title: Assessing psychological well-being: self-report instruments for the NIH Toolbox.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Psychological well-being (PWB) has a significant relationship with physical and mental health. As a part of the NIH Toolbox for the Assessment of Neurological and Behavioral Function, we developed self-report item banks and short forms to assess PWB.
  
  
  METHODS
  Expert feedback and literature review informed the selection of PWB concepts and the development of item pools for positive affect, life satisfaction, and meaning and purpose. Items were tested with a community-dwelling US Internet panel sample of adults aged 18 and above (N = 552). Classical and item response theory (IRT) approaches were used to evaluate unidimensionality, fit of items to the overall measure, and calibrations of those items, including differential item function (DIF).
  
  
  RESULTS
  IRT-calibrated item banks were produced for positive affect (34 items), life satisfaction (16 items), and meaning and purpose (18 items). Their psychometric properties were supported based on the results of factor analysis, fit statistics, and DIF evaluation. All banks measured the concepts precisely (reliability ≥0.90) for more than 98% of participants.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  These adult scales and item banks for PWB provide the flexibility, efficiency, and precision necessary to promote future epidemiological, observational, and intervention research on the relationship of PWB with physical and mental health.
authors.affiliation: Department of Medical Social Sciences, Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, 625 North Michigan Ave., Suite 2700, Chicago, IL, 60611, USA, j-salsman@northwestern.edu.
authors.forename: John M
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Salsman
authors.forename: Jin-Shei
authors.initials: JS
authors.lastname: Lai
authors.forename: Hugh C
authors.initials: HC
authors.lastname: Hendrie
authors.forename: Zeeshan
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Butt
authors.forename: Nicholas
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Zill
authors.forename: Paul A
authors.initials: PA
authors.lastname: Pilkonis
authors.forename: Christopher
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Peterson
authors.forename: Catherine M
authors.initials: CM
authors.lastname: Stoney
authors.forename: Pim
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Brouwers
authors.forename: David
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Cella
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D001524:Behavioral Medicine; D005163:Factor Analysis, Statistical; D005260:Female; D006304:Health Status; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008603:Mental Health / Q000208:ethnology; D008875:Middle Aged; D009316:National Institutes of Health (U.S.); D010549:Personal Satisfaction; D011594:Psychometrics / Q000295:instrumentation*; D011788:Quality of Life / Q000523:psychology*; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D057566:Self Report; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D014481:United States; D055815:Young Adult