THE PSYCHOMETRIC PROPERTIES OF THE MEANING IN LIFE QUESTIONNAIRE IN SLOVAKIA

Objectives. The study focuses on the psychometric examination of the Meaning in Life Questionnaire (MLQ) in a Slovak translation. Sample and settings. The sample consisted of 1368 Slovak participants (mean age 41.58 years). To assess the questionnaire's stability over time and predictive power, a subset of participants (421 adults) was invited to retest after approximately six months. Statistical analyses. Confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) was performed to assess internal structure of the MLQ and its measurement invariance across gender and age groups. Item response theory (IRT) using single -factor generalized partial credit model was applied for item analysis. Hierarchical linear regression analysis was performed to examine the predictive power of the MLQ. Results. The MLQ showed good internal consistency for both subscales, but the CFA showed perfect fit only for the Presence of Meaning subscale; fit for the Search for Meaning subscale was borderline acceptable. Both subscales were found to be invariant across gender and age groups. Correlation analysis revealed positive associations between Presence of meaning and subjective well-being, whereas Search for meaning was only weakly correlated or not correlated at all. Longitudinal analysis revealed that Presence of meaning (but not the Search for meaning) significantly predicted life satisfaction after controlling for personality and emotionbased measures of well-being. Limitations. The limitation of the study is specific sample recruited through research panel agency based on self-selection of participant.