This study assesses the construct validity and sensitivity to change of the Short Warwick-Edinburgh Mental Well-being Scale (SWEMWBS) as an outcome measure in the treatment of common mental disorders ...(CMD) in primary care settings. 127 participants attending up to 5 sessions of therapy for CMD in primary care self-rated the SWEMWBS, the Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9) and General Anxiety Disorder (GAD-7) scales. SWEMWBS's construct validity and sensitivity to change was evaluated against the PHQ-9 and GAD-7 across multiple time points in two ways: correlation coefficients were calculated between the measures at each time point; and sensitivity to change over time was assessed using repeated measures ANOVA. Score distributions on SWEMWBS, but not PHQ-9 and GAD-7, met criteria for normality. At baseline, 92.9% (118/127) of participants scored above clinical threshold on either PHQ-9 or GAD-7. Correlations between SWEMWBS and PHQ-9 scores were calculated at each respective time point and ranged from 0.601 to 0.793. Correlations between SWEMWBS and GAD-7 scores were calculated similarly and ranged from 0.630 to 0.743. Significant improvements were seen on all three scales over time. Changes in PHQ-9 and GAD-7 were curvilinear with greatest improvement between sessions 1 and 2. Change in SWEMWBS was linear over the five sessions. This exploratory study suggests that SWEMWBS is acceptable as a CMD outcome measure in primary care settings, both in terms of construct validity and sensitivity to change. Given patient preference for positively over negatively framed measures and statistical advantages of measures which are normally distributed, SWEMWBS could be used as an alternative to PHQ-9 and GAD-7 in monitoring and evaluating CMD treatment.
The Oxford Movement transformed the nineteenth-century Church of England with a renewed conception of itself as a spiritual body. Initiated in the early 1830s by members of the University of Oxford, ...it was a response to threats to the established Church posed by British Dissenters, Irish Catholics, Whig and Radical politicians, and the predominant evangelical ethos - what Newman called 'the religion of the day'. The Tractarians believed they were not simply addressing difficulties within their national Church, but recovering universal principles of the Christian faith. To what extent were their beliefs and ideals communicated globally? Was missionary activity the product of the movement's distinctive principles? Did their understanding of the Church promote, or inhibit, closer relations among the churches of the global Anglican Communion? This volume addresses these questions and more with a series of case studies involving Europe and the English-speaking world during the first century of the Movement.
Purpose The Warwick-Edinburgh Mental Well-being Scale (WEMWBS), 14 positively worded statements, is a validated instrument to measure mental wellbeing on a population level. Less is known about the ...population distribution of the shorter seven-item version (SWEMWBS) or its performance as an instrument to measure wellbeing. Methods Using the Health Survey for England 2010—2013 (n = 27,169 adults aged 16+, nationally representative of the population), age- and sex-specific norms were estimated using means and percentiles. Criterion validity was examined using: (1) Spearman correlations (ρ) for SWEMWBS with General Health Questionnaire (GHQ-12), happiness index, EQ-VAS (2) a multinomial logit model with SWEMWBS (low, medium and high wellbeing) as the outcome and demographic, social and health behaviours as explanatory variables. Relative validity was examined by comparing SWEMWBS with WEMWBS using: (1) Spearman correlations (continuous data), and (2) the weighted kappa statistic (categorical), within population subgroups. Results Mean (median) SWEMWBS was 23.7 (23.2) for men and 23.2 (23.2) for women (p = 0.100). Spearman correlations were moderately sized for the happiness index (ρ = 0.53, P < 0.001), GHQ-12 (ρ = —0.52, p < 0.001) and EQ-VAS (ρ = 0.40, p < 0.001). Participants consuming <1 portion of fruit and vegetables a day versus ≥5 (odds ratio = 1.43 95% Confidence Interval = (1.22—1.66)) and current smokers versus non-smokers (1.28 (1.15—1.41)) were more likely to have low vs medium wellbeing. Participants who binge drank versus non-drinkers were less likely to have high versus medium wellbeing (0.81 (0.71—0.92)). Spearman correlations between SWEMWBS and WEMWBS were above 0.95; weighted kappa statistics showed almost perfect agreement (0.79—0.85). Conclusion SWEMWBS distinguishes mental wellbeing between subgroups, similarly to WEMWBS, but is less sensitive to gender differences.
