Adaptation and Validation of Life Orientation Test: Revised as a Measure for Dispositional Optimism in a Mexican Sample of University Teachers Academic Article in Scopus uri icon

abstract

  • This study focused on adapting and evaluating the Life Orientation Test-Revised (LOT-R) for measuring dispositional optimism in university teachers in Mexico. The primary objective was to modify the LOT-R scale to a frequency response system and assess its psychometric properties in university teachers (232 participants). The findings revealed that the adapted frequency response system of the LOT-R has evidence of construct validity determined by Exploratory and Confirmatory Factor Analysis (X2¿=¿1.34, p¿=¿.931; X2/df¿=¿0.27, GFI¿=¿0.99, AGFI¿=¿0.99, RMR¿=¿0.01, SRMR¿=¿0.03, NFI¿=¿0.99, RFI¿=¿0.99), criterion validity by concurrent analysis with Satisfaction with Life scale (r¿=¿.41, p¿<¿.001, Fisher¿s z¿=¿0.44, 95% CI [0.32, 0.99]), convergent validity determined with Average Variance Extracted (AVE¿=¿0.64), and reliability calculated by internal consistency (¿¿=¿.88, ¿¿=¿0.89, GLB¿=¿0.91). The study also highlighted the variability in the factorial structure of the LOT-R across different studies, contributing to the one-dimensional structure adaptations of the scale. The frequency response system demonstrated a better fit, and accuracy than the agreement system used in the LOT-R. The frequency system emphasizes direct measures of optimism toward a more realistic representation of lived experiences. Adapting the LOT-R using frequency response items in Mexican teachers significantly contributed to measuring optimism to promote a healthy higher education environment. © The Author(s) 2025. This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 License (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/) which permits non-commercial use, reproduction and distribution of the work without further permission provided the original work is attributed as specified on the SAGE and Open Access pages (https://us.sagepub.com/en-us/nam/open-access-at-sage).

publication date

  • October 1, 2025