Psychometric Properties of the Spanish Version of the Personal Wellbeing Index-School Children (PWI-SC) in Chilean School Children

Abstract

Child and adolescent measures of the quality of life or subjective well-being are scarce in Latin American countries. Chile is no exception to this situation that represents a gap in the literature for South American countries research. Thus, the aim was to analyze the psychometric properties of the Personal Well-being Index for School Children (PWI-SC) of Cummins et al. Social Indicators Research, 64 (2), 159-190, (2003) in a sample of Chilean school children. We use a sample of 1096 pupils between 10 and 12 years old (M=11.03; SD=0.89) and residents of three major Chilean cities. Results of Exploratory and Confirmatory Factor Analysis provided evidence for only one single factor solution. Moreover, an acceptable level of internal reliability was observed (α=0.77). The discussion of results considers other internationals applications of PWI-SC.Well-being as a concept includes three main perspectives: psychological well-being, social well-being, and subjective well-being (Blanco and Varela 2007). The psychological well-being is based on a eudemonic perspective grounded in the humanistic research tradition (Casas 2010), and it is related to self-realization processes, the development of human potential, and complete psychological functioning (Ryff and Singer 2006). The social well-being perspective is based on a tradition that indicates interpersonal and intergroup relationships as part of a particular socio-historical context (Blanco and Varela 2007). Finally, a subjective well-being tradition refers to an Child Ind Res

The moderating role of age and gender differences in the relation between subjective well-being, psychopathology and substance use in Uruguayan adolescents

“…First, the cross-sectional nature of the study does not allow any causal conclusions. Of note, while we considered the effects of psychopathology and substance use on SWB, other studies suggested an inverse impact (Alfaro et al, 2016;Huebner et al, 2004). Longitudinal studies are needed to reveal more insight in the bi-directionality of this relationship, which is clearly needed in future research on this topic in Uruguay and Latin-America.…”

“…Fund.,São Paulo,21(4), 486-510, set. 2018 problems, such as depressive symptoms, dissocial behaviour, suicidal intent and suicidal ideation, low self-esteem, and family and peer relationship problems (Alfaro et al, 2016;Suldo & Huebner 2004;Zullig et al, 2001). In addition, low levels of SWB in adolescents have been found to be related to risky behaviour such as drug or alcohol abuse and antisocial behaviour like aggression to others and sexual harassment (Proctor et al, 2009).…”

“…Research on adolescents' Subjective well-being (SWB) in Latin America is limited (Alfaro et al, 2016;Castella et al, 2012), especially in relation to substance use and psychopathology. The limited Latin-American research on this topic suggests the relevance of studying SWB in relation to adolescents' development.…”

“…The instrument showed good psychometric properties and cultural stability (The International Well-Being Group, 2013). We used the Personal Well-Being index (PWI) (Cummins et al, 2003) in its Spanish version, validated for Chile (Alfaro et al, 2016). The scale is unidimensional and consists of 7 items that evaluate following domains: 'standard of living', 'health', 'achievements', 'relationships with others' (peers and family), 'safety', 'community-connectedness', and 'future security'.…”

Perfil de bienestar psicológico subjetivo en adolescentes uruguayos

“…Se utilizó la escala índice de bienestar personal (PWI), en su versión en español adaptada de la versión española (Casas et al, 2011) para Chile (Alfaro et al, 2016). Esta escala mide la satisfacción con la vida a través de un puntaje global, así como la satisfacción en siete ámbitos específicos.…”