Five-Factor PERMA Profiler – Amharic Version

Abstract

The present academic entry describes the psychometric properties of the 15-item, five-factor PERMA profiler, adapted into the Amharic version. This adaptation was specifically designed to evaluate the positive functioning and subjective well-being of university instructors in an Ethiopian higher education setting. The scale measures the five core components of Martin Seligman’s Positive psychology theory: Positive Emotion (P), Engagement (E), Positive Relationships (R), Meaning in Life (M), and Accomplishment (A). The validation process involved rigorous statistical methodologies, including Exploratory Factor Analysis (EFA), single and multi-group Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA), and the testing of measurement invariance and path analysis.

Keywords

PERMA profiler, Positive psychology, Well-being, Amharic version, Measurement invariance, University instructors, Ethiopia, Confirmatory factor analysis, Positive functioning.

Authors

Girum Tareke Zewude, Mária Hercz

Purpose

The primary purpose of this study was to test and validate the psychometric properties of the 15-item, five-factor PERMA profiler when translated and adapted for use with Amharic-speaking populations, specifically focusing on university instructors in Ethiopia. The validation aimed to confirm that the scale provides a reliable and valid measure of workplace well-being and positive functioning within this distinct cultural and linguistic context.

The resulting Amharic version allows researchers and practitioners to assess the five core facets of flourishing (P, E, R, M, A) among higher education professionals, contributing to the growing body of literature on cross-cultural positive psychology assessment tools.

Construct

The scale measures the five fundamental components of well-being as outlined by the PERMA model, a central framework in positive psychology developed by Martin Seligman. The five constructs measured are:

• P – Positive Emotion: Measures feelings of joy, contentment, and overall positive affective states.

• E – Engagement: Measures the state of being fully absorbed, interested, and experiencing ‘flow’ in activities.

• R – Positive Relationships: Assesses the experience of feeling loved, supported, and having satisfying personal connections.

• M – Meaning in Life: Reflects the sense of purpose, value, and the belief that one’s life activities are worthwhile.

• A – Accomplishment: Measures the feeling of making progress toward goals and achieving mastery or competence.

Validity

The validity of the Amharic version was rigorously assessed through various methods. Bartlett’s test of sphericity was significant (χ²(105) = 3425.940, p < .05), supporting the adequacy of the factor structure and indicating that the items within each of the five factors correlated appropriately.

Discriminant validity was established by confirming that the Average Variance Extracted (AVE) for each subscale was greater than its Maximum Shared Variance (MSV). This provided evidence that the five constructs were distinct, with AVE values consistently exceeding MSV values (e.g., Positive Emotion: AVE=0.90 > MSV=0.70; Accomplishment: AVE=0.87 > MSV=0.70).

Convergent validity was examined using established positive constructs, specifically the Psychological Well-Being Scale (PWBS) and the Satisfaction with Life Scale (SWLS). The PERMA model showed weak but statistically significant positive correlations with both the PWBS (r = 0.190, p < 0.01) and the SWLS (r = 0.134, p < 0.01). Divergent validity was supported by comparing the PERMA profiler against negative constructs (anxiety, depression, and loneliness scales), showing expected weak to moderate negative associations (correlations ranging from r = −0.179 to r = −0.264, p < 0.01).

Reliability

The study demonstrated high levels of internal consistency reliability across all five subscales of the Amharic PERMA profiler. Both Cronbach’s Alpha (α) and Composite Reliability (CR) coefficients consistently exceeded 0.93, indicating excellent reliability. The reliability results for the sub-scales were:

• Positive Emotion: α = 0.96, CR = 0.96
• Engagement: α = 0.95, CR = 0.95
• Positive Relationships: α = 0.95, CR = 0.95
• Meaning in Life: α = 0.93, CR = 0.93
• Accomplishment: α = 0.95, CR = 0.95

The high internal consistency confirms that the five core PERMA factors are reliably measured by their respective items in the Amharic version. The other external variables used for convergent and divergent validity assessment also demonstrated acceptable reliability. The original PDF detailing the psychometric properties can be downloaded here: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/363924838_Psychometric_Properties_and_Measurement_Invariance_of_the_PERMA_Profiler_in_an_Ethiopian_Higher_Education_Setting

Factor Analysis

The factor structure was examined using Exploratory Factor Analysis (EFA) and subsequent Single and Multi-Group Confirmatory Factor Analysis (SGMGCFA) on the 15 items derived from the original PERMA profiler (Butler & Kern, 2016). Four competing structural models were tested: the correlated five-factor model, the single-factor model, the bifactor model, and the higher-order factor model.

The results decisively supported the five-factor correlated model as the best fit for the data, aligning with the original theoretical assumptions of the PERMA theory. This model demonstrated superior global goodness-of-fit indices (χ²(90)=299.135, TLI= 0.983, CFI= .987, RMSEA= .056). In contrast, the single-factor model showed poor fit with the data (TLI = .719, CFI = .759), confirming that well-being, when measured by this instrument, is multidimensional.

