Jovanovic, VeljkoRudnev, MaksimAryanto, Christ BillyBalgiu, Beatrice AdrianaCaudek, CorradoDatu, Jesus Alfonso D.Guse, TharinaKyriazos, TheodorosLambert, LouiseMishra, Krishna KumarPuente-Diaz, RogelioRice, Sean P.M.Singh, KamleshSumi, KatsunoriTong, Kwok KitYaaqeib, SaadYildirim, MuratKocjan, Gaja ZagerZemojtel-Piotrowska, Magdalena2024-10-242024-08Jovanović, V., Rudnev, M., Aryanto, C.B. et al. A Cross-Cultural Evaluation of Diener’s Tripartite Model of Subjective Well-Being Across 16 Countries. Journal of Happiness Studies 25, 82 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10902-024-00781-4.1389-4978 (print)1573-7780 (online)10.1007/s10902-024-00781-4http://hdl.handle.net/2263/98735DATA AVAILABILITY : All code and data are available at the Open Science Directory by the link https://osf.io/n6d8h.Subjective well-being (SWB) is a multidimensional construct with three components (i.e., life satisfaction, positive affect, and negative affect) comprising the tripartite model. Yet, despite numerous studies in the field of SWB, the cross-cultural validity of the tripartite structure is still largely unknown. The present study evaluated competing models of SWB’s structure across 16 countries (N = 8860 undergraduate students; age range = 18–29 years; 63.6% female) and examined its measurement invariance using both exact and approximate approaches. The exploratory structural equation model (ESEM) of tripartite SWB that allowed small cross-loadings provided the best fit to the data in the majority of countries, and it demonstrated a high level of approximate invariance, which allows for a comparison of means across countries. A bifactor model with an omitted Positive Affect factor also fit well in all samples making the measurement of the general SWB possible; however, it was less robust for cross-cultural comparisons. The correlations between the three latent SWB factors were consistent across most countries, with a few meaningful exceptions. We conclude that ESEM model represents the tripartite structure of SWB robustly both within and across countries.en© The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Nature B.V. 2024. The original publication is available at : http://link.springer.com/journal/10902.Subjective well-being (SWB)AssessmentCultureMeasurement invarianceExploratory structural equation modelingAlignmentSDG-03: Good health and well-beingPostprint Article