Initial Development and Validation of a Brief Scale to Measure Genuine Happiness in the USA

Genuine happiness can be described as an unlimited, everlasting inner joy and peace undisturbed by external circumstances. The current study proposes a Genuine Happiness Scale (GHS) with four items. The sample consisted of 678 US young adults, with 432 completing the online surveys twice, approximately six weeks apart. Exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis provided evidence for a unidimensional factor structure of the GHS. Hierarchical regression analysis revealed that, after controlling for genuine happiness at baseline, caring for bliss, mindfulness, and compassion predicted genuine happiness approximately six weeks later. In addition, genuine happiness predicted later well-being after controlling for well-being at baseline.