The reliability and validity of the Chinese Short Warwick-Edinburgh Mental Well-being Scale in the general population of Hong Kong

Abstract

To evaluate the reliability and validity of the 7-item Chinese short Warwick-Edinburgh Mental Well-being Scale (SWEMWBS) in Hong Kong Chinese. Methods Under "A Jockey Club Initiative for a Harmonious Society" project, a random telephone survey was conducted in 2017 on 1,331 Hong Kong Chinese residents aged ≥18. A confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) was conducted to test the factorial validity. The Spearman correlations of the SWEMWBS with other scales including the 12-item short form health survey (SF-12), family well-being, self-rated health, the global happiness item (GHI), subjective happiness scale (SHS), and patient health questionnaire-4 (PHQ-4), were used to evaluate the convergent and divergent validity. Known-group validity was also assessed. We calculated congeneric reliability based on standardized factor loadings and error variances. Two-week test-retest reliability was assessed in 100 randomly selected respondents using intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC).Results Among the weighted sample, 55.9% were female and 72.9% were 25 to 64 years old. The CFA indicated good validity of the SWEMWBS. The SWEMWBS had moderate correlations with SHS, SF-12 mental component, PHQ-4 and GHI, but a weak correlation with SF-12 physical component. Older respondents, those with higher education level, married, working, with higher household income reported higher level of well-being. The congeneric reliability of the SWEMWBS was 0.85. Moderate to good test-retest reliability was observed (ICC 0.70, 95% CI 0.55 to 0.80). ConclusionThe Chinese SWEMWBS showed good validity and reliability for measuring wellbeing in the general population of Hong Kong.

Problematic Smartphone Use and Mental Health in Chinese Adults: A Population-Based Study

“…We observed the association of PSU with lower scores of subjective happiness (i.e., hedonic well−being), which is characterized by affectivity of pleasure and cognition of satisfaction [16]. This finding was consistent with studies of Internet addiction with lower levels of happiness and life satisfaction in young people [41,42].…”

“…A randomly selected subset (n = 1331, 32.8%) were asked the frequency of feeling optimistic about the future, useful, relaxed, close to other people, dealing with problems well, thinking clearly, making up their own mind about things in past two weeks [28]. The Chinese version of SWEMWBS was valid and reliable (Cronbach's alpha 0.85) and indicated excellent fit for the one-factor model (CFI 0.995; RMSEA 0.03; SRMR 0.04; normed-fit index [NFI] 0.991 [> 0.95 acceptable]) in our previous study using the same sample of the Hong Kong general population [16]. The convergent validity was adequate, with CR of 0.85 and AVE of 0.44.…”

“…The target population was Cantonese-speaking Hong Kong residents aged 18 years old or above. We have conducted five waves of FHInTS since 2009 and reported details of the study design elsewhere [9,11,16]. The present survey was conducted from February to August 2017, as part of the fifth FHInTS.…”

“…The definition of mental health has been established as not the mere absence of psychopathological symptoms, which leads researchers to broaden the investigation field to positive psychology [15]. Mental well-being investigates hedonic well-being that includes affective emotions and cognitive assessments of life satisfaction and eudemonic well-being that includes psychological functioning and self-realization [16]. Our previous study showed that people with greater mental well-being tended to have lower risks for anxiety and depression [16].…”

“…Mental well-being investigates hedonic well-being that includes affective emotions and cognitive assessments of life satisfaction and eudemonic well-being that includes psychological functioning and self-realization [16]. Our previous study showed that people with greater mental well-being tended to have lower risks for anxiety and depression [16]. Despite the correlations, the dual continuum model of mental health proposes that mental illness and well-being are on two distinct dimensions [17].…”