. For instance, our sample contains a high percentage of women, married individuals, and people with higher levels of education. As it is a cross-sectional study based on self-reported data, causal relationships cannot be confirmed, and it is possible that the findings were affected by the common method bias. The order of the questionnaires might have also been a source of bias. Moreover, there was a missing criterion measure of harmony (e.g., the Peace of Mind Scale, Lee etal., 2013, or the Harmony in Life Scale, Kjell etal., 2016) to test convergent validity of the MHS-R as a measure of inner harmony. This happened because the original data collection belongs to a larger research project and an additional measure would have made the survey excessively long. Future studies could analyze this validity aspect of the MHS-R. Similarly, in order to understand more in depth the role of mature happiness in wellbeing, future studies are needed that compare this measure with other well-established measures of happiness or subjective well-being (e.g., Diener etal., 1985; Hills & Argyle, 2002). All these limitations are, however, at least partially mitigated by the multinational nature of the study and the fact that we mainly had participants from the community sample and not only undergraduate students. In summary, this paper provides several indices of validity evidence of the MHS-R to measure mature happiness across five different countries in three languages. Mature happiness represents an empirically supported conceptualization of harmony-based well-being. The MHS-R, as a validated measure, can be a noteworthy contribution that opens the door for future empirical research on mature happiness across different populations and cultures. 1094 D.F.Carreno et al. 1 3 Appendix: Mature Happiness Scale‑Revised inEnglish, Spanish (S), andHungarian (H). Considering your life overall, please characterize your life by rating the following statements using the scale (from 1 to 5) below. (S) Considerando su vida en general, por favor, caracterice su vida valorando las siguientes afirmaciones según la siguiente escala (1–5). (H) Általánosságban szemlélve, kérjük jellemezze az életét a megadott állítások segítségével egy 1-től 5-ig terjedő skálán. 1 2345 Not at all (S) Nada (H) Egyátalán nem All of the time (S) Todo el tiempo (H) Mindig 1. I am able to maintain inner peace (S) Soy capaz de mantener paz interior (H) Képes vagyok megőrizni a belső békémet 12345 2. I feel comfortable in my own skin (S) Me siento cómodo/a en mi propia piel (H) Jól érzem magam a bőrömben 12345 3. I have learned to accept life as it is (S) He aprendido a aceptar la vida tal cual es (H) Megtanultam elfogadni az életet úgy ahogy van 12345 4. I am at peace with myself (S) Estoy en paz conmigo mismo/a (H) Békében vagyok önmagammal 12345 5. I have learned to remain calm, whatever comes (S) He aprendido a mantener la calma, venga lo que venga (H) Megtanultam, hogy nyugodt maradjak, bármi is történik 12345 6. I am able to live in harmony with people that matter to me (S) Soy capaz de vivir en armonía con la gente que me importa (H) Képes vagyok harmóniában élni azokkal, akik fontosak számomra 12345 7. I have learned to let go of all my cares and burdens (S) He aprendido a dejar de lado todas mis preocupaciones y cargas (H) Megtanultam elengedni minden gondomat és terhemet 12345 Authors’ contributions DC has contributed to this article by coordinating data collection, elaborating the theoretical framework, and writing the manuscript. NE has contributed to this article through the coordination of data collection, data analysis, and writing the manuscript. JG has contributed to this article through data collection and a critical revision of the manuscript. PW has contributed to this article through data collection and the revision of the manuscript. Funding Funding for open access publishing: Universidad de Sevilla/CBUA. The research presented in this article has received no funding from any institution or any other source. Availability of data and material The raw data supporting the conclusions of this article will be made available by the authors, without undue reservation. Code availability Code is available upon request from the corresponding author. 1095 Cross‑Cultural Psychometric Analysis oftheMature Happiness… 1 3 Declarations Conflicts of interest The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest. Ethics approval The study was approved by the Faculty Ethics Committee of University of South Wales, the Institutional Review Board of Rutgers University, the Bioethics Committee of the University of Almería, and the Ethics Committee of the Eötvös Loránd University, Faculty of Education and Psychology. Consent to participate Informed consent was obtained from all individual participants included in the study. Consent for publication All authors contributed to the article and approved the submitted version. Open Access This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, which permits use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons licence, and indicate if changes were made. The images or other third party material in this article are included in the article’s Creative Commons licence, unless indicated otherwise in a credit line to the material. If material is not included in the article’s Creative Commons licence and your intended use is not permitted by statutory regulation or exceeds the permitted use, you will need to obtain permission directly from the copyright holder. 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Journal ofPersonality and Social Psychology, 43(1), 111–122. https:// doi. org/ 10. 1037/ 0022- 3514. 43.1. 111 1099 Cross‑Cultural Psychometric Analysis oftheMature Happiness… 1 3 Publisher’s Note Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations. Authors and Affiliations DavidF.Carreno1· NikolettEisenbeck2 · JamesGreville3· PaulT.P.Wong4 David F. Carreno car[email protected] James Greville [email protected] Paul T. P. Wong drpaulw[email protected] 1 Department ofPsychology, University ofAlmeria, Carr. Sacramento, s/n, 04120LaCañada, Almería, Spain 2 Department ofPersonality, Evaluation andPsychological Treatment, Faculty ofPsychology, University ofSeville, Seville, Spain 3 University ofSouth Wales, Newport, UK 4 Meaning-Centered Counselling Institute Inc., NorthYork, ON, Canada