Definition
The GWBS is a brief questionnaire measuring an individual’s subjective sense of well-being and distress over the preceding month. There are 18-, 22-, and 33-item versions (the 18 being most widely used), with items categorized into six domains: anxiety, depression, positive well-being, self-control, vitality, and general health. The 18-item version contains 14 items that are rated on a 6-point scale, and four items that are rated on a 10-point scale. Total scale scores and subscale scores can be derived, with cut-offs defining scores as indicating severe distress, moderate distress, or positive well-being.
Current Knowledge
The GWBS was developed in the USA in the 1970s as a brief, simple assessment of health (Dupuy, 1978). It has been used in several large-scale population-based studies, and has recently been validated in ethnic minority groups (e.g., Taylor et al., 2003; Poston et al., 1998), in addition to earlier validation studies with undergraduate...
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
References and Readings
Dupuy, H. J. (1978). Self-representations of general psychological well-being of American adults. Paper presented at the American Public Health Association Meeting, Los Angeles, CA.
Fazio, A. F. (1977). A concurrent validation study of the NCHS General Well-Being Schedule. Hyattsville, MD: National Center for Health Statistics (Vital and Health Statistics Series 2, No. 73. DHEW Publication No. 78–1347 (HRA)).
Nakayama, T., Toyoda, H., Ohno, K., Yoshiike, N., & Futagami, T. (2000). Validity, reliability and acceptability of the Japanese version of the General Well-Being Schedule (GWBS). Quality of Life Research, 9, 529–539.
Poston, W. S. C., Olvera, N. E., Yanez, C., Haddock, C. K., Dunn, J. K., Hanis, C. L., & Foreyt, J. P. (1998). Evaluation of the factor structure and psychometric properties of the General Well-Being Schedule (GWB) with Mexican American women. Women and Health, 27, 49–62.
Taylor, J. E., Poston W. S., II, Haddock, C. K., Blackburn, G. L., Heber, D., Heymsfield, S. B., et al. (2003). Psychometric characteristics of the General Well-Being Schedule (GWB) with African–American women. Quality of Life Research, 12, 31–39.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2011 Springer Science+Business Media, LLC
About this entry
Cite this entry
Fish, J. (2011). General Well-Being Schedule. In: Kreutzer, J.S., DeLuca, J., Caplan, B. (eds) Encyclopedia of Clinical Neuropsychology. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-0-387-79948-3_1939
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-0-387-79948-3_1939
Publisher Name: Springer, New York, NY
Print ISBN: 978-0-387-79947-6
Online ISBN: 978-0-387-79948-3
eBook Packages: Behavioral Science