Psychometric Evaluation of the Positive Emotions Questionnaire on Mexican Children

Abstract

Objective. The aim of this study was to obtain evidence of empirical validity and accuracy of the Positive Emotions Questionnaire for Children. Method. The first aspect evaluates the underlying structure of five dimensions with exploratory factor analysis (EFA) and internal consistency, with 395 participants aged 10 to 13 years (M = 10.96, SD = .72). The second aspect tests the model with four and five factors with confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) and analyzes the convergent validity between positive affect and resilience, and divergent validity with everyday stressors and negative affect in another sample of 467 participants (M = 11.19, SD = .76). Results. The five-factor structure (X²/df = 3.26, p = .000, CFI= .913, RMR= .069, TLI, =.900, RMSEA=.069) is confirmed with high reliability, factorial invariance, and convergent and divergent validity is demonstrated. Differences between boys and girls are reported. Further refinement of the model is recommended to have accurate instruments that measure the positive emotional experience in childhood.