A UK validation of a general measure of subjective well-being: the modified BBC subjective well-being scale (BBC-SWB)
Open accessAbstract
BACKGROUND: The BBC Subjective Well-being scale (BBC-SWB) is a recently developed questionnaire designed to measure people's subjective experiences across the wide breadth of domains commonly included in definitions of well-being. Although it has previously been shown to be a reliable and valid measure of subjective well-being in the general population with good psychometric properties, a limitation of the initial version was that it was developed using responses on a 4-point Likert-style scale. This paper presents the psychometric properties, validity and reliability of a revised version of the scale conducted using 5-point Likert-style responses and tests the hypothesis that the scale measures three underlying dimensions of well-being; psychological; physical health; and relationships. METHODS: A sample of 23,341 participants completed the revised BBC-SWB as part of an on-line open-access battery of self-report measures. Confirmatory factor analysis was used to test the pre-hypothesised three factor structure, and internal consistency was investigated using Cronbach's alpha. Concurrent validity was assessed through analysis of correlations with demographic variables, scores on the Goldberg Anxiety and Depression Scales, and the List of Threatening Experiences Questionnaire. RESULTS: Confirmatory factor analysis supported three factor structure of the measure in the whole sample and for subsamples of males and females. Both the total 24-item scale and the three subscales had good internal consistency, showed no evidence of floor and ceiling effects and correlated significantly with measures of concurrent validity. CONCLUSIONS: This study provided further confirmation of the validity and utility of the BBC Subjective Well-being scale. The modified version is a reliable and valid measure for the online assessment of subjective well-being in the general population with good psychometric properties.
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Definitions that partitioned well-being into a subjective domain and a separate objective domain provided greater specificity.
“Greater specificity was provided by definitions that partitioned well-being into a subjective domain, and a separate objective domain.42”
From Review of 99 self-report measures for assessing well-being in adults: exploring dimensions of well-being and developments over time (2016) · cites this paper as [42]
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Testing a Mediation Model of Dispositional Optimism, Mindful Self-Care, and Subjective Well-Being
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“The Modi fi ed BBC-Subjective Well-Being Scale (BBC-SWB; Pontin et al., 2013) is a 24-item scale that assesses SWB across three subscales: Physical Health (seven items; e.g., “ Are you happy with the quality of your sleep ” ), Psychological Well-Being (12 items; e.g., “ Do you feel you have a…”
Crocker, T., & Padilla, Y. C. (2016) · Families in Society The Journal of Contemporary Social Services · doi:10.1606/1044-3894.2016.97.16 · Cited by 5 · see citing works
Peran Grit pada Subjective Well-Being Siswa Madrasah Aliyah di Pesantren
Badi'ah, N. (2021) · Indonesian Psychological Research · doi:10.29080/ipr.v3i1.398 · Cited by 5 · see citing works
Subjective Well-Being in University Students.
Altun, İ., Özbağ, G. K., & Arlı, E. (2014) · PubMed Central · Cited by 5 · see citing works
Velykodna, M., Tkachenko, O., Шило, О. С., Mitchenko, K., Miroshnyk, Z., Kvitka, N., & Charyieva, O. (2024) · Mental Health Review Journal · doi:10.1108/mhrj-01-2024-0006 · Cited by 8 · see citing works
Öztürk, Z., Turan, G. B., & Dönmez, O. (2024) · Nursing Open · doi:10.1002/nop2.70044 · Cited by 4 · see citing works
“Pontin et al. (2013), similar to these studies, found that the TABLE 2 SCSRFQ, BRS VE SWSC total scores, mean scores of the patients and confidence intervals.”
ResultDoes consumerism increase subjective well-being? The case of Egyptian millennials
Yassin, D., & Ghoneim, H. (2024) · Management & Sustainability An Arab Review · doi:10.1108/msar-12-2023-0060 · Cited by 4 · see citing works
Livelihood capital access and sustainable livelihood outcomes of park adjacent communities in Uganda
Kiconco, M., Nelmapius, A., Venter, E., & Alinda, K. (2025) · IIMBG Journal of Sustainable Business and Innovation · doi:10.1108/ijsbi-06-2024-0029 · Cited by 7 · see citing works
How Do Urban Neighbourhoods Impact Parents’ Subjective Well-being?
Poikolainen, J., & Honkanen, K. (2020) · Nordic Journal of Social Research · doi:10.7577/njsr.2198 · Cited by 4 · see citing works
“Background variables are supposed to correlate with subjective well-being, and the statistical conclusions are drawn from these correlations (Diener, Inglehart, & Tay, 2013; Pontin et al., 2013).”
