Cross-Cultural Differences in the Experience of Flow: An Investigation between Turkish, Scottish, and Australian Athletes

Abstract The purpose of this study is to examine the generalizability of flow experiences across individualistic and collectivistic cultures. This study examines the factor structure and cross-cultural invariance of the Dispositional Flow Scale-2 (DFS-2) between the original English version (Jackson & Eklund, 2002) and the translated Turkish version (Aşçı, Çağlar, Eklund, Altıntaş, & Jackson, 2007). Using a cross-sectional design, three samples from Turkey, Scotland, and Australia completed the DFS-2. The results confirmed the first-order 9-factor structure for the overall sample (N = 1099) with a CFI of .948, and across samples with a CFI ranging between .916 and .951, indicating good to excellent fit of the data. Multi-group CFA tests revealed no measurement invariance between Western samples and between Turkish and Australian samples, whereas differences in item meaning were found between Turkish and Scottish samples on three flow subscales. Based on the sound factor structure of the DFS-2 for each sample and evidence for factorial invariance we concluded that the English and Turkish versions of the DFS-2 are psychometrically sound and useful in cross-cultural research.