Further Evidence for the Latent Structure and Relationship Between Belief in a Just World and Subjective Well-Being: A Commentary on the Latent Factor Approach by Hafer et al. (2020)

Matthias Donat; Anett Wolgast

doi:10.1007/s11211-025-00449-1

All Reviews

PsychologyN/A

intermediate

Further Evidence for the Latent Structure and Relationship Between Belief in a Just World and Subjective Well-Being: A Commentary on the Latent Factor Approach by Hafer et al. (2020)

Matthias Donat & Anett Wolgast (2025)

Published: Feb 3, 2025
Journal: Social Justice Research · Vol. 38 · No. 1
DOI: 10.1007/s11211-025-00449-1

View Original View PDF

At a GlanceAI

A second-order latent BJW factor shows strong positive links to well-being across German and Iranian samples, extending Hafer et al.’s model.

SummaryAI

This commentary tests whether a common, latent “belief in a just world” (BJW) factor relates to subjective well-being (SWB) more robustly than the usual personal vs. general BJW split. Using a second-order factor model with latent first- and second-order factors, the authors find strong positive relations between BJW and SWB in both German and Iranian samples. The work conceptually replicates Hafer et al. (2020) while emphasizing modeling choices that account for measurement error at multiple levels. It supports treating BJW as a higher-order construct when examining its association with well-being, with implications for how just-world measures are specified in future research.

Method SnapshotAI

Second-order structural equation modeling of latent BJW dimensions and SWB in two cross-cultural survey samples.

BackgroundAI

Basic knowledge of belief in a just world theory, subjective well-being constructs, and latent variable modeling/SEM.

In Collections

Psychology41 papers

The Belief in a Just World

In this collection I gather (mostly) psychological studies devoted to people’s fundamental belief that the world is just. This construct, it seems to me, quite strongly affects our perception of the world and, importantly, our reaction to ongoing events — especially when we start blaming others, guided implicitly by precisely this motive. The collection includes both curated works, which at some point I read carefully and can say something sensible about, and new works being published on the topic.

Evgeny Smirnov