@article {11145, title = {Measurement Equivalence of Subjective Well-Being Scales under the Presence of Acquiescent Response Style for the Racially and Ethnically Diverse Older Population in the United States}, journal = {Survey Research Methods}, volume = {14}, year = {2020}, pages = {417-437}, abstract = { With valid assessment of subjective well-being (SWB) at the forefront of social science research, comparability of measurement scales designed to capture SWB across racial/ethnic groups has been questioned. This study examines measurement properties of well-established SWB scales and their comparability between older Hispanics and Whites in the U.S.. Methods. We analyzed the Health and Retirement Study data in order to examine measurement invariance of the satisfaction with life (SWL), positive affect (PAF) and purpose in life (PIL) scales across non-Hispanic Whites, Hispanics interviewed in English and Hispanics interviewed in Spanish through multigroup confirmatory factor analysis and examined their validity by linking their latent scores with covariates of SWB. Examinations of measurement properties further considered acquiescence response style. Results. Strict, scalar and metric invariance was observed for SWL, PAF and PIL, respectively. However, when latent scores estimated from these invariance models were regressed on the validation measures, the relationship was weaker for Hispanics than Whites, suggesting a lower level of validity for Hispanics than Whites. A lower level of invariance was observed for respondents who acquiesced than their counterpart, while the validity was not necessarily hampered by acquiescent response style. Discussion. Our analysis suggests that the traditional measurement invariance test may not be effective under the presence of acquiescent response style for SWB instruments that use the Likert-type response scales. Research into cross-cultural measurement of SWB that considers systematic difference in conceptualization of SWB as well as response styles may improve our ability to understand SWB of the increasingly diverse population.}, keywords = {Cross-cultural Differences, Measurement Equivalence, Measurement Invariance, Minority and Diverse Populations, Subjective well-being}, issn = {1864-3361}, doi = {10.18148/srm/2020.v14i4.7413}, author = {Lee, Sunghee and Elizabeth Vasquez and Lindsay H Ryan and Jacqui Smith} } @article {8392, title = {Methodological Aspects of Subjective Life Expectancy: Effects of Culture-Specific Reporting Heterogeneity Among Older Adults in the United States.}, journal = {The Journals of Gerontology: Series B}, volume = {71}, year = {2016}, pages = {558-568}, publisher = {71}, abstract = {

OBJECTIVES: Subjective life expectancy (SLE) has been suggested as a predictor of mortality and mortality-related behaviors. Although critical for culturally diverse societies, these findings do not consider cross-cultural methodological comparability. Culture-specific reporting heterogeneity is a well-known phenomenon introducing biases, and research on this issue with SLE is not established.

METHOD: Using data from the Health and Retirement Study, we examined reporting heterogeneity in SLE focusing on item nonresponse, focal points, and reports over time for five ethnic-cultural groups: non-Hispanic Whites, non-Hispanic Blacks, non-Hispanic other races, English-interviewed Hispanics, and Spanish-interviewed Hispanics.

RESULTS: On item nonresponse, Spanish-interviewed Hispanics said, "I don{\textquoteright}t know," to SLE significantly more than any other groups. Nearly half of the respondents chose 0, 50, or 100, making them focal points. However, the focal points differed: 50 for Whites, 100 for Blacks, and 0 for Spanish-interviewed Hispanics. The relationship of SLE measured at two time points was higher for Whites than minorities. Moreover, those who said "I don{\textquoteright}t know" to SLE showed higher subsequent mortality than those who gave an answer. SLE was not a significant mortality predictor for Hispanics.

DISCUSSION: Overall, SLE is not free from culture-specific reporting heterogeneity. This warrants further research about its culture-relevant measurement mechanisms.

}, keywords = {Aged, Aged, 80 and over, Bias, Cross-Cultural Comparison, Cross-Sectional Studies, Diagnostic Self Evaluation, Ethnic Groups, Female, Frail Elderly, Humans, Language, Life Expectancy, Longitudinal Studies, Male, Middle Aged, Self Report, United States}, issn = {1758-5368}, doi = {10.1093/geronb/gbv048}, author = {Lee, Sunghee and Jacqui Smith} } @article {8069, title = {Lee and Schwarz Respond to Kawada, Question Context, Ethnic Difference, and Self-Rated Health}, journal = {American Journal of Public Health}, volume = {104}, year = {2014}, pages = {e3-e4}, publisher = {104}, abstract = {We agree with Kawada that the ideal data set for our study would include a confounder-free experiment that asks the self-rated health (SRH) question in different contexts (or order) and follows study subjects over time to assess subsequent morbidity and mortality. This data set does not exist. As an approximation with minimal methodological non-comparability, we used the National Health Interview Survey linked with the National Death Index and the Health and Retirement Study (HRS) to examine SRH context effects on health outcome predictions.}, keywords = {Health Conditions and Status, Healthcare}, doi = {10.2105/AJPH.2013.301712}, url = {http://dx.doi.org/10.2105/AJPH.2013.301712}, author = {Lee, Sunghee and Schwarz, Norbert} } @article {8079, title = {Question context and priming meaning of health: effect on differences in self-rated health between Hispanics and non-Hispanic Whites.}, journal = {Am J Public Health}, volume = {104}, year = {2014}, month = {2014 Jan}, pages = {179-85}, publisher = {104}, abstract = {

OBJECTIVES: We examined the implications of the current recommended data collection practice of placing self-rated health (SRH) before specific health-related questions (hence, without a health context) to remove potential context effects, between Hispanics and non-Hispanics.

METHODS: We used 2 methodologically comparable surveys conducted in English and Spanish that asked SRH in different contexts: before and after specific health questions. Focusing on the elderly, we compared the influence of question contexts on SRH between Hispanics and non-Hispanics and between Spanish and English speakers.

RESULTS: The question context influenced SRH reports of Spanish speakers (and Hispanics) significantly but not of English speakers (and non-Hispanics). Specifically, on SRH within a health context, Hispanics reported more positive health, decreasing the gap with non-Hispanic Whites by two thirds, and the measurement utility of SRH was improved through more consistent mortality prediction across ethnic and linguistic groups.

CONCLUSIONS: Contrary to the current recommendation, asking SRH within a health context enhanced measurement utility. Studies using SRH may result in erroneous conclusions when one does not consider its question context.

}, keywords = {Aged, Female, Health Status, Health Surveys, Hispanic or Latino, Humans, Male, Middle Aged, Mortality, Self Report, United States, White People}, issn = {1541-0048}, doi = {10.2105/AJPH.2012.301055}, author = {Lee, Sunghee and Schwarz, Norbert} }