Japanese cultural adaptation and validation of the social emotional health survey-secondary for junior high school students

Abstract

The Social Emotional Health Survey–Secondary (SEHS-S) assesses adolescents’ psychological dispositions associated with positive psychosocial development. The present study extended SEHS–S research by validating the SEHS-S with a nonwestern sample of Japanese junior high school students (Grades 7–9; N = 1,181) and investigating sex and grade level difference in Covitality and four domains of positive psychological dispositions (Belief-in-Self, Belief-in-Others, Emotional Competence, and Engaged Living). The confirmatory factor analyses supported the internal validity of the SEHS-S with a second-order model. Higher Covitality scores predicted higher life satisfaction, school connectedness, and prosocial behavior and lower emotional symptoms, conduct problems, inattention/hyperactivity, and peer problems, evidence of concurrent validity. Analyses supported the factorial invariance for different sex and grade level. Females reported higher Belief-in-Others and Emotional Competence and lower Belief-in-Self and Engaged Living than males. Grade 9 students reported higher Covitality, Belief-in-Self, Emotional Competence, and Belief-in-Others than Grade 8 students. These results support expanding the use of the SEHS–S as a universal wellness screener in Japanese junior high schools to identify the social–emotional strengths of all students. Further study needs to establish how to use the SEHS–S most effectively with Japanese junior high school students in a culturally sensitive manner.