Validation of the Meaning in Life Questionnaire (MLQ) in Chinese University Students and Invariance across Gender

The goal of present study was to translate and validate the Meaning in Life Questionnaire (MLQ; Steger, Frazier, Oishi, & Kaler, 2006) with a Chinese sample. We examined the internal consistency, validity and the factorial invariance across gender groups. A total of 347 Chinese university students were invited to take part in this study. The findings demonstrated that the scale had satisfactory internal reliability and corresponded to the theoretically proposed two-dimensional structure. Factorial invariance across males and females was first confirmed. The validity of the scale was supported by substantial correlations with existing measures of perceived stress, core self-evaluations, self-esteem, social support, positive affect, negative affect, life satisfaction. Overall, the current study provides initial evidence for the validity and reliability of a Chinese translation of the MLQ, and suggests that this scale can be used to measure meaning in life in Chinese university students.