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Development and Validation of an Arabic Version of the World Health Organization Well-Being Index (WHO-5)

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Abstract

The World Health Organization-Five Well-being Index (WHO-5) is a well-established measure of subjective well-being that has been adapted to and validated in various languages and cultures. This study was set out to psychometrically evaluate an Arabic version of this measure (WHO5-A). A convenience sample of 190 Saudis (59.5% women), with a mean age of 28.97 and a standard deviation of 8.69, were recruited and completed the study measures online. Data were collected and analyzed using correlational and cross-sectional designs. A confirmatory factor analysis CFA revealed a unidimensional latent structure for the WHO5-A, consistent with previous literature. The measure was found to be highly reliable (α = 0.91) and internally homogeneous and associated with convergent and divergent constructs, as hypothesized. Individuals with self-report potential psychiatric issues exhibited significantly lower scores compared to self-reported healthy subjects, which appeared to be due to gender and depression levels. The WHO5-A score was not correlated with age or social desirability bias, whereas significant gender differences were found. In general, findings provided encouraging, although provisional, support for the psychometric suitability of the WHO5-A as a measure of subjective well-being in Saudis.

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Data Availability

The dataset used during the current research is available from the author on a reasonable request.

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This is a research project that was supported by a grant from the research center for the college of education, deanship of scientific research at King Saud University.

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  1. Department of Psychology, College of Education, King Saud University, P. O. Box 2454, Riyadh, 11451, Saudi Arabia

    Ahmad Kassab Alshayea

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Correspondence to Ahmad Kassab Alshayea.

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Ethical approval for this study was obtained from the King Saud University’s Humanities and Social Research Institutional Review Board (reference: KSU-HE-22-399), who reviewed and approved this study protocol as part of a larger research project.

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Kassab Alshayea, A. Development and Validation of an Arabic Version of the World Health Organization Well-Being Index (WHO-5). J Psychopathol Behav Assess 45, 247–255 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10862-023-10027-x

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