The Warwick-Edinburgh Mental Well-Being Scale (WEMWBS) was developed to meet demand for instruments to measure mental well-being. It comprises 14 positively phrased Likert-style items and fulfils ...classic criteria for scale development. We report here the internal construct validity of WEMWBS from the perspective of the Rasch measurement model.
The model was applied to data collected from 779 respondents in Wave 12 (Autumn 2006) of the Scottish Health Education Population Survey. Respondents were aged 16-74 (average 41.9) yrs.
Initial fit to model expectations was poor. The items 'I've been feeling good about myself', 'I've been interested in new things' and 'I've been feeling cheerful' all showed significant misfit to model expectations, and were deleted. This led to a marginal improvement in fit to the model. After further analysis, more items were deleted and a strict unidimensional seven item scale (the Short Warwick Edinburgh Mental Well-Being Scale (SWEMWBS)) was resolved. Many items deleted because of misfit with model expectations showed considerable bias for gender. Two retained items also demonstrated bias for gender but, at the scale level, cancelled out. One further retained item 'I've been feeling optimistic about the future' showed bias for age. The correlation between the 14 item and 7 item versions was 0.954.Given fit to the Rasch model, and strict unidimensionality, SWEMWBS provides an interval scale estimate of mental well-being.
A short 7 item version of WEMWBS was found to satisfy the strict unidimensionality expectations of the Rasch model, and be largely free of bias. This scale, SWEMWBS, provides a raw score-interval scale transformation for use in parametric procedures. In terms of face validity, SWEMWBS presents a more restricted view of mental well-being than the 14 item WEMWBS, with most items representing aspects of psychological and eudemonic well-being, and few covering hedonic well-being or affect. However, robust measurement properties combined with brevity make SWEMWBS preferable to WEMWBS at present for monitoring mental well-being in populations. Where face validity is an issue there remain arguments for continuing to collect data on the full 14 item WEMWBS.
Background
The Warwick–Edinburgh Mental Wellbeing Scale (WEMWBS; Tennant et al., 2007) is yet to be validated in the intellectual disability (ID) population. The aim of this study was to report the ...development process and assess the psychometric properties of a newly adapted version of the WEMWBS and the Short WEMWBS for individuals with mild to moderate IDs (WEMWBS‐ID/SWEMWBS‐ID).
Method
The WEMWBS item wordings and response options were revised by clinicians and researchers expert in the field of ID, and a visual aid was added to the scale. The adapted version was reviewed by 10 individuals with IDs. The measure was administered by researchers online using screenshare, to individuals aged 16+ years with mild to moderate IDs. Data from three UK samples were collated to evaluate the WEMWBS‐ID (n = 96). A subsample (n = 22) completed the measure again 1 to 2 weeks later to assess test–retest reliability, and 95 participants additionally completed an adapted version of the adapted Rosenberg Self‐Esteem Scale to examine convergent validity. Additional data from a Canadian sample (n = 27) were used to evaluate the SWEMWBS‐ID (n = 123).
Results
The WEMWBS‐ID demonstrated good internal consistency (ω = 0.77–0.87), excellent test–retest reliability intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC) = .88 and good convergent validity with the self‐esteem scale (r = .48–.60) across samples. A confirmatory factor analysis for a single factor model demonstrated an adequate fit. The SWEMWBS‐ID showed poor to good internal consistency (ω = 0.36–0.74), moderate test–retest reliability (ICC = .67) and good convergent validity (r = .48–.60) across samples, and a confirmatory factor analysis indicated good model fit for a single factor structure.
