An Ungrateful Disposition: Psychometric Properties of the Dispositional Envy Scale in Brazil

Abstract

Envy appears to be found among all cultures, and most individuals seem capable of experiencing it. The aim of this research was to gather evidence of the validity and reliability of the Brazilian version of the Dispositional Envy Scale. For that, we performed two studies, each with 246 university students. In the first study, the results indicated that the instrument is composed of a single component. The second study confirms this structure based on the good fit indices and presents adjustment indicators that comply or approach the recommended criteria in the literature. Both studies demonstrate that the single component instrument presents a good level of reliability, as indicated by levels of internal consistency and homogeneity that exceed those recommended for such studies. Accordingly, it was concluded that the Brazilian-Portuguese version of the Dispositional Envy Scale presents acceptable psychometric characteristics and that it may, therefore, be used to assess the tendency or predisposition to feel envy.