Is valuing happiness associated with lower well-being? A factor-level analysis using the Valuing Happiness Scale

• The factor structure of the Valuing Happiness Scale was examined.
• Data were pooled from six independent samples with Ntotal = 938.
• The results show that the Valuing Happiness Scale is not unidimensional.
• Only one out of three factors correlates negatively with well-being.
• These findings call for a better operationalization of valuing happiness.

Recent studies suggest that valuing happiness is negatively associated with well-being. Most of these studies used the Valuing Happiness Scale (Mauss, Tamir, Anderson, & Savino, 2011). In the present paper, we examined the factor structure of this scale using data pooled from six independent samples (Ntotal = 938). Exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis showed that the Valuing Happiness Scale is not unidimensional and that only one of its three factors correlates negatively with various indicators of well-being, whereas non-significant or positive correlations were found for the other factors. These findings indicate that valuing happiness may not necessarily be bad for one’s well-being, and call for a better definition, theoretical foundation, and operationalization of this construct.