Reliability and Validity Evidence for the Testwell: Wellness Inventory-High School Edition (TWI[HS

Abstract

This study was designed to obtain reliability and validity evidence for the Testwell: Wellness Inventory-High School Edition (TWI[HS]), a 100-item inventory divided into 10 subscales of 10 items. Participants for this research were 437 9th- and 10th-grade students attending 5 Tennessee public high schools, who were either enrolled in Lifetime Wellness Curriculum classes or had not yet taken the class. Four research questions were posed for this study, with regard to 9th- and 10th-grade boys and girls: (a) What is the internal consistency reliability of the TWI(HS)? (b) What is the 12-week test-retest reliability of the TWI(HS)? (c) Is the internal structure of the TWI(HS) comprised of 10 domains, or factors, as hypothesized by its authors? and (d) Does the TWI(HS) measure changes in wellness knowledge, attitudes, and behaviors? Conclusions from the research were as follows: (a) Internal consistency reliability of the TWI(HS) subscales is lower than would be expected for subscales with so many items, (b) test-retest reliability of the TWI(HS) subscales ranges from low to acceptable, (c) the 10-factor theoretical structure of the TWI(HS) is not empirically supportable, and (d) the TWI(HS) does not detect many changes in wellness following a structured 12-week Lifetime Wellness program.