Scale Analysis

The Well-Being Measurement Scale was developed by P. Bech in 1998 at the Psychiatric Research Unit, North Zealand Mental Health Centre in Denmark. Gill and Feinstein demonstrated that the clinimetric definition of well-being was incomplete. Therefore, they developed short global rating scales for well-being that would reflect a single dimension with high clinical validity. Another key issue in measuring subjective well-being was raised by Ware, who suggested that such assessment scales should avoid referencing diseases, as they should instead provide information about the overall outcome (balancing desired clinical effects against unwanted side effects) of a clinical intervention.

Purpose

The purpose of the Well-Being Scale is to measure the positive emotions experienced by patients during the recovery process from an illness and to assess the degree of well-being they experience.

Question Scoring

Participants are asked to respond while reflecting on their mood over the past two weeks. The questionnaire consists of 5 items rated on a 6-point Likert scale ranging from 0 (At no time) to 5 (All of the time).

Statistical Analysis

The scale provides a total score calculated as the sum of the scores for each question, ranging from 0 to 25. The percentage score (range 0–100) for each person is calculated by multiplying the raw score by 4. Higher scores represent a better quality of life.

Validity and Reliability

The scale has been adapted into Greek by N. Papanas and A. Tsapas, using the back-translation method. Internal consistency was excellent, with Cronbach’s alpha = 0.83, and the reliability coefficient ranged from 0.84 to 0.92, indicating strong psychometric properties.

References

Author: P. Bech (1998)
Greek adaptation: N. Papanas and A. Tsapas
Tags: World Health Organization Well-Being Index [WHO], well-being scale, well-being, reliability, questionnaire analysis.