Reinvestigation of the factor structure of the MHC-SF in the Netherlands: Contributions of exploratory structural equation modeling

The present study used the methods of Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA) and Exploratory Structural Equation Modeling (ESEM) to reinvestigate the factor structure of the Mental Health Continuum-Short Form (MHC-SF) in a nationally representative sample from the Netherlands (N = 1662). The results showed that ESEM yielded better fit and considerably smaller factor correlations than did CFA. These findings suggest that ESEM is a more appropriate method than traditional CFA for examining the factor structure of mental well-being. The contributions of ESEM to current debates concerning the distinction between hedonic and eudaimonic well-being are discussed.