BackgroundOsman, A., Owusu, M. T., Anu, S. K., Essandoh, S., Aboansi, J., & Abdullai, D. (2022) · Resources Policy · doi:10.1016/j.resourpol.2022.103023 · Cited by 4 · see citing works
Карамушка, Л. М. (2023) · Організаційна психологія Економічна психологія · doi:10.31108/2.2023.1.28.2 · Cited by 4 · see citing works
Cheng, W. L. S., Tang, A. C. Y., Tsang, M. C.-M., Wong, L. L.-K., & Körlin, D. (2023) · Trials · doi:10.1186/s13063-023-07645-x · Cited by 4 · see citing works
“The 24-item BBC Subjective Well-being Scale (BBC-SWB) will be used to measure the participants’ subjective experiences of general well-being [34].”
BackgroundMethodKnots and black holes: why we’re all prone to madness and what we can do about it
Kinderman, P. (2016) · Humanities and Social Sciences Communications · doi:10.1057/palcomms.2016.74 · Cited by 4 · see citing works
“Relationships and a sense of meaning and purpose in life are perhaps the most significant predictors of life satisfaction (Pontin et al., 2013).”
BackgroundSelf-citationNaseer, P. M., Islam, S. B., & Darzi, M. A. (2025) · International Journal of Spa and Wellness · doi:10.1080/24721735.2025.2543646 · Cited by 3 · see citing works
“…perceived ease of access, three items from Yazdanpanah et al. (2015) to measure perceived health benefits, four items from İçli et al. (2019) to measure organic food consumption, four items each for physical emotional and social wellbeing from Pontin et al. (2013) and Ismael and Ploeger (2020).”
Chen, Y., Feng, X., Ali, S. K. S., & Zulnaidi, H. (2025) · PLoS ONE · doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0323731 · Cited by 3 · see citing works
Health literacy and subjective well-being amongst university students: moderating role of gender
Rashid, I., Amin, F., Lone, A. H., & Gulzar, S. S. (2023) · Health Education · doi:10.1108/he-01-2023-0008 · Cited by 4 · see citing works
Indonesian Farmers’ Subjective Well-being: Determinants and Effect on Discounting Behaviour
Begho, T., & Odeniyi, K. A. (2024) · Millennial Asia · doi:10.1177/09763996231222568 · Cited by 3 · see citing works
“However, the latter takes a more central role in psychology, economics and the social sciences (Pontin et al., 2013).”
Habit Formation and Automaticity: Psychoneurobiological Correlates of Gamma Activity
Leaf, C., Wasserman, C. S., Leaf, A., Kopooshian, N., Turner, R., & Paulson, R. M. (2024) · NeuroRegulation · doi:10.15540/nr.11.1.2 · Cited by 3 · see citing works
Relationship between Teacher Work Motivation and Well-being at Different Stages of covid-19 Lockdown
Карамушка, Л. М., Креденцер, О. В., Терещенко, К., Лазос, Г., & Клочко, А. О. (2021) · SOCIAL WELFARE INTERDISCIPLINARY APPROACH · doi:10.15388/sw.2021.11.12 · Cited by 4 · see citing works
Megherbi-moulay, O., Jullian, B., Franchitto, N., Igier, V., & Sordes, F. (2025) · Applied Research in Quality of Life · doi:10.1007/s11482-025-10439-9 · Cited by 2 · see citing works
Arizabal, J. J. R., & Yabut, H. J. (2025) · SAGE Open · doi:10.1177/21582440251369989 · Cited by 2 · see citing works
“The researchers utilize the BBC-Subjective Well-Being Scale (Pontin et al., 2013), which measures feelings of subjective well-being.”
InfluentialHappiness: A Novel Outcome Measure in Stroke?
