The Relational Health Index-Community Scale (RHIC), with subscales Engagement, Empowerment/Zest, and Authenticity (Liang et al., 2002) has been validated in several studies, but conflicting results were obtained for its factor structure in female and male/female samples (Lenz et al., 2016; Liang et al., 2002, 2007). The aim was to investigate the proposed three-factor structure of the English (RHIC_E, n=284) and Setswana (RHIC_S, n=200) versions of the RHIC in two South African adult samples, and test for gender invariance. Confirmatory factor analysis (CFA), bifactor-CFA, exploratory structural equation modelling (ESEM) and bifactor-ESEM were applied. A reduced three-factor bifactor-ESEM model and a three-factor ESEM model displayed superior fit for the RHIC_E and RHIC_S, respectively. Reliabilities and gender invariance were explored. The RHIC_E items seems to be influenced by a global, and some specific factors. Additionally, and also applicable to the RHIC_S, cross-loadings on nontarget factors suggest that the specific factors are interrelated. Reliabilities were acceptable for the global factor, but remained largely insufficient for the specific factors of the RHIC_E. The RHIC_E shows potential for future use, provided that a global factor is used and interpreted. Reliabilities for the RHIC_S remained largely insufficient, and caution should be applied when using the RHIC_S.