Structure analysis of subjective well-being

espanolIntroduccion. Hay una controversia en torno a la estructura del bienestar subjetivo (BS) y la posibilidad de calcular una puntuacion total del BS. Objetivo. Contrastar y comparar cinco modelos propuestos para el BS. Metodo. El diseno del estudio fue ex-post-facto de corte transversal. Se uso un muestreo incidental. La Escala de Experiencias Positivas y Negativas y la Escala de Satisfaccion con la Vida se aplicaron a una muestra compuesta por 600 estudiantes de ciencias de la salud de dos universidades de Nuevo Leon, Mexi-co. Los datos se analizaron por modelamiento de ecuaciones estructurales, usando Maxima Verosimilitud y Percentiles Corregidos de Sesgo. Resultados. El modelo bifactor de tres factores especificos tuvo, respecto del modelo compuesto por tres factores correlacionados, tuvo el mejor ajuste a los datos (Δχ2/Δdf = 8.166 > 5, ΔNFI = .018, ΔNNFI = .015 y ΔCFI = .016 > .01) y todos sus indices de ajuste fueron buenos; no obstante, el factor especifico de afecto positivo tuvo una contribucion pobre. Sin embargo, el modelo de tres factores correlacionados tuvo la mayor parsimonia (PR = .853, PNFI = .804, PNNFI = .813, PCFI = .819 y PGFI = .706) y sus tres factores mostraron validez convergente, validez discriminante y consistencia interna. Discusion y conclusion. Los dos modelos con mejores propiedades justifican el uso de una puntuacion compuesta de BS integrada por afecto positivo, afecto negativo y satisfaccion con la vida, asi como puntuaciones para estos tres dominios especificos de contenido. Desde la perspectiva psicometrica, el modelo de tres factores correlacionados proporciono el mejor resultado. EnglishIntroduction. There is controversy regarding the structure of subjective well-being (SWB) and the possibility of calculating a SWB total score. Objective. To test and compare five models proposed for the description of SWB. Method. The study was implemented with a cross-sectional, ex-post-facto design using an incidental sampling method. The Positive and Negative Experience Scale and the Satisfaction with Life Scale were applied to a sample composed of 600 students of health sciences from two universities of Nuevo Leon, Mexico. Data were analyzed through a structural equation modeling, using Maximum Likelihood and Corrected-Bias Percentile methods. Results. The bifactor model comprising three specific factors, vis-a-vis the model composed of three correlated factors, had the best data fit (Δχ2/Δdf = 8.166 > 5, ΔNFI = .018, ΔNNFI = .015, and ΔCFI = .016 > .01), and all its fit indices were close; however, the specific factor related to positive affect had a poor contribution. Nevertheless, the model composed of three correlated factors had the greatest parsimony (PR = .853, PNFI = .804, PNNFI = .813, PCFI = .819, and PGFI = .706) and its three factors showed convergent validity, discriminant validity, and internal consistency reliability. Discussion and conclusion. The two models with the best properties justify the use of a composite score of SWB based on the scores of positive affect, negative affect, and satisfaction with life, as well as scores for these three specific domains of content. From a psychometric perspective, the model composed of three correlated factors yielded the best result.