Experienced saudade among brazilian college students: Structure and correlates

Abstract

This study examined the psychometric characteristics of the Experience of Saudade Scale (ESS) in a Brazilian sample, its measurement invariance across gender, and the relations of the experience of saudade with well-being and personality traits. The sample comprised 268 Brazilian participants aged 18-31 years. They completed the ESS, and other scales measuring satisfaction with life, satisfaction with love life, self-esteem, loneliness, and personality. The fit of the three-factor model of the ESS (Missing Close Others, Lack of Intimacy, and Longing for the Past) to the data was good, and reliability was adequate. Measurement invariance of the ESS across gender groups was supported. Gender had no effect, and model fit did not vary according to gender. The three factors of the ESS correlated positively with neuroticism. Additionally, (a) Missing close others correlated negatively with satisfaction with love life, (b) Lack of intimacy and Longing for the past correlated with the four measures of well-being. Well-being measures predicted experienced saudade over and above personality traits.