The Warwick-Edinburgh Mental Well-being Scale (WEMWBS): a valid and reliable tool for measuring mental well-being in diverse populations and projects
Open accessAbstract
Background The outcomes framework for the new public health and mental health strategies in England (Healthy Lives Healthy People and No Health without Mental Health) both propose monitoring positive mental health. The Office of National Statistics is currently consulting on approaches to the measurement of wellbeing. Public mental health projects and interventions at local level require measurement of mental wellbeing The Warwick-Edinburgh Mental Wellbeing Scale (WEMWBS) is a possible candidate. Methods WEMWBS was developed in 2007 following UK evaluation of a longer mental wellbeing measure (Affectometer 2), a review of the literature and the support of a multidisciplinary expert panel. It comprises 14 positively worded items relating only to positive attributes of mental health. Quantitative validation has been undertaken in student (n=354) and adult (16 yrs plus; n=2075) UK populations and mixed method evaluations in teenage (13–15 years) and UK dwelling Pakistani and Chinese groups. Results Initial evaluation showed good content validity; confirmatory factor analysis supported a single factor hypothesis (GFI =0.93, AGFI=0.8, RMSEA=0.055); Cronbach's α (0.89) suggested the possibility of item redundancy; item total correlations ranged from 0.52 and 0.80; the distribution was near normal; there were no floor or ceiling effects; test-retest reliability was high (0.83) and the scale discriminated population groups in a way which was consistent with results of other surveys. WEMWBS correlated with criterion scales to the expected extent and in the expected direction. WEMWBS was not RASCH compatible but a reduced 7 item scale, Short Warwick-Edinburgh Mental Wellbeing Scale (SWEMWBS) was resolved which met RASCH model requirements. Quantitative evaluations showed the scale to be robust in Chinese and Pakistani groups and in teenagers. Qualitative evaluation broadly supported these findings and offered insights into mental wellbeing across different groups. WEMWBS is sensitive to change in evaluations of diverse public health interventions and programmes including general lifestyle interventions and parenting programmes. It is also sensitive to change in psychiatric populations. Conclusions In addition to offering rigour for research and evaluation in public mental health, WEMWBS' positive focus offers a developmental perspective, helping to orientate policy makers, programme participants and survey respondents towards mental wellbeing and enabling identification of protective and promoting factors.
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The WEMWBS demonstrates good psychometric properties, including internal consistency (α = 0.89).
“The measure demonstrates good psychometric properties, including internal consistency (α = 0.89) (Stewart-Brown et al., 2011).”
From Online mindfulness-enhanced cognitive behavioural therapy for anxiety and depression: Outcomes of a pilot trial (2018) · cites this paper as Stewart-Brown et al., 2011
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“However, other tests might also be considered, such as the Warwick-Edinburgh Mental Well-being Scale (WEMWBS) [64], as it may be more appropriate if interested in the role of green and blue space in enhancing positive wellbeing.”
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“The 14-item Warwick Edinburgh Mental Wellbeing Scale (WEMWBS) assesses wellbeing [22], with respondents asked to indicate which score best describes their thoughts or feelings over the past week on a scale from 1 (none of the time) to 5 (all of the time) ( α = 0.85).”
InfluentialAlcañiz, M., Riera-Prunera, M.-C., & Solé-Auró, A. (2020) · International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health · doi:10.3390/ijerph17072442 · Cited by 27 · see citing works
Brown, F. L., Steen, F., Taha, K., Aoun, M., Bryant, R. A., Jordans, M. J. D., Malik, A., van Ommeren, M., Abualhaija, A., Aqel, I. S., et al. (2019) · Trials · doi:10.1186/s13063-019-3654-3 · Cited by 27 · see citing works
Kendrick, T., Geraghty, A. W. A., Bowers, H. M., Stuart, B. L., Leydon, G., May, C. R., Yao, G., O’Brien, W., Głowacka, M., Holley, S., et al. (2020) · Trials · doi:10.1186/s13063-020-04338-7 · Cited by 26 · see citing works
Remskar, M., Atkinson, M., Marks, E., & Ainsworth, B. (2022) · Stress and Health · doi:10.1002/smi.3133 · Cited by 21 · see citing works
van den Toren, S. J., van Grieken, A., & Raat, H. (2021) · PLoS ONE · doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0247230 · Cited by 24 · see citing works
“Mental well-being was assessed by the Warwick-Edinburgh Mental Well-being Scale (WEMWBS) [29].”
