Psychometric properties of the short Warwick Edinburgh mental well-being scale (SWEMWBS) in service users with schizophrenia, depression and anxiety spectrum disorders

Janhavi Ajit Vaingankar,Edimansyah Abdin,Siow Ann Chong,Mythily Subramaniam,Rajeswari Sambasivam,Sarah Stewart-Brown,Esmond Seow,Louisa Picco,Anitha Jeyagurunathan

doi:10.1186/s12955-017-0728-3

Abstract

BackgroundTo establish the validity and reliability of the Short Warwick Edinburgh Mental Well-being Scale (SWEMWBS) in service users with schizophrenia, depression and anxiety spectrum disorders in Singapore and estimate SWEMWBS scores across socio-demographic and the three psychiatric diagnostic groups in the sample.MethodsThis secondary analysis was conducted using data from a study among outpatients of a tertiary psychiatric hospital. In addition to the SWEMWBS, socio-demographic data and current psychiatric diagnosis were collected. Service users were also administered the Global Assessment of Functioning (GAF), Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ)-8, Generalised Anxiety Disorder (GAD)-7, Satisfaction with Life Scale (SWLS) and the Positive Mental Health (PMH) instrument. The SWEMWBS was tested for factorial validity, reliability and convergent and divergent validity.ResultsIn total, 350 service users with a mean (SD) age of 39.1 (11.1) years were included in this study of which 39.4%, 38.9% and 21.7% had schizophrenia, depression and anxiety spectrum disorders, respectively. The single factor structure of the SWEMWBS was confirmed by confirmatory factor analysis (CFI = 0.969, TLI = 0.954, RMSEA = 0.029). The internal consistency reliability was high (Cronbach’s alpha = 0.89). The convergent and divergent validity testing revealed that the SWEMWBS scores had significant moderate to high positive correlations with GAF, SWLS and PMH scores and moderate negative correlations with (PHQ)-8 and (GAD)-7 scores. SWEMWBS scores were higher in married participants (22.2 (5.4) versus never married: 20.7 (5.3) and divorced/separated/widowed: 20.4 (5.1), p = 0.049) and among those with schizophrenia (22.8 (5.5) versus depression:19.6 (4.7) and anxiety spectrum disorders 20.9 (5.2), p < 0.001).ConclusionThese results demonstrate adequate validity and reliability of the SWEMWBS in people with schizophrenia, depression and anxiety spectrum disorders in Singapore.

Highlights

To establish the validity and reliability of the Short Warwick Edinburgh Mental Well-being PHQ-8 Patient Global Assessment of Functioning (GAF) Global Assessment of Functioning (Health) Questionnaire (Scale) (SWEMWBS) in service users with schizophrenia, depression and anxiety spectrum disorders in Singapore and estimate Short Warwick Edinburgh Mental Well-being Scale (SWEMWBS) scores across socio-demographic and the three psychiatric diagnostic groups in the sample
There has been a greater focus on intervening on all aspects of mental well-being in those affected with mental illnesses and complementing psychiatric treatment with interventions such as mindfulness that are geared towards strengthening mental health [9, 10]
The structure of SWEMWBS was strong among patients with schizophrenia with almost all GOF indices meeting the set criteria (CFI = 0.967, Tucker-Lewis index (TLI) = 0.950, root mean square error of approximation (RMSEA) = 0.059)

Summary

Introduction

To establish the validity and reliability of the Short Warwick Edinburgh Mental Well-being Scale (SWEMWBS) in service users with schizophrenia, depression and anxiety spectrum disorders in Singapore and estimate SWEMWBS scores across socio-demographic and the three psychiatric diagnostic groups in the sample. In 2004, the World Health Organisation (WHO) defined mental health as “a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease” [5]. This was a major advancement, for those affected with and at risk of developing mental disorders as this distinction between mental illness and mental health supported the positive social and behavioral model for mental health first proposed by Jahoda over a negative psychiatric symptoms approach [6]. There has been a greater focus on intervening on all aspects of mental well-being in those affected with mental illnesses and complementing psychiatric treatment with interventions such as mindfulness that are geared towards strengthening mental health [9, 10]

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Discussion

Conclusion