Wijeratne, T., Sales, C., Wijeratne, C., & Jakovljević, M. (2021) · Therapeutics and Clinical Risk Management · doi:10.2147/tcrm.s307587 · Cited by 2 · see citing works
Impact of environmental awareness and organic consumption on consumer subjective well-being
Tamulienė, V., & Pilelienė, L. (2023) · Business and management · doi:10.3846/bm.2023.980 · Cited by 2 · see citing works
“Latter results regarding the presupposed impact of consumer behavior regarding the consumption of organic foods on consumer subjective well-being might be led by the fact that well-being is a multidimensional concept encompassing multiple domains of human functioning (Pontin et al., 2013), defined as a state “in which…”
BackgroundКреденцер, О. В. (2023) · Kyiv journal of modern psychology and psychotherapy · doi:10.48020/mppj.2023.01.05 · Cited by 2 · see citing works
Singh, S. (2024) · Journal of Advances in Management Research · doi:10.1108/jamr-03-2024-0119 · Cited by 2 · see citing works
Dong, Y., Sun, Y., Wang, D., & Waygood, E. O. D. (2024) · Journal of Transport & Health · doi:10.1016/j.jth.2024.101923 · Cited by 2 · see citing works
Psychological Well-being of Cancer Patients
Mustafin, R. N., & Kalyuzhny, E. A. (2024) · Clinical Psychology and Special Education · doi:10.17759/cpse.2024130302 · Cited by 2 · see citing works
Curtis, C. A., Hurley, L., & Farmer, G. L. (2021) · American Journal of Evaluation · doi:10.1177/1098214020921954 · Cited by 2 · see citing works
“The concern raised by implementing these assessments in practice is whether or not the outcomes associated with them are generalizable across racial groups (Bradley & Corwyn, 2004), especially considering the various measures of SWB that exist (Pontin et al., 2013).”
BackgroundShoeib, A. M. (2021) · International Journal of research in Educational Sciences · doi:10.29009/ijres.4.2.2 · Cited by 2 · see citing works
Tekaya, B., & Khadraoui, M. (2022) · Journal of Nonprofit & Public Sector Marketing · doi:10.1080/10495142.2022.2133065 · Cited by 1 · see citing works
“There are different concepts relating to the term “well-being,” such as life satisfaction and social functioning (Pontin et al., 2013).”
BackgroundKiconco, M., Alinda, K., Mwebaza, S., & Ssemata, R. (2025) · Tourism Critiques Practice and Theory · doi:10.1108/trc-09-2024-0052 · Cited by 1 · see citing works
Горошко, В. І., Khomenko, Y. G., & Horoshko, A. I. (2025) · Polski Merkuriusz Lekarski · doi:10.36740/merkur202502111 · Cited by 1 · see citing works
Morinaj, J., Thurn, C., & Vilser, M. (2026) · Personality and Individual Differences · doi:10.1016/j.paid.2026.113845 · Cited by 1 · see citing works
Guo, Z., Nova-Díaz, D. M., Lipman, S. A., & Roijen, L. H. (2025) · Health and Quality of Life Outcomes · doi:10.1186/s12955-025-02418-3 · Cited by 1 · see citing works
“Two are for the general population without age limits [81, 82], and the Pemberton Happiness Index was developed for individuals aged 16–60 [76].”
Tamminen, K. A., Hutt, K., Dunn, R. C., Crook, R., Edwards, D., & John, B. (2025) · Musicae Scientiae · doi:10.1177/10298649251385736 · Cited by 1 · see citing works
“The BBC Subjective Well-being scale is a questionnaire designed to measure individual subjective experiences of well-being (Pontin et al., 2013).”
Hidayah, R., Solichah, N., Chiedu, C. C., Jannah, M., Mu’awanah, E., Bukhori, B., & Mazaya, S. N. K. (2026) · Islamic Guidance and Counseling Journal · doi:10.25217/0020269727200 · Cited by 1 · see citing works
Examining Whether Body Image Dissatisfaction is a Predictor of Risky Sexual Behavior
Greenhill, N., & Nebel-Schwalm, F. A. (2015) · Digital Commons at Illinois Wesleyan University (Illinois Wesleyan University) · Cited by 1 · see citing works
عمران, ف. م. ع. (2023) · مجلة الإرشاد النفسی · doi:10.21608/cpc.2023.309905 · Cited by 1 · see citing works
Карамушка, Л. М., Креденцер, О. В., Tereshchenko, K. V., Delton, Y., Лазос, Г., & Paskevska, I. (2023) · Polski Merkuriusz Lekarski · doi:10.36740/merkur202304114 · Cited by 3 · see citing works
Mental health and well-being of staff in business organizations under conditions of uncertainty
Tereshchenko, K. V. (2023) · Організаційна психологія Економічна психологія · doi:10.31108/2.2023.2.29.11 · Cited by 1 · see citing works
Family Physician Motivation and Well-Being in the Digital Era
Neufeld, A., Бабенко, О., & Bhella, V. S. (2023) · The Annals of Family Medicine · doi:10.1370/afm.3031 · Cited by 1 · see citing works
“22 All variables were standardized and univariate normality was confirmed by examining skewness and kurtosis.”
