Angeles Dominguez

Teacher well-being is a critical component for achieving academic quality; however, few studies have identified the psychological factors that explain this

University teachers in Mexico face increasing demands that can affect their psychological well-being, yet few validated instruments exist to assess this construct within their cultural and occupational context. Addressing this gap, the present study adapts and validates a psychological well-being scale tailored for university teachers in Mexico, based on Ryff’s eudaimonic framework. The research examines the psychometric properties, measurement invariance, and cross-validation of the scale, analyzing responses from 3,240 university teachers across various campuses. The study was conducted in three phases: descriptive analysis and Exploratory Factor Analysis (EFA), Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA), and cross-validation. EFA results supported a four-factor structure (self-actualization, growth, relationships, and autonomy), diverging from Ryff’s original six-factor model. CFA confirmed the robustness of this structure, while multigroup analysis demonstrated measurement invariance across sex(male/female). The cross-validation corroborated the replicability of the model across independent samples. Discriminant validity and reliability (Cronbach’s alpha and McDonald’s omega) were also confirmed. In addition, sex latent mean differences revealed that female university teachers scored higher on growth and relationships, with no significant differences in self-actualization or autonomy. Overall, the findings provide a reliable and contextually relevant tool for assessing psychological well-being in higher education, offering valuable insights for interventions aimed at improving university teachers’ well-being and performance.