Development and Validation of the Japanese version of the Savoring Beliefs Inventory (SBI-J)

Abstract

Savoring is defined as people’s capacity to attend to positive experiences and to regulate positive feelings in response to positive events. The purpose of this study was to develop a Japanese adaptation of the Savoring Beliefs Inventory (SBI-J). The SBI is a self-report measure designed to assess individuals’ beliefs about their ability to savor positive experience within three temporal orientations involving future-focused anticipation of upcoming positive events, present-focused savoring of ongoing positive moments, and past-focused reminiscence about positive memories. After back-translating the SBI, we used an Internet survey to administer the instrument, along with a set of validational criterion measures, to a sample of 520 Japanese adults. Supporting hypotheses and replicating results with Western samples, confirmatory factor analyses revealed that responses to the SBI-J were best conceptualized in terms of five factors reflecting the three, intercorrelated temporal orientations (anticipating, savoring the moment, and reminiscing), as well as two “method” factors involving positive and negative item-valence. Strong, significant correlations among the three temporal SBI-J subscales also support the use of a total score that provides an overall summary of global savoring ability. Each of the three temporal subscales and total score showed acceptable internal consistency reliability and strong one-month test-retest reliability. Correlations of the SBI-J subscales and total score with criterion measures, and gender differences in mean SBI-J scores, support the convergent and discriminant validity of the instrument. These results indicate that the SBI-J is a valid and reliable tool for assessing savoring ability among Japanese adults.