The development and validation of a general measure of well-being: the BBC well-being scale.
OBJECTIVE
The concept of maximising well-being, as opposed to merely treating mental disorder, is a powerful current theme in the area of mental health. Clearly this emphasises the need for appropriate valid and reliable measures of general well-being. This paper examines the appropriateness of a number of measures in this area and concludes that existing assessment tools fail to address the full range of aspects of personal well-being. This paper therefore presents the psychometric properties, validity and reliability of a new measure of well-being-the BBC Well-being Scale.


METHODS
A total of 1,940 participants completed the new measure, the Goldberg scales of anxiety and depression, the 'List of Threatening Experiences' life events scale, a modified version of the Response Styles Questionnaire and a modified version of the Internal, Personal and Situational Attributions Questionnaire presented via the internet.


RESULTS
Exploratory factor-analysis suggested a three-factor solution including themes of psychological well-being, physical health and well-being and relationships. The total 24-item scale had good internal consistency (α = .935) and correlated significantly with key demographic variables and measures of concurrent validity.


CONCLUSIONS
The new measure--the BBC Well-being Scale-is recommended for research and clinical purposes.
Institute of Psychology, Health and Society, University of Liverpool, Waterhouse Building, 2nd Floor Block B, Brownlow Street, Liverpool, L69 3GL, UK. p.kinderman@liverpool.ac.uk
P
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Kinderman
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M
Schwannauer
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Pontin
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Tai
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D005163:Factor Analysis, Statistical; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D001523:Mental Disorders / Q000523:psychology; D015233:Models, Statistical; D010549:Personal Satisfaction; D011594:Psychometrics; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires / Q000592:standards*; D006113:United Kingdom; D055815:Young Adult
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