Conclusions
The WEMWBS‐ID and short version demonstrated promising psychometric properties, when administered virtually by a researcher. Further exploration of the scales with larger, representative samples is warranted.
There is increasing international interest in the concept of mental well-being and its contribution to all aspects of human life. Demand for instruments to monitor mental well-being at a population ...level and evaluate mental health promotion initiatives is growing. This article describes the development and validation of a new scale, comprised only of positively worded items relating to different aspects of positive mental health: the Warwick-Edinburgh Mental Well-Being Scale (WEMWBS).
WEMWBS was developed by an expert panel drawing on current academic literature, qualitative research with focus groups, and psychometric testing of an existing scale. It was validated on a student and representative population sample. Content validity was assessed by reviewing the frequency of complete responses and the distribution of responses to each item. Confirmatory factor analysis was used to test the hypothesis that the scale measured a single construct. Internal consistency was assessed using Cronbach's alpha. Criterion validity was explored in terms of correlations between WEMWBS and other scales and by testing whether the scale discriminated between population groups in line with pre-specified hypotheses. Test-retest reliability was assessed at one week using intra-class correlation coefficients. Susceptibility to bias was measured using the Balanced Inventory of Desired Responding.
WEMWBS showed good content validity. Confirmatory factor analysis supported the single factor hypothesis. A Cronbach's alpha score of 0.89 (student sample) and 0.91 (population sample) suggests some item redundancy in the scale. WEMWBS showed high correlations with other mental health and well-being scales and lower correlations with scales measuring overall health. Its distribution was near normal and the scale did not show ceiling effects in a population sample. It discriminated between population groups in a way that is largely consistent with the results of other population surveys. Test-retest reliability at one week was high (0.83). Social desirability bias was lower or similar to that of other comparable scales.
WEMWBS is a measure of mental well-being focusing entirely on positive aspects of mental health. As a short and psychometrically robust scale, with no ceiling effects in a population sample, it offers promise as a tool for monitoring mental well-being at a population level. Whilst WEMWBS should appeal to those evaluating mental health promotion initiatives, it is important that the scale's sensitivity to change is established before it is recommended in this context.
Background Parenting influences child outcomes but does not occur in a vacuum. It is influenced by socio‐economic resources, parental health, and child characteristics. Our aim was to investigate ...the relative importance of these influences by exploring the relationship between changing parental health and socio‐economic circumstances and changes in parenting.
Methods Data collected from the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children were used to develop an eight‐item parenting measure at 8 and 33 months. The measure covered warmth, support, rejection, and control and proved valid and reliable. Regression analysis examined changes in financial circumstance, housing tenure, marital status, social support, maternal health and depression, and their influence on parenting score. The final model controlled for maternal age, education, and baseline depression.
Results Most mothers reported warm, supportive parenting at both times. Maternal depression was the only variable for which both positive and negative change was associated with changes in parenting score. Less depression was associated with better parenting scores and more depression with worse parenting scores. Improvements in social support and maternal general health were both associated with improved parenting scores, but for neither of these variables was deterioration associated with deterioration in parenting scores. Worsening financial circumstances predicted deterioration in parenting score, but improvements were not predictive of improvements in parenting.
Conclusions Programmes aiming to improve parental health and social support are likely to return greater dividends with regard to improving parenting than programmes that aim to reduce family poverty.
SWEMWBS is a popular measure of mental wellbeing, shown to be valid in clinical populations. Responsiveness to change has not yet been formally assessed.
Analysis of data from a clinical sample of ...172 clients undergoing up to 4 sessions of cognitive hypnotherapy. Cohen's D effect size (ES), Standardised response mean (SRM), probability of change statistic (P^) were used to evaluate whether SWEMWBS detected statistically important changes at the group level. Cohen's D effect size (ES) and Standard error of measurement (SEM) and were used to evaluate whether SWEMWBS detected statistically important changes at the individual level.
