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The Well-Being Profile (WB-Pro) : Creating a theoretically based multidimensional measure of well- being to advance theory, research, policy, and practice
Marsh, Herbert W. Huppert, Felicia A. Donald, James N. Horwood, Marcus S. Sahdra, Baljinder K.
Marsh, Herbert W.
Huppert, Felicia A.
Donald, James N.
Horwood, Marcus S.
Sahdra, Baljinder K.
Abstract
There is no universally agreed definition of well-being as a subjective experience, but Huppert and So (2013) adopted and systematically applied the definition of well-being as positive mental health—the opposite of the common mental disorders described in standard mental health classifications (e.g., Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders). We extended their theoretical approach to include multi-item scales, using 2 waves of nationally representative U.S. adult samples to develop, test, and validate our multidimensional measure of well-being (WB-Pro). This resulted in a good-fitting a priori (48-item, 15-factor) model that was invariant over time, education, gender, and age; showed good reliability (coefficient αs .81–.93), test–retest correlation (.73–.85; M = .80), and convergent/discriminant validity based on a multitrait-multimethod analysis, and relations with demographic variables, selected psychological measures, and other multidimensional and purportedly unidimensional well-being measures. Further, we found that items from 2 widely used, purportedly unidimensional well-being measures loaded on different WB-Pro factors consistent with a priori predictions based on the WB-Pro factor structure, thereby calling into question their claimed unidimensionality and theoretical rationale. Because some applications require a short global measure, we used a machine-learning algorithm to construct 2 global well-being short versions (five- and 15-item forms) and tested these formative measures in relation to the full-form and validity criteria (to download short and long versions see https://ippe.acu.edu.au/research/research-instruments/wb-pro). The WB-Pro appears to be one of the most comprehensive measures of subjective well-being, based on a sound conceptual model and empirical support, with broad applicability for research and practice, as well as providing a framework for evaluating the breadth of other well-being measures. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2020 APA, all rights reserved)
Keywords
Date
2020
Type
Journal article
Journal
Psychological Assessment
Book
Volume
32
Issue
3
Page Range
294-313
Article Number
ACU Department
Institute for Positive Psychology and Education
Faculty of Education and Arts
Faculty of Education and Arts
Relation URI
Event URL
Open Access Status
License
All rights reserved
File Access
Controlled