Translation and validation of the satisfaction with life scale in the native Quechua (Collao variant) language of southern Perú

Abstract

Research on life satisfaction in indigenous populations is limited due to language barriers. Therefore, this paper aimed to translate and validate the Life Satisfaction Scale into the original Quechua language (collao variant) of southern Peru. The research was classified as instrumental and transversal and was conducted with the voluntary participation of 242 Quechua adults speaking the collao variant. The instrument that was translated was the 5-item SWLS, previously adapted to Peruvian Spanish. The internal structure was analyzed under an analytical-factorial approach, and the discrimination and difficulty of the items were evaluated from the item response theory (IRT). Expert judgment was favorable for all items (V > 0.70), confirming the 1-dimensional structure of the scale (χ2 = 8.972, df = 5, p =.000; CFI = 0.985; TLI = 0.970 and RMSEA = 0.057), with acceptable reliability (ω = 0.65). All the items of the scale presented adequate discrimination indices; in addition, the results of the evaluation of factorial invariance as a function of gender demonstrated configurational equivalence but an absence of metric invariance. In conclusion, the SWLS translated into Collao Quechua (collao variant) has a stable factorial structure and adequate internal consistency, although it was not possible to completely demonstrate the invariance by gender, it can be used for initial investigations to measure satisfaction with life of the Quechua-speaking indigenous population of southern Peru.