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Table 5 Meaning in Life Questionnaire ā€“ search subscale: comparisons of the rating scale categories

From: Rasch analysis of the Meaning in Life Questionnaire among adults from South Africa, Australia, and New Zealand

Ā 

Observed count

Average measure

Infit

Outfit

Threshold calibration

MLQ-S

1 ā€“ Absolutely untrue

335

-1.99

1.53

1.52

None

2 ā€“ Mostly untrue

406

-1.45

0.72

0.77

-2.23

3 ā€“ Somewhat true

254

-0.55

0.83

0.84

-0.46

4 ā€“ Canā€™t say true or false

408

-0.07

0.75

0.67

-0.81

5 ā€“ Somewhat true

731

0.51

0.81

0.84

-0.38

6 ā€“ Mostly true

530

1.38

0.98

0.99

1.17

7 ā€“ Absolutely true

341

2.14

1.70

1.30

2.70

MLQ-S 1223345

1 (Original category 1)

335

-3.11

1.43

1.39

None

2 (Original categories 2 and 3 collapsed)

660

-1.87

0.79

0.77

-3.55

3 (Original categories 4 and 5 collapsed)

1139

0.21

0.74

0.75

-1.27

4 (Original category 6)

530

1.72

0.91

0.91

1.64

5 (Original category 7)

341

2.68

1.37

1.43

3.18

MLQ-S 1233456

1 (Original category 1)

335

-2.47

1.52

1.46

None

2 (Original category 2)

406

-1.80

0.69

0.71

-2.65

3 (Original categories 3 and 4 collapsed)

662

-0.39

0.78

0.76

-1.45

4 (Original category 5)

731

0.53

0.76

0.79

-0.06

5 (Original category 6)

530

1.52

0.96

0.99

1.25

6 (Original category 7)

341

2.35

1.55

1.43

2.90

Ideal values

Ā Ā 

<2

<2

Ā 
  1. Note. MLQ-S original Search for Meaning subscale of the Meaning in Life Questionnaire, MLQ-S 1223345 MLQ-S with response categories 2 and 3 collapsed and categories 4 and 5 collapsed, MLQ-S 1233456 MLQ-S with response categories 3 and 4 collapsed. Infit infit mean square statistic, Oufit outfit mean square statistic