Validation of the Good Lives Assessment of Domains in an Adult U.S. Sample

Abstract

This article offers initial validation of the Good Lives Assessment of Domains (GLAD). Data were collected from an electronic survey of 1,484 American adults. Participants were recruited via paid research panels using quotas set to match the U.S. population on Age, Race/Ethnicity, Sex/Gender, Education, and Household Income. Participants responded to a set of items including 48 original items to assess perceptions of life satisfaction in the 11 domains described in the GLM and the 5 Satisfaction with Life Scale (SWLS) items. Factor Analysis indicated 45 final items that loaded onto 9 unique factors, with all loadings ranging between 0.391 and 0.854 with acceptable model fit (RMR = 0.070, CFI = 0.866, RMSEA = 0.063). Cronbach’s Alphas demonstrated acceptable reliability, with items achieving alpha scores greater than .7 in all individual domains and for overall GLAD scores. The correlation between GLAD and SWLS scores was .610 ( p < .001). An Independent samples T-test found a significant mean difference ( t = 4.360, p < .001, mean difference = 8.15737) in GLAD scores between respondents who reported no engagement in crime and deviance and those who reported engagement in crime and deviance.