The Subjective Wellbeing of High-School Students: Validating the Personal Wellbeing Index-School Children

Abstract

The Personal Wellbeing Index-School Children (PWI-SC) is designed as a parallel form of the adult PWI-A, to measure subjective wellbeing. This study examines the psychometric properties of the PWI-SC. Data from 351 students, aged between 12 and 20 years, were collected by two independent studies over the years 2005-2006. Using the combined data, the results indicate good psychometric properties for the PWI-SC. It is also found that females have higher SWB but that both genders show an age-related decline in SWB from early to mid adolescence. Notably, School satisfaction meets the criteria for a new domain for the PWI-SC and should be considered for inclusion in a future revision of the scale. The use of the PWI-SC in schools can provide important information for the development of educational policy. © 2010 Springer Science+Business Media B.V.