Assessing psychological well-being: self-report instruments for the NIH Toolbox

Abstract

Objective Psychological well-being (PWB) has a significant relationship with physical and mental health. As part of the NIH Toolbox for the Assessment of Neurological and Behavioral Function, we developed self-report item banks and short forms to assess PWB. Study Design and Setting Expert feedback and literature review informed the selection of PWB concepts and the development of item pools for Positive Affect, Life Satisfaction, and Meaning and Purpose. Items were tested with a community-dwelling U.S. internet panel sample of adults aged 18 and above (N=552). Classical and item response theory (IRT) approaches were used to evaluate unidimensionality, fit of items to the overall measure, and calibrations of those items, including differential item function (DIF). Results IRT-calibrated item banks were produced for Positive Affect (34 items), Life Satisfaction (16 items), and Meaning and Purpose (18 items). Their psychometric properties were supported based on results of factor analysis, fit statistics, and DIF evaluation. All banks measured the concepts precisely (reliability ≥0.90) for more than 98% of participants. Conclusion These adult scales and item banks for PWB provide the flexibility, efficiency, and precision necessary to promote future epidemiological, observational, and intervention research on the relationship of PWB with physical and mental health.

Previous Exposure to the World Trade Center Terrorist Attack and Posttraumatic Symptoms Among Older Adults Following Hurricane Sandy

“…Internet panels are increasingly used as a viable means of data collection (Butt, Peipert, Webster, Chen, & Cella, 2013;Salsman et al, 2014). To recruit the study participants, Toluna sent e-mails to invite potential participants from a nonprobability-based panel to enroll in the current study if they upheld the following criteria: being age 18 or above, living in affected states, and speaking English.…”

Gender Differences in Psychological Reactions to Hurricane Sandy Among New York Metropolitan Area Residents

“…To recruit the study participants, Toluna sent e-mails to invite potential participants from their databases to enroll in the current study following a screening process to ensure eligibility (based on age, place of living and current English speaking level). We used a similar method employed in other medical and psychological studies [42,43]. The participant's mean age was 45.2 (SD = 14.3), 655 (65.5 %) were females, 606 (60.6 %) were married or in cohabitation, 455 (45.5 %) had a college degree or higher.…”

Relationship among Workplace Spirituality, Meaning in Life, and Psychological Well-being of Teachers

“…[9] Psychological well-being is closely tied to an individual's awareness that he or she has, or will have, a meaningful and self-fulfilling life (Keyes, Shmotkin, & Ryff, 2002) [10]. Some studies have found that psychological well-being can enhance resilience, endurance, and optimism (Salsman et al, 2014) [11]. In addition, maintaining a strong sense of psychological well-being in our later life may help us to maintain our physical health and strength (Gale, Cooper, Deary, & Aihie Sayer, 2014) [12].…”