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The Warwick-Edinburgh Mental Well-Being Scale (WEMWBS): Performance in Different Cultural and Geographical Groups

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Abstract

This chapter describes experience of using the Warwick-Edinburgh Mental Well-being Scale (WEMWBS) and the shortened version SWEMWBS, in different cultural settings. WEMWBS was created in the UK in the context of a need to monitor mental well-being at the population level. It comprises 14 positively worded items representing both hedonic and eudemonic aspects of well-being. It has proved popular in the UK and more widely in English- and non-English-speaking parts of the world. Qualitative and quantitative studies with two English-speaking minority ethnic groups resident in the UK (Pakistani and Chinese) suggest that the instrument is robust in different cultural settings. Validations of two translated versions one Italian and one Setswana (a common southern African language) in their countries of origin confirm that the scale is also robust outside the UK and in difference languages.

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Acknowledgements

This chapter could not have been written without the help and support of many individuals and organizations. The National Institute of Mental Health in England funded the study with Pakistani and Chinese communities in Birmingham. Gregor Henderson was instrumental in allocating this funding. Heart of Birmingham PCT, the public health practitioners and community workers (Michelle Chan and Ibrar Uddin) provided the support necessary to carry out studies in Birmingham. Coventry Primary Care Trust funded the survey of Coventry residents, and Peter Barker gave permission for us to use the data on Pakistani and Chinese groups in this study. Frances Taggart undertook all the fieldwork, including designing questionnaires for the Birmingham study and analyses of the quantitative and qualitative data. Tim Friede undertook the main statistical analyses, and Alan Tennant undertook the Rasch analysis. Rebecca Putz undertook the analysis of the Coventry Lifestyle Survey. Steve Platt, Scott Weich, and Aileen Clarke have made important contributions to this study as advisors and have contributed in many ways to the development and validation of WEMWBS, with the help and support of Jane Parkinson, and with funding from NHS Health Scotland. Paola Gremigni in Italy and Marie Wissing in South Africa undertook the validations of WEMWBS in those countries and have permitted their data to be included here.

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  1. Warwick Medical School, University of Warwick, Coventry, UK

    Sarah Stewart-Brown

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  1. Sarah Stewart-Brown
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Correspondence to Sarah Stewart-Brown .

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  1. , Dept. of Sociology, Emory University, Dickey Dr. 1555, Atlanta, 30322, Georgia, USA

    Corey L.M. Keyes

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Stewart-Brown, S. (2013). The Warwick-Edinburgh Mental Well-Being Scale (WEMWBS): Performance in Different Cultural and Geographical Groups. In: Keyes, C. (eds) Mental Well-Being. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-007-5195-8_7

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