The inter-scale correlations for the five-factor model ranged strongly from 0.71 to 0.81, and standardized factor loadings were high, suggesting strong relationships among the constructs while maintaining their distinctiveness. Furthermore, the study confirmed measurement invariance, supporting the consistent use of the instrument across different groups within the sample.

Instrument

Test Type: Psychological Scale, Multidimensional Well-being Assessment

Format: 15 items, Likert-type scale (0 to 10 points), typically ranging from “Never/Not at all” to “Always/Completely.”

Language Available: English (Original), Amharic (Validated version)

Population Group: Professionals

Age Group: Adult

Population Details: University instructors in an Ethiopian higher education setting.

Test Methodology: Psychometric validation study employing Exploratory Factor Analysis, Single and Multi-Group Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA), and Measurement Invariance testing.

Keywords

PERMA, Well-being, Positive emotion, Engagement, Meaning, Accomplishment, Relationships, Psychometrics, Higher education.

Authors

Author ORCID Identifier: N/A

Affiliation Email addresses: [email protected]

Correspondence Address: University of Szeged, Hungary

Permissions & Fee and Test Year

Test Year: The validation study and primary publication (Zewude & Hercz, 2022) detailing the Amharic version were published in 2022. The date of creation listed by the authors is July 1, 2023.

Permissions & Fees: The original PERMA profiler is typically available for non-commercial research and educational use. Specific licensing requirements for the use of the Amharic translation should be directed to the corresponding author, Girum Tareke Zewude.

Reference’s

• Zewude, G. T., & Hercz, M. (2022). Psychometric Properties and Measurement Invariance of the PERMA Profiler in an Ethiopian Higher Education Setting. Pedagogika, 146(2), 209–236. https://doi.org/10.15823/p.2022.146.11
• Butler, J., & Kern, M. L. (2016). The PERMA-Profiler: A brief multidimensional measure of flourishing. *International Journal of Wellbeing*, 6(3), 1–48.
• Lee et al., (2017). (Cited in relation to the use of the PWBS for convergent validity.)
• Schober et al., (2018). (Cited in relation to the interpretation of inter-scale correlations.)
• Wammerl et al., (2019). (Cited in relation to the fit of the PERMA well-being theory.)

Items of the Five-factor PERMA profiler – Amharic version

IMPORTANT: The following scale items must be preserved in their original language and must not be changed in any way.

• 1 A1 How much of the time do you feel you are making progress towards accomplishing your goals?ግቦችን ለማሳካት ምን ያህል የጊዜሂደት እንደወሰደበዎት ይሰማዎታል?
• E1 How often do you become absorbed in what you are doing?ምን እየሰሩ ነዉ፤ምን ያህል ጊዜ ሙሉበሙሉ በስራ ተጠምደዋል?
• P1 In general, how often do you feel joyful?በአጠቃላይ ፤ምን ያህል ጊዜ ደስታይሰማዎታል?
• A2 How often do you achieve the import-ant goals you have set for your- self?ለራስዎ ያስቀመጧቸዉን በጠማአስፈላጊ ግቦች በምንያክል ጊዜያሳካሉ?
• Block
• 2 M1 In general, to what extent do you lead a purposeful and meaningful life?በአጠቃላይ ዓላማ እና ትርጉም ያለዉህይዎት የሚመሩት እስከምን ድረስነዉ?
• R1 To what extent do you receive help and support from others when you need it?በሚፈልጉት ጊዜ ከሌሎች ምን ያህልድጋፍ ና እገዛ ያገኛሉ?
• M2 In general, to what extent do you feel that what you do in your life is valuable and worthwhile?በአጠቃላይ በሕይዎትዎ ውስጥየሚያደርጉት ነገርትርጉም ያለው?እንደሆነ እስከ ምን ድረስይሰማዎታል
• E2 In general, to what extent do you feel excited and interested in things?በአጠቃላይ እስከ ምን ድረስ ደስታና የነገሮች ፍላጎት እንዳለዎትይሰማዎታል
• Block
• 3 P2 In general, how often do you feelpositive?በአጠቃላይ ምን ያህል ጊዜ አውንታዊስሜት ይሰማዎታል
• A3 How often are you able to handle yourresponsibilities?ምን ያህል ጊዜኃላፊነቶችንመወጣትይችላሉ
• E3 How often do you lose track of time while doing something you enjoy?የሚወዱትን ነገር ሲያደርጉ ምን ያህልጊዜዎን ያጠፋሉ
• Block
• 4R2 To what extent do you feel loved? ምን ያህል እንደተወደዱ ይሰማዎታል?
• M3 To what extent do you generally feel you have a sense of direction in yourlife?በአጠቃላይ ምን ያህል ሕይዎትዎንየመምራት ስሜት እንዳለዎትይሰማዋታል?
• R3 How satisfied are you with your per-sonal relationships?በግል ግንኙነትዎ ምን ያህል እርካታይሰማዎታል?
• P3 In general, to what extent do you feelcontented?በአጠቃላይ ምን ያህል እርካታይሰማዎታል?