MethodInfluentialForest Bathing Increases Adolescents’ Mental Well-Being: A Mixed-Methods Study
Keller, J., Kayira, J., Chawla, L., & Rhoades, J. L. (2023) · International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health · doi:10.3390/ijerph21010008 · Cited by 26 · see citing works
Smith, N. R., Clark, C., Fahy, A., Tharmaratnam, V., Lewis, D. J., Thompson, C., Renton, A. M., Moore, D. G., Bhui, K. S., Taylor, S. J., et al. (2012) · BMJ Open · doi:10.1136/bmjopen-2012-001840 · Cited by 24 · see citing works
“The scale has been validated in adolescents(29) and cross-culturally within Pakistani and Chinese subgroups.(30) It has been used as a core module in the Scottish Health Survey since 2008(31) and was introduced to the Health Survey for England in 2010.”
MethodFeng, X., & Astell‐Burt, T. (2016) · Journal of Affective Disorders · doi:10.1016/j.jad.2016.06.041 · Cited by 25 · see citing works
“Our study is also limited by the focus on the K10 score, as it would have been useful to assess whether mirror-image results could be obtained with an indicator of positive mental health, such as the Warwick Edinburgh Mental Well Being Scale (Stewart-Brown et al., 2011; Tennant et al., 2007).”
MethodPositive mental health and wellbeing in adults with cystic fibrosis: a cross sectional study
Cronly, J., Duff, A., Riekert, K., Horgan, A., Lehane, E., Perry, I., Fitzgerald, A., Howe, B., Chroinin, M. N., & Savage, E. (2019) · Journal of Psychosomatic Research · doi:10.1016/j.jpsychores.2018.11.016 · Cited by 24 · see citing works
Shannon, S., Breslin, G., Prentice, G., & Leavey, G. (2020) · Psychiatry Research · doi:10.1016/j.psychres.2020.113393 · Cited by 21 · see citing works
Konaszewski, K., Niesiobędzka, M., & Surżykiewicz, J. (2021) · Health and Quality of Life Outcomes · doi:10.1186/s12955-021-01716-w · Cited by 22 · see citing works
“WEMWBS covers the main concepts associated with positive mental health, for example: positive affect, satisfying interpersonal relationships and positive functioning [5, 6, 10, 19].”
BackgroundMethodInfluentialThe Relationship Between Hope, Social Inclusion, and Mental Wellbeing in Supported Employment
Dunstan, D. A., Falconer, A. K., & Price, I. (2017) · Australian Journal of Rehabilitation Counselling · doi:10.1017/jrc.2017.5 · Cited by 22 · see citing works
“The scale has shown good content validity, a single factor structure, and excellent reliability (Stewart-Brown et al., 2011).”
BackgroundInternet and Telephone Support for Discontinuing Long-Term Antidepressants
Kendrick, T., Stuart, B. L., Bowers, H. M., Sadeghi, M. H., Hl, P., Dowrick, C. F., Moore, M. V., Gabbay, M., Leydon, G., Yao, G., et al. (2024) · JAMA Network Open · doi:10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2024.18383 · Cited by 22 · see citing works
Broyd, A., Jolley, S., & Johns, L. (2016) · British Journal of Clinical Psychology · doi:10.1111/bjc.12112 · Cited by 21 · see citing works
“Standardised measures of SWB (Stewart-Brown et al., 2011; Tennant et al., 2007), based on this definition are now well-validated across a range of disorders and widely accepted, although debate about the precise definition and measurement of SWB continues (de Cates, Stranges, Blake, & Weich, 2015).”
BackgroundMethodPower, powerlessness and the politics of mobility: Reconsidering mental health geographies
Lowe, J. B., & DeVerteuil, G. (2020) · Social Science & Medicine · doi:10.1016/j.socscimed.2020.112918 · Cited by 21 · see citing works
Down, M. J. A., Chivers, P., Kirsch, P., & Picknoll, D. (2021) · Health Promotion Journal of Australia · doi:10.1002/hpja.555 · Cited by 20 · see citing works
Strauss, C., Rosten, C., Hayward, M., Lea, L., Forrester, E., & Bibby-Jones, A.-M. (2015) · Trials · doi:10.1186/s13063-015-0664-7 · Cited by 21 · see citing works
Deave, T., Ginja, S., Goodenough, T., Bailey, E. A., Piwek, L., Coad, J. E., Day, C., Nightingale, S., Kendall, S. A., & Lingam, R. (2019) · mHealth · doi:10.21037/mhealth.2019.08.05 · Cited by 19 · see citing works
Maury, S., Vella‐Brodrick, D., Davidson, J. W., & Rickard, N. S. (2022) · Music & Science · doi:10.1177/20592043221137759 · Cited by 22 · see citing works
McConkey, R., O’Hagan, P., & Corcoran, J. (2023) · Children · doi:10.3390/children10020175 · Cited by 19 · see citing works
“Parents also self-completed rating scales on their social participation, and for their emotional and social wellbeing using standardized tools with known reliability and validity [15,16].”
