Psychometric evaluation of the Russian version of the flourishing scale in a sample of older adults living in Siberia

Background: The development of measures of psychological functioning has received less attention in Russia compared to other countries. Moreover, despite the growing interest in the psychological well-being of older adults, there is a lack of research on this segment of the population in Siberia. Therefore, in this study we aimed to evaluate the psychometric properties of the Russian version of the Flourishing Scale (FS) and to measure psychological functioning in a sample of older adults living in Siberia.

Methods: The FS was translated and adapted to Russian language and culture using the back-translation procedure. The Russian version was administered to 851 older adults (aged from 65 to 93 years, mean = 75.3; female = 510). A principal axis factor analysis (PFA) and a confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) were used to assess the structural validity. Cronbach's alpha coefficients (internal consistency) and item-total correlations were also analysed. To test the convergent validity, the FS was compared with other scales assessing mental well-being.

Results: The PFA and the CFA showed that the FS had good psychometric properties. A one-factor structure was a good model of fit, even if some items had a low loading (ranging between 0.39 and 0.80). The Cronbach's alpha value was 0.82 and the Cronbach's alpha values if an item were deleted ranged from 0.78 to 0.81. The item-total correlation coefficients ranged from 0.54 to 0.76. The FS also showed good convergent and divergent validity with other scales (correlation coefficients ranging from 0.39 to 0.54). The mean flourishing score (40.9) reported by the older adults in our sample is lower than that reported in previous studies.

Conclusions: The Russian version of the FS seems to have good psychometric properties and to be a valid and reliable instrument to evaluate flourishing among Russian older adults. This study provides the first evaluation of an instrument that Russian researchers and policymakers can use to better understand the determinants of successful ageing in this society. Future studies should further assess the validity and reliability of the FS and should generalize these results to different groups (e.g., adolescent or workers).