Validation of the WHO-5 as a screening tool for depression among young adults in Malaysia

Low, Kah-Yue; Pheh, Kai Shuen; Tan, Chee‐Seng

doi:10.1007/s12144-021-02152-1

Cited by 14 publications

(8 citation statements)

References 19 publications

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“…A systematic review of the WHO-5 (including studies on children and adolescents) concluded that “WHO-5 is a short questionnaire consisting of five simple and non-invasive questions, which tap into the mental well-being of the respondents” [ 6 ]. Previous studies on adolescent samples report that the WHO-5 has high internal consistency, with a Cronbach-alpha of 0.70 in Gambia [ 10 ]; 0.82 in the Netherlands [ 11 ]; 0.90 in Malaysia [ 12 ]; and 0.91 in Iran [ 13 ]. The above-cited studies and many other publications demonstrate that all five items load on one latent factor.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Measurement Invariance of the WHO-5 Well-Being Index: Evidence from 15 European Countries

Cosma

Költő

Chzhen

et al. 2022

IJERPH

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(1) Background: The World Health Organization (WHO)-5 Well-Being Index has been used in many epidemiological studies to assess adolescent mental well-being. However, cross-country comparisons of this instrument among adolescents are scarce and, so far, no good-fitting, common invariant measurement model across countries has been reported. The present study aims to evaluate and establish a version of the WHO-5 Well-Being Index that allows for a valid cross-country comparison of adolescent self-reported mental well-being. (2) Methods: Using data from the 2018 Health Behaviour in School-aged Children study, we evaluated the measurement model and measurement invariance of the five items of the WHO-5 Well-Being Index. We used nationally representative samples of 11-, 13-, and 15-year-old adolescents (N = 74,071) from fifteen countries and regions in Europe. Measurement invariance of the WHO-5 was assessed using a series (country, gender, and age) of multi-group confirmatory factor analyses. In addition, we evaluated the convergent validity of the measure by testing its correlations with psychosomatic complaints, life satisfaction, and self-rated health. (3) Results: We found that WHO-5 does not show good psychometric properties or good measurement invariance fit. However, by excluding the first item of the scale (“I have felt cheerful and in good spirits”), the WHO-4, consisting of the other four original items, had good psychometric properties, and demonstrated good suitability for cross-national comparisons (as well as age and gender) in adolescent mental well-being. (4) Conclusions: The present study introduces the WHO-4—a revised version of the WHO-5—, that allows for a valid comparison of mental well-being across fifteen countries and regions in Europe. The WHO-4 proved to be a reliable and valid instrument to assess mental well-being in the adolescent population.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Measurement Invariance of the WHO-5 Well-Being Index: Evidence from 15 European Countries

Cosma

Költő

Chzhen

et al. 2022

IJERPH

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“…More studies are warranted to address these limitations by replicating the study in diverse cultural contexts, extending the investigation to other populations with larger sample size, and applying a longitudinal design. Moreover, future researchers may correlate the IHS score with other established measurements of happiness or well-being, such as the five-item World Health Organization Well-Being Index (WHO-5) that have been validated in different countries including Malaysia [ 26 ] to clarify the mixed findings of construct validity. It is also suggested to employ a qualitative approach to ensure the items (especially item 1) are adequate in the target cultural environment.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Psychometric Qualities Evaluation of the Interdependent Happiness Scale across Malaysia, Philippines, and India

Tan

Chong

Masanda

et al. 2021

IJERPH

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The nine-item Interdependent Happiness Scale (IHS; Hitokoto & Uchida, 2015) is a self-report of interpersonal happiness that focuses on three dimensions: relationship-oriented happiness, quiescent happiness, and ordinary happiness. Few studies have evaluated the psychometric properties of the IHS in diverse cultural backgrounds and the findings are inconsistent. This study investigated whether the IHS has sound psychometric qualities in three Asian countries. University students from Malaysia (n = 263), Philippines (n = 239), and India (n = 310) answered the IHS and self-rated creativity scale. Confirmatory factor analysis on each sample supported the nine-item second-order model with error covariances. The overall IHS score showed good reliability in all samples. The subscales, however, had mixed results except for the Indian sample. Similarly, the convergent validity test showed mixed results while discriminant validity is supported in all samples except for the quiescent happiness subscale in the Indian sample. Concurrent validity was established across three samples by showing a positive relationship with creativity score. The results highlight that the higher-order structure of the IHS is consistently supported in different cultural contexts. However, some of the items are perceived differently and require further improvement in enhancing the cross-cultural usability of the IHS to measure socially-oriented happiness.

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“…More studies are warranted to address these limitations by replicating the study in diverse cultural contexts, extending the investigation to other populations, and applying a longitudinal design. Moreover, future researchers may correlate IHS with other established measurements of happiness or wellbeing such as the five-item World Health Organization Well-Being Index (WHO-5) that have been validated in different countries including Malaysia (Low et al, 2021) to clarify the mixed findings of construct validity. It is also suggested to employ a qualitative approach to ensure the items especially items 3 and 9 are adequate in the target cultural environment.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Psychometric Qualities Evaluation of the Interdependent Happiness Scale across Malaysia, Philippines, and India

Tan¹

2021

Preprint

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The 9-item Interdependent Happiness Scale (IHS; Hitokoto & Uchida, 2015) is a self-report of interpersonal happiness that focuses on relationship-oriented happiness, quiescent happiness, and ordinary happiness. Few studies have evaluated the psychometric properties of the IHS in diverse cultural backgrounds and the findings are inconsistent. This study investigated whether the IHS has sound psychometric qualities in three Asian countries. A sample of 812 university students from Malaysia (n = 263), Philippines (n = 239), and India (n = 310) answered the IHS and self-rated creativity scale. Confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) supported the second-order structure in the three countries. The IHS showed good reliability and mixed results for construct validity tested using average variance extracted. Meanwhile, concurrent validity was established by showing a positive relationship with creativity score. Moreover, multi-group CFA was performed to test measurement invariance and supported metric and partial scalar invariance. Further analysis using ANCOVA showed that Malaysian participants reported significantly lower scores than their counterparts in the Philippines and India after controlling the impact of creativity. The findings not only shed light on the usefulness of the IHS for young adults in the three countries but also highlight the potential of employing the IHS to assess socially-oriented happiness in diverse cultural contexts. Limitations and applications are discussed.

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Validation of the WHO-5 as a screening tool for depression among young adults in Malaysia

Cited by 14 publications

References 19 publications

Measurement Invariance of the WHO-5 Well-Being Index: Evidence from 15 European Countries

Measurement Invariance of the WHO-5 Well-Being Index: Evidence from 15 European Countries

Psychometric Qualities Evaluation of the Interdependent Happiness Scale across Malaysia, Philippines, and India

Psychometric Qualities Evaluation of the Interdependent Happiness Scale across Malaysia, Philippines, and India

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