Abstract:
Subjective well-being (subjective well-being) is a construct comprised of positive
and negative affect, as well as a sense of satisfaction with one’s life. Presently there is no
scale designed to assess subjective well-being in preschool age children. The purpose of
this thesis was to develop and validate the Preschoolers’ Subjective Well-Being Scale.
Research into positive areas of psychology within preschool age children is sparse. The
development of such a scale as proposed in this research will help further develop our
understanding of the factors that cultivate subjective well-being in children. Twenty-six
children and their parents participated in this study. Children were administered the
Preschoolers’ Subjective Well-Being Scale and the Pictorial Scale of Perceived
Competence and Social Acceptance for Young Children. Parents completed the Positive
Affect and Negative Affect Scale on behalf of their respective children. In order to
validate the Preschoolers’ Subjective Well-Being Scale, items were subjected to
correlations with those on the other two scales, and analyses of internal reliability were
run on the three composites of the Preschoolers’ Subjective Well-Being Scale. Sex was
found to be a significant factor, and the Preschoolers’ Subjective Well-Being Scale
proved to be moderately reliable. Results are discussed in terms of sex differences in
self-concept, and limitations of the present study are explored.
