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Evaluation of Affect in Mexico and Spain: Psychometric Properties and Usefulness of an Abbreviated Version of the Day Reconstruction Method

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Abstract

The aims of the present study were to assess the psychometric properties of the Spanish-language version of the abbreviated Day Reconstruction Method (DRM), and to investigate differences in affective experience in Mexico and Spain. A total of 2,629 adults from Mexico and 4,583 from Spain were interviewed. Information was obtained using an abbreviated version of the DRM, which had been translated into Spanish. Reliability, validity, and the structure of affect were assessed and compared between countries. The diurnal variation of affect, the changes in affect along the life span, time use, and the relationship between affect and socio-demographic characteristics were also analysed. Adequate psychometric properties for the Spanish-language version of the abbreviated DRM were found in both the Mexican and the Spanish samples, and affect tended to improve along the life span in both countries. However, net affect did not have the same distribution function (Kolmogorov–Smirnov statistic = 0.25, p < 0.001) in both countries, being higher in Spain. Moreover, both samples showed opposite patterns in the diurnal variation of affect. The results showed that the Spanish-language version of the DRM is a feasible and valid method to measure affect, its diurnal rhythms, and time use in large-scale surveys.

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Acknowledgments

This paper uses data from WHO SAGE and from COURAGE in Europe. WHO’s Study on Global Ageing and Adult Health is supported by the United States National Institute on Aging’s Division of Behavioral and Social Research through Interagency Agreements (OGHA 04034785; YA1323-08-CN-0020; Y1-AG-1005-01) and through a research grant (R01-AG034479) and the World Health Organization’s Department of Health Statistics and Information Systems. The research leading to these results has also received funding from the European Community’s Seventh Framework Programme (FP7/2007–2013) under Grant agreement Number 223071 (COURAGE in Europe), the Instituto de Salud Carlos III-FIS research Grants Number PS09/00295 and PS09/01845, the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation ACI-Promociona (ACI2009-1010), and the Mental Health and Disability Instrument Library Platform (CIBERSAM). The study was supported by the Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red de Salud Mental (CIBERSAM), Instituto de Salud Carlos III. J.P. is grateful to the Instituto de Salud Carlos III for a predoctoral grant (PFIS).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Psychiatry, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, Madrid, Spain

    Francisco Félix Caballero, Marta Miret & José Luis Ayuso-Mateos

  2. Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red de Salud Mental, Instituto de Salud Carlos III, CIBERSAM, Spain http://www.cibersam.es

    Francisco Félix Caballero, Marta Miret, Josep Maria Haro & José Luis Ayuso-Mateos

  3. Department of Psychiatry, Instituto de Investigación Sanitaria Princesa (IP), Hospital Universitario de La Princesa, C./Diego de León 62, 28006, Madrid, Spain

    Francisco Félix Caballero, Marta Miret & José Luis Ayuso-Mateos

  4. Parc Sanitari Sant Joan de Déu, Universitat de Barcelona, Sant Boi de Llobregat, Barcelona, Spain

    Beatriz Olaya, Jaime Perales & Josep Maria Haro

  5. Center of Research in Population Health, National Institute of Public Health, Cuernavaca, Morelos, Mexico

    Ruy López-Ridaura

  6. Department of Health Statistics and Information Systems, World Health Organization, Geneva, Switzerland

    Somnath Chatterji

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  1. Francisco Félix Caballero
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  2. Marta Miret
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  8. José Luis Ayuso-Mateos
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Correspondence to José Luis Ayuso-Mateos.

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Caballero, F.F., Miret, M., Olaya, B. et al. Evaluation of Affect in Mexico and Spain: Psychometric Properties and Usefulness of an Abbreviated Version of the Day Reconstruction Method. J Happiness Stud 15, 915–935 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10902-013-9456-5

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