Development and Validation of a Mental Wellbeing Scale in Singapore

Abstract

With a total number of 3400 participants, a sequence of four studies in two waves of data collection, the present study identified the conceptualization and construction of a mental wellbeing scale in a modern Asian multi-ethnic community-Singapore. Study 1 consisted a series of interviews (N = 351), surveys (N = 161) and focus group discussions (N = 59) to examine the popular conceptualization and manifestation of the construct of mental wellbeing in Singapore. The multi-ethnic inputs were then categorized into popular categories to construct a prototype of the Singapore Mental Wellbeing (SMWEB) Scale. With a nationally representative sample of 741 participants, Study 2 found the internal reliability (α = .962, 30 items) and a strong construct validity of the SMWEB. EFA and CFA confirmed a five dimensional structure of the SMWEB: Asian Self-esteem, Social Intelligence, Emotional Intelligence, Resilience and Cog-nitive Efficacy. Each dimension is internally coherent and culturally meaningful. With an additional nationally representative sample of 2091 participants, Study 3 constructed a short form of the SMWEB, the SMWEB-S with high internal reliability (α = .932, 16 items) and strong construct validity. Using Sample 2 and the SMWEB-S, Study 4 further validated the SMWEB as a measure of mental wellbeing by testing two theoretical models: the multi-dimensional model of mental wellbeing and the two factor model of mental wellbeing versus mental disorders. Excellent fit indices were found with both models. Further, the SMWEB-S showed significant construct validity by significantly predicting the culturally sanctioned goal pursuits: personal income and education attainment.