MethodPiqueras, J. A., García-Olcina, M., Rivera-Riquelme, M., Rodríguez‐Jiménez, T., Martínez‐González, A. E., & Cuijpers, P. J. (2017) · BMJ Open · doi:10.1136/bmjopen-2017-017218 · Cited by 19 · see citing works
Watkins, E. R., Warren, F. C., Newbold, A., Hulme, C. T., Cranston, T., Aas, B., Bear, H. A., Botella, C., Burkhardt, F., Ehring, T. W., et al. (2024) · The Lancet Digital Health · doi:10.1016/s2589-7500(24)00148-1 · Cited by 19 · see citing works
Connor, C., Valliere, N. D., Warwick, J., Stewart-Brown, S. L., & Thompson, A. D. (2022) · BMC Public Health · doi:10.1186/s12889-022-13305-7 · Cited by 18 · see citing works
Self-citationTam, K. Y. Y., Chan, C. S., van Tilburg, W. A. P., Lavi, I., & Lau, J. Y. F. (2022) · Journal of Personality · doi:10.1111/jopy.12764 · Cited by 18 · see citing works
Hanzlová, R., & Lynn, P. J. (2023) · Health and Quality of Life Outcomes · doi:10.1186/s12955-023-02192-0 · Cited by 19 · see citing works
“Most of previous studies have focused either on early adolescents (12 to 15 years) or on the adult population only (e.g.; [25, 26, 35–37]).”
BackgroundResultDavies, R. M., Knoll, M. A., & Kyranides, M. N. (2023) · Psychology of sport and exercise · doi:10.1016/j.psychsport.2023.102560 · Cited by 18 · see citing works
Martin‐Niedecken, A. L., Bucher, V., Adcock, M., de Bruin, E. D., & Schättin, A. (2023) · Frontiers in Sports and Active Living · doi:10.3389/fspor.2023.1170783 · Cited by 18 · see citing works
Mental wellbeing among people in prison in Scotland: an analysis of repeat cross-sectional surveys
Tweed, E., Gounari, X., & Graham, L. (2019) · Journal of Public Health · doi:10.1093/pubmed/fdz106 · Cited by 18 · see citing works
Simpson, E. E. A., Pourshahidi, L. K., Davis, J., Slevin, M. M., Lawther, R., O’Connor, G., Porrett, T., Marley, J., & Gill, C. I. R. (2023) · Nursing Open · doi:10.1002/nop2.2030 · Cited by 21 · see citing works
“Positive psychological well-being was assessed using the Warwick-Edinburgh Mental Well-being Scale (WEMWBS) (Tennant et al., 2007), which is a 14-item scale assessing positive mental health with proven reliability (Cronbach's alpha = 0.91) and construct valid - ity (Stewart-Brown et al., 2011).”
MethodInfluential
- Authors
- Stewart-Brown, S., Platt, S., Tennant, A., Maheswaran, H., Parkinson, J., Weich, S., Tennant, R., Taggart, F., & Clarke, A.
- Affiliations
- University of Edinburgh (GB)
- University of Leeds (GB)
- University of Warwick (GB)
- National Health Service Scotland (GB)
- Venue
- Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health
- Publisher
- BMJ
- Published
- 2011-09
- Volume
- 65
- Issue
- Suppl 2
- Pages
- A38.2-A39
- ISSN
- 0141-7681 (ISSN-L)
- 0143-005X
- 1470-2738
- OpenAlex
- W2106879643
- Cited by
- 291
- References
- 0
- Citations by year
- 2026: 18 · 2025: 35 · 2024: 39 · 2023: 31 · 2022: 45 · 2021: 24 · 2020: 31 · 2019: 15 · 2018: 14 · 2017: 14 · 2016: 6 · 2015: 14 · 2014: 1 · 2013: 3 · 2012: 1
- FWCI
- 2.17
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- bronze
- doi.org
- Locations
- Journal of Epidemiology & Community Health (publishedVersion)
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Social Psychology › Psychological Well-being and Life Satisfaction
- Social Sciences › Decision Sciences › Management Science and Operations Research › Psychometric Methodologies and Testing
- Social Sciences › Education › Health Education and Validation
- Keywords
- Warwick-Edinburgh Mental Well-being Scale, positive mental health, scale validation, psychometric properties, Rasch analysis, adolescents, parent training, lifestyle intervention, content validity
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