Cross cultural evaluation of the Warwick-Edinburgh mental well-being scale (WEMWBS) -a mixed methods study

Abstract

BackgroundWe aimed to validate the Warwick-Edinburgh Mental Well-being Scale (WEMWBS) among English speaking adults representing two of the minority ethnic groups living in the UK, self-identified as Chinese or Pakistani by background, in a mixed methods study.MethodsQuantitative data were collected in two cities in the West Midlands, UK. Item response, dimensionality, internal consistency, and construct validity of the WEMWBS were assessed in Chinese and Pakistani groups separately, using data from both cities combined.Qualitative data were collected in the first city in eight focus groups of different ages recruited by the community workers. Three mixed sex Chinese and five single sex Pakistani groups discussed ease of completion and comprehension of items, together with overall reactions to the scale and underlying concept.Results of quantitative and qualitative analysis were examined for commonalities and differences.ResultsItem completion and item total correlations were satisfactory in both groups. In the Chinese data, Exploratory Factor Analysis showed a single factor with loadings ranging from 0.60 to 0.82 for all 14 items. In the Pakistani data, three factors reached statistical significance; however, a substantial drop in eigenvalues between the first and second factors and the limited variance explained by the second and third factors supported a one-factor model. All items loaded on this factor from 0.51 to 0.83.In the Chinese and Pakistani data respectively, Cronbach’s alpha was 0.92 (0.89 – 0.94) and 0.91 (0.88 – 0.94); Spearman’s correlation with GHQ-12 was - 0.63 (−0.73 to −0.49) and −0.55 (−0.70 to −0.36), and with the WHO-5 0.62 (0.46-0.75) and 0.64 (0.50 to 0.76).Qualitative analysis revealed good comprehension and ease of completion of almost all items. Some culturally determined differences in understanding of mental well-being, which varied both between and within communities, emerged.ConclusionsThe WEMWBS was well received by members of both Pakistani and Chinese communities. It showed high levels of consistency and reliability compared with accepted criteria. Data were sufficiently strong to recommend the WEMWBS for use in general population surveys.

Adaptation and cross-cultural validation of the Brazilian version of the Warwick-Edinburgh mental well-being scale

“…Therefore, the WEMWBS scale is an instrument that will meet the needs of individual and population assessments. 5,7,9,22 Valid and reliable instruments for research are extremely important in comparisons between different contexts and samples. They are recommended when the goal is to assess the validity of an instrument, which is achieved through continuing research on the subject.…”

“…4 Other studies have shown scores of 53.5 points in a Spanish sample, 6 52.34 points in a sample of Chinese origin, and 52 points in a third sample of Pakistani origin. 7 The adequacy of the factor analysis was confirmed by KMO and Bartlett's test of sphericity, which in turn made it possible to verify the adequacy of the data for application of factor analysis. In this study, the factor analysis was suitable for processing the data, with two factors accounting for approximately 65.7% of the variance found.…”

“…4 In the Spanish sample, Cronbach's alpha was 0.90, 6 while in the samples of Chinese and Pakistani origin, the results were 0.92 and 0.91, respectively. 7 The authors of the original instrument also found the alpha at 0.87 in a sample of adolescents. 26 The Brazilian version of the WEMWBS showed positive correlation with other scales of well-being and mental health validated and used in Brazil, having achieved r=0.59 (moderate correlation) with the WHO-5 scale, and r=0.69 (moderate correlation) with the WBMMS scale.…”

“…4,5 The WEMWBS, for its applicability, has been used and adapted to several languages, for different cultures and populations. [6][7][8][9][10] It measures the positive aspects of mental health over a period of two weeks prior to its application. It is an ordinal scale that uses 14 phrases covering hedonic (happiness, joy, contentment) and eudaimonic (psychological functioning, autonomy, positive relationship with others, sense of purpose in life) aspects.…”

Traducción, adaptación al español y validación de la escala de bienestar mental de WARWICK-EDINBURGH en una muestra de adultos mayores argentinos.

“…La escala ha sido validada en grupos e individuos (Maheswaran, Weich, Powell, & Stewart-Brown, 2012), en poblaciones de diferentes áreas geográficas (Lloyd & Devine, 2012;Stewart-Brown, Tennant, Tennant, Platt, Parkinson, & Weich, 2009;, con diferentes profesiones y culturas (Bartram, Sinclair, & Baldwin, 2013;Taggart, Friede, Weich, Clarke, Johnson, & Stewart-Brown, 2013), diferentes edades (Clarke, Friede, Putz, Ashdown, Martin, Blake, & Stewart-Brown, 2011), y capacidades cognitivas (Deary, Watson., Booth, & Gale, 2013).…”