Measurement invariance of the short Warwick-Edinburgh Mental Wellbeing Scale and latent mean differences (SWEMWBS) in young people by current care status

Abstract

Purpose Studying mental wellbeing requires the use of reliable, valid, and practical assessment tools, such as the Short version of the Warwick-Edinburgh Mental Wellbeing Scale (SWEMWBS). Research on the mental wellbeing of children in care is sparse. The current study aims to: (1) examine the unidimensionality of SWEMWBS; (2) assess measurement invariance of SWEMWBS across children and young people in care compared to their peers not in care; and (3) investigate the latent factor mean differences between care status groups. Methods We used data from the 2017 School Health Research Network Student Health and Wellbeing (SHW) survey, completed by 103,971 students in years 7 to 11 from 193 secondary schools in Wales. The final data include a total of 2,795 participants (46% boys), which includes all children in care and a sub-sample of children not in care who completed the SWEMWBS scale fully and answered questions about their living situation. Results Confirmatory factor analysis supported the unidimensionality of SWEMWBS. The SWEMWBS is invariant across groups of young people in foster, residential and kinship care compared to children and young people not in care at configural, metric and scalar levels. Findings from latent mean comparisons showed that young people in care reported lower mental wellbeing than their peers, with those in residential care reporting the lowest scores. Conclusions Findings suggest that SWEMWBS is a valid scale for measuring differences in mental wellbeing for young people in care similar to the population.

Exploring the psychometric properties of the Intellectual Disability versions of the Short Warwick–Edinburgh Mental Wellbeing Scale and Kidscreen10, self‐reported by adolescents with intellectual disability

“…In relation to the factorial structure of the scales, CFA for the ID-SWEMWBS and ID-Kidscreen10 supports one-factor models, a finding that aligns with the results of other validation studies (i.e. Ravens-Sieberer et al 2006;Matos et al 2012;Nik-Azin et al 2014;Haver et al 2015;Smith et al 2017;Ringdal et al 2018;Anthony et al 2022;Fung 2019). High factor loadings were observed for each measure, and these were stable across time, indicating that the factors strongly influence the variance among the items and that each factor accurately represents the items that it is comprised of.…”

“…2018; Anthony et al . 2022; Fung 2019). High factor loadings were observed for each measure, and these were stable across time, indicating that the factors strongly influence the variance among the items and that each factor accurately represents the items that it is comprised of.…”

Adolescent mental well-being, religion and family activities: a cross-sectional study (Northern Ireland Schools and Wellbeing Study)

“…Mental well-being: the Warwick-Edinburgh Mental Wellbeing Scale is a widely used measures of mental well-being,45 46 in both NHS and private health services. Overall, it is deemed a valid and reliable tool for measuring well-being in diverse populations 47 48.…”

Exploring online experiences, cyberbullying and wellbeing for young people looked after in Wales: An analysis of the school health research network 2017/18 survey

“…WEMWBS was developed to monitor mental wellbeing in the general population and the short version SWEMWBS has been validated for populations of young people aged 15 to 21 (McKay & Andretta, 2017; Ringdal et al, 2018). Furthermore, SWEMWBS has been shown to be a valid scale for measuring differences in mental wellbeing for younger people (age 11–15 years) and young people in care (Anthony et al, 2022). The SWEMWBS metric score ranges from 5 to 35 with higher scores indicating better wellbeing.…”

“…Living in care is a commonly used term when referring to children and young people who are looked after. To establish whether a participant was in care at the time they completed the survey the participants were asked which adults live in the home where the participant lives all or most of the time (see Anthony et al, 2022 for further details of survey question and categorisation of care status). As a result of this question structure, young people living at home with a care order or receiving care and support from their local authority, and young people who have previously lived in care, would not be included as young people in care.…”