MethodVirtual Care Integration: Balancing Physician Well-Being
LaPlante, G., Бабенко, О., & Neufeld, A. (2024) · PRiMER · doi:10.22454/primer.2024.690812 · Cited by 1 · see citing works
ACADEMIC STRESS AND EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE AS THE PREDICTOR OF SUBJECTIVE WELL-BEING
Oktarisa, F., Dessyrianti, R. F., Wilda, M. A., & Deviona, N. (2023) · Jurnal RAP (Riset Aktual Psikologi Universitas Negeri Padang) · doi:10.24036/rapun.v14i1.122927 · Cited by 1 · see citing works
Leaf, C., Turner, R. P., Paulson, R. M., Lynch, G., & Leaf, A. (2024) · Current Psychology · doi:10.1007/s12144-024-06360-3 · Cited by 1 · see citing works
“While our Factor 2: Awareness did not correlate with our construct validity and predictive measures in Study 2, this is most probably due to the lack of corresponding awareness and mindfulness factors present in the BBC-SWB (Pontin et al., 2013), HADS-A, and HADS-B instruments (Bjelland et al., 2002), highlighting onc…”
InfluentialUnderstanding the Structure of Subjective Well-Being: A Study with Brazilian Adults
Peixoto, E. M., Romano, A. R., Zanini, D. S., & Noronha, A. P. P. (2024) · Trends in Psychology · doi:10.1007/s43076-024-00421-z · Cited by 1 · see citing works
Subjective Well-Being Factors in Students
Doriza, S., Ilwana, H. F., & Nugraheni, P. L. (2024) · Journal of Family Sciences · doi:10.29244/jfs.v9i2.57290 · Cited by 1 · see citing works
Suffolk Libraries: enhancing well-being within its community
Millett, A. C., Burrows, K., Caldwell, N. H. M., & Richards, S. (2025) · The Journal of Positive Psychology · doi:10.1080/17439760.2025.2502484 · Cited by 1 · see citing works
“The most consistently used method is through psychometric testing (e.g. Casas, 2017; Kállay & Rus, 2014; Pontin et al., 2013).”
İşyeri Mutluluğunun Duygusal Emeğe Etkisinde Algılanan Yönetici Desteğinin Aracı Rolü
ÖZER, K. (2025) · Mevzu – Sosyal Bilimler Dergisi · doi:10.56720/mevzu.1661664 · Cited by 1 · see citing works
Khan, M. M., Yasin, G., & Hussain, M. (2025) · Qlantic journal of social sciences. · doi:10.55737/qjss.vi-iv.25453 · Cited by 1 · see citing works
Castro-Valencia, A. M., Ruiz, M. G. H., López, F. G. A., & Campos, P. C. (2022) · Journal of Higher Education Theory and Practice · doi:10.33423/jhetp.v22i16.5607 · Cited by 1 · see citing works
mHealth in Physical Therapy Practice: What Consumers Want?
Oberoi, M., & Rathod, P. V. (2022) · Asian Pacific Journal of Health Sciences · doi:10.21276/apjhs.2022.9.4s.02 · Cited by 1 · see citing works
- Authors
- Pontin, E., Schwannauer, M., Tai, S., & Kinderman, P.
- Affiliations
- University of Liverpool (GB)
- University of Edinburgh (GB)
- University of Manchester (GB)
- Corresponding author
- Pontin, Eleanor
- Venue
- Health and Quality of Life Outcomes
- Published
- 2013
- Volume
- 11
- Issue
- 1
- Pages
- 150
- ISSN
- 1477-7525 (ISSN-L)
- PMC
- PMC3868314
- OpenAlex
- W2141240900
- Cited by
- 134
- References
- 35
- Citations by year
- 2026: 12 · 2025: 17 · 2024: 21 · 2023: 21 · 2022: 16 · 2021: 13 · 2020: 9 · 2019: 3 · 2018: 7 · 2017: 1 · 2016: 6 · 2015: 5 · 2014: 3
- FWCI
- 6.98
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- gold
- doi.org
- Licence
- cc-by
- Locations
- Health and Quality of Life Outcomes (publishedVersion, cc-by)
- Europe PMC (PubMed Central) (publishedVersion, cc-by)
- PubMed Central (publishedVersion, cc-by)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Edinburgh Research Explorer (University of Edinburgh) (submittedVersion, cc-by)
- 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
- Health Sciences › Health Professions › General Health Professions › Health, psychology, and well-being
- Keywords
- subjective well-being, psychometric validation, scale revision, factor structure, psychological well-being, physical health, interpersonal relationships, concurrent validity, reliability statistics, general population
- MeSH terms
- Adolescent, Adult, Aged, Factor Analysis, Statistical, Female, United Kingdom, Humans, Male, Middle Aged, Personal Satisfaction, Surveys and Questionnaires, Young Adult
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