TITLE:
The Japanese Translation of the Meaning in Life Questionnaire-Short Form: Reliability and Construct Validity
AUTHORS:
Katsunori Sumi
KEYWORDS:
Meaning in Life, Meaning in Life Questionnaire-Short Form, Japanese Trans-lation, Reliability, Construct Validity, College Student, Adult Worker
JOURNAL NAME:
Psychology,
Vol.10 No.16,
December
30,
2019
ABSTRACT: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the reliability and construct validity of a Japanese translation of the Meaning in Life Questionnaire-Short Form (MLQ-SF-J), a brief self-report measure of the presence of meaning in life. Data were collected from two samples of 382 Japanese college students (177 women, 205 men; mean age = 20.92 years, SD = 0.66) and 407 Japanese adult workers (196 women, 211 men; mean age = 38.83 years, SD = 9.88). Exploratory factor analysis clearly supported the expected one-factor structure of the MLQ-SF-J in both samples. The MLQ-SF-J was found to have good internal consistency reliability in both samples (Cronbach’s alphas = 0.80 and 0.86) and 4-week test-retest reliability in the student sample (r = 0.70). As expected, moderate correlations with hedonic well-being scores and high correlations with eudaimonic well-being scores were generally found in both samples. Correlations between scores on the MLQ-SF-J and a purpose in life scale were also high, as expected. The MLQ-SF-J was found to be a reliable and valid measure useful for a large-scale research on purpose in life in the Japanese population.