Methodological Issues in Positive Psychology Research with Diverse Populations: Exploring Strengths Among Chinese Adults

In this chapter, we will discuss some issues in multicultural positive psychology research. A general discussion on common methodological issues will be provided first. We will then discuss the following four methodological issues: linguistic equivalence, conceptual equivalence, metric equivalence, and functional equivalence. Linguistic equivalence is achieved if all items of two questionnaires in different languages have identical meanings. Conceptual equivalence refers to whether the same concept represents the same set of behaviour in different cultures. Metric equivalence focuses on the psychometric properties of the same questionnaire in different language versions. Functional equivalence refers to whether the same behaviour or concept plays the same function role in different cultures. Our research on well-being (happiness), posttraumatic growth, and character strengths among Chinese adults will be used for illustration. Since positive psychology is developed in the era of globalization, there is the need to better understand the nuances of culture and positive psychology.