A Multitrait-multimethod Analysis Of Multi-level Subjective Well-being In College Students

"Happiness" has always been the goal of what human beings pursue, and also is the eternal topic, since 2400 years ago, the scholars study and measure happiness from different angles, in the hope to explore the essence of human well-being. In the west, the research about happiness began in the 1860s, and in the west for a long time of study, there are mainly two kinds of representative of happiness, hedonism happiness and eudaimonic happiness. Looking from the concept of subjective well-being, subjective well-being is closely related to need satisfaction, as a result, some scholars put forward the concept of level of multi-level subjective well-being, based on the hierarchy of needs theory, the concept put forward that subjective well-being existence survival, developing and meta three levels of subjective well-being. According to the multi-level concept of subjective well-being, happiness should be measured from the three levels, that is, from the individual’s survival, developing and meta subjective well-being levels systematically measured.The complexity of subjective well-being itself also shows that we can’t use a single assessment tools to accurately measure, at the same time because of the subjective well-being affected by many factors, subjective factors and objective factors are complex interactions between effect, a single self-report scale is difficult to fully detect the individual how to interact between the influence factors of subjective well-being. In existing multi-level subjective well-being measurement, the scholar still measure three levels respectively using self-report scale, the shortcomings of dissimulation and instability of self-report scale let researchers is difficult to guarantee validity assessment letter with a single measurement method.With the development of modern measuring method, more accurate and more objective measurement methods, such as Multitrait-Multimethod(MTMM), the use of this kind of measurement method in a certain extent can increase the consistency of results on happiness. Holland vocational ability test is the representation of using MTMM matrix method, many Chinese scholars also apply MTMM matrix method to verify the idea good reliability and validity of the scale, can help people more accurate measuring their vocational interest and vocational ability. So in the inspiring of Holland vocational aptitude test, this study first attempt to design with MTMM method to measure the college students’ multi-level subjective well-being. According to the theory of multilevel subjective well-being and MTMM method design principles, this study recognize survival Subjective well-being, developing Subjective well-being and meta Subjective well-being as three idiosyncratic factors, recognize need satisfaction assessment, cognitive assessment and grate assessment as three method factors, to validate the MTMM model.The basic idea of this study is the theory analysis-inspection tools-more MTMM model analysis-the status quo analysis, through literature reviewing the subjective well-being basic concept, theoretical origin, basic characteristics, influence factors, measurement tools of, this study think of multi-level subjective well-being can try to use MTMM methods for measuring. Because of the multilevel subjective well-being questionnaire is aiming at the residents, and the subjects of this research group is the college students, so this study combined with the characteristics of contemporary college students’subjective well-being, for the first time, the three original multi-level subjective well-being subscales were revised. In this study,1012 freshman to senior undergraduate students and a few graduate students as the subjects, after the data sorting, first checking internal consistency reliability, retest reliability, structure validity and university standard associated validity; Then using MTMM structural equation model to make confirmatory factor analysis of three subscales; Finally using T test and variance analysis method to discusses the current situation of college students three levels of subjective well-being and life in gender, grade, professional, regional differences.The main conclusions of this study are as follows:(1) the result of MTMM model of multi-level subjective well-being about college students shows that the method of model evaluation, cognitive evaluation, rating need to meet the subjective well-being of college students have a certain convergence effect and validity.(2) cognitive assessment is the most effective method to measure subjective well-being in three methods.(3) the college students’ multi-level subjective well-being scale’reliability and validity is good.(4) Using the method of multiple mass measurement results can better subdivide the measuring result of multi-level subjective well-being, and is more scientific than with the classical theory of measurement method, thus it’s feasible to use MTMM model to study the multi-level subjective well-being.(5) college students’ general well-being is in the high middle level; The three levels of college students subjective well-being comparison results for development-oriented> transcendental> necessity of subjective well-being, The pursuit of college students is no longer the survival needs met, more is the pursuit of the transcendental.(6) men and women in general on the three levels of subjective well-being comparison and there was no significant difference.(7) college students’ general well-being in general in the freshmen year is higher than the big three and four levels, the survival subjective well-being in freshmen is higher than the other three grades, sophomore was higher than senior students; the freshmen in developmental subjective well-being is higher than the big three and senior grade students; the freshmen on meta subjective well-being is significantly higher than other three grade students.(8) liberal arts college students’ subjective well-being is generally higher than medical specialty and science college students, and significant difference between each major. The survival subjective well-being in liberal arts college students is higher than medical specialty and science college students, engineering students’is higher medical students; the liberal arts college students in developmental subjective well-being is higher than medical specialty and science college students, engineering students’ is higher medical students; the liberal arts college students on meta subjective well-being is higher than medical specialty students, engineering students’ is higher medical students.(9) The college students from cities and towns are higher than college students from countryside, the college students from cities are also higher than that of students from the rural areas in survival Subjective well-being, developing Subjective well-being and meta Subjective well-being.In conclusion, this study preliminary discussed the college students’ multi-level subjective well-being by using the method of MTMM design, which has a certain theoretical significance and practical value. But at the same time it also has certain limitation, mainly displays in:one is the revision of the multi-level subjective well-being questionnaire for college students needs further study, according to subjective well-being subscales structure, it still needs further adjustment; Second, the measuring method is still with self-report method, the future study can be based on the experimental method, at the same time, using the method of a new story in the scale to assess the levels of happiness.