Measuring psychological well-being: insights from Thai elders.
OBJECTIVE
Psychological well-being, an important indicator of successful aging, may be conceptualized quite differently across cultures. Using a mixed-methods approach, we developed a measure of psychological well-being based on the indigenous expertise of Thai elders.


METHODS
Data were collected from older people in Thailand in four stages with staggered qualitative and quantitative methods: individual and focus group interviews (n = 67); a preliminary survey (n = 477); cognitive interviews (n = 30); and a second survey (n = 460). We analyzed the resulting psychological well-being items to identify their underlying factor structure and psychometric properties.


RESULTS
Confirmatory factor analysis suggested that psychological well-being has two components: intrapersonal and interpersonal. The subscales for this measure have adequate reliability and validity.


CONCLUSIONS
This research provides evidence for cultural variability in the nature of psychological well-being and highlights the importance of developing measures that are culturally relevant.
Ingersoll-Dayton
Berit
B
School of Social Work, The University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 48109, USA. bid@umich.edu
Saengtienchai
Chanpen
C
Kespichayawattana
Jiraporn
J
Aungsuroch
Yupin
Y
D000368:Aged / Q000523:psychology*; D016009:Chi-Square Distribution; D003466:Cultural Characteristics; D005163:Factor Analysis, Statistical; D005260:Female; D017144:Focus Groups; D006304:Health Status; D006801:Humans; D007407:Interviews as Topic; D008297:Male; D011594:Psychometrics; D013785:Thailand