A longitudinal investigation of the factor structure of subjective well-being: The case of the Philadelphia Geriatric Center Morale Scale

The purpose of this research was twofold: (a) to replicate the hierarchical factor structure of well-being with rural data; and(b) to investigate the longitudinal invariance of this factor structure. Subjective well-being was hypothesized to have a hierarchical factor structure with a second order factor, well-being, explaining variance in first order dimensions labeled agitation, lonely dissatisfaction, and attitude toward one's own aging. The latent constructs were measured by items composing the PGC Scale (Lawton, 1975). Maximum likelihood confirmatory factor analysis techniques were used to test the fit of the model. Subjective well-being was investigated using a panel of older rural adults surviving a ten-year, two-wave investigation. Results of the study provided support for the hierarchical factor structure of well-being in cross-sectional analyses. This factor structure was varied across time, however.