Mean (SD) SWEMWBS scores increased from baseline to therapy 4 from 19.28 (3.921) to 23.32 (4.873). At group level, using Cohen's D effect size, improvement ranges from ES = 0.20-1.41 and using SRM, ranged from 0.30-0.88, increasing with number of therapy sessions. (P^) ranged from 0.65-0.8. At individual level, use of Cohens D ES > 0.5 indicated statistically important improvement in 29.9-86.1% cf. 20.1-80.6% using a standard of 2.77 SEM (2.87 points). The lower threshold of 1 SEM (1.03 points) indicated statistically important improvement in 43.0-81.0%.
SWEMWBS is responsive to change at individual and group level. At individual level a change of between 1 and 3 points meets thresholds for statisticially important change, depending on standard used. Anchor based studies are necessary to confirm that such change represents minimally important change from the perspective of study participants.
Following the emergence of COVID-19 in the UK, on March 18
2020 the majority of schools in England closed and families and teachers were tasked with providing educational support for children and ...adolescents within the home environment. Little is known, however, regarding the impact of remote teaching and learning on the mental wellbeing of parents/carers and teaching staff.
The Coronavirus Education (COV-ED) online survey explored the practicalities of learning and teaching from home for 329 parents/carers and 117 teachers of 11-15 year old adolescents in England, during June/July 2020, and the associated impact on their mental wellbeing. Participants were recruited through schools and via University of Warwick social media channels. Data was analysed using a series of Multiple Linear and Multivariate Regressions.
Despite coping well with the challenges of remote learning, a third of teachers reported below average mental wellbeing on the Warwick-Edinburgh Mental Wellbeing Scale. Multivariate regression revealed that wellbeing was associated with access to resources and confidence to teach from home. Almost half of parents/carers surveyed reported below average wellbeing. Multivariate regression revealed that poor wellbeing was more common in those who were also working from home and who lacked support for their own mental health. Concerns about their child's mental health and lack of access to electronic devices and workspace were also significantly associated with the mental wellbeing of parents/carers.
Whilst young people's mental health and wellbeing has, and continues to be a national priority, the mental health and wellbeing of the families and teachers supporting them has not previously been explored. Our survey population was of predominantly white British heritage, female and living in the West Midlands UK, therefore, findings should be treated with caution. Findings provide a snapshot of factors that may be of significance to families and schools in supporting the mental wellbeing of those tasked with learning from home. They will help i) increase knowledge and awareness with regard to future support of families and teachers during similar crises; ii) enable the design and development of practical solutions in the delivery of remote teaching and learning; and, iii) help address the mental wellbeing needs of those tasked with supporting adolescents.
Genomic selection (GS) has become viable for selection of quantitative traits for which marker-assisted selection has often proven less effective. The potential of GS for soybean was characterized ...using 483 elite breeding lines, genotyped with BARCSoySNP6K iSelect BeadChips. Cross validation was performed using RR-BLUP and predictive abilities (
) of 0.81, 0.71, and 0.26 for protein, oil, and yield, were achieved at the largest tested training set size. Minimal differences were observed when comparing different marker densities and there appeared to be inflation in
due to population structure. For comparison purposes, two additional methods to predict breeding values for lines of four bi-parental populations within the GS dataset were tested. The first method predicted within each bi-parental population (WP method) and utilized a training set of full-sibs of the validation set. The second method utilized a training set of all remaining breeding lines except for full-sibs of the validation set to predict across populations (AP method). The AP method is more practical as the WP method would likely delay the breeding cycle and leverage smaller training sets. Averaging across populations for protein and oil content,
for the AP method (0.55, 0.30) approached
for the WP method (0.60, 0.52). Though comparable,
for yield was low for both AP and WP methods (0.12, 0.13). Based on increases in
as training sets increased and the effectiveness of WP
AP method, the AP method could potentially improve with larger training sets and increased relatedness between training and validation sets.
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