ERIC Number: EJ1372713
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2022-Sep
Pages: 11
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-2578-4218
EISSN: EISSN-2578-4226
Dominance of General versus Specific Aspects of Wellbeing on the Student Subjective Wellbeing Questionnaire
School Psychology, v37 n5 p399-409 Sep 2022
The Student Subjective Wellbeing Questionnaire (SSWQ) is a 16-item measure of school-specific subjective wellbeing intended for mental health screening applications. We extended past validation work to scrutinize the SSWQ's previously proposed factor structure (i.e., four group factors; one general factor) and score reliability using two random subsets of data from a sample of 1,020 adolescents in grades 9-12. Results from exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses suggested that the four items related to the "educational purpose" [EP] group factor did not cohere as expected, unlike the items for the other three-group factors. Revised 12-item models that excluded the EP items were defensible across both subsamples. Model-based reliability indices for the 12-item general factor scores were consistently strong and showed exceptionally high correlation with the original 16-item version (r = 0.98), yet unique reliability of the group factor scores was comparatively weaker. We recommend future research reevaluate the SSWQ item content and factor structure and consider using model-based factor scores at least in addition to sum scores for analyses when operating in a latent factor framework. We emphasize relying on the general rather than the group factor scores to parse individual differences in student subjective wellbeing or to make critical decisions regarding intervention resource allocation.
Descriptors: High School Students, Grade 9, Grade 10, Grade 11, Grade 12, Well Being, Questionnaires, Factor Structure, Mental Health, Student Attitudes, Reliability
American Psychological Association. Journals Department, 750 First Street NE, Washington, DC 20002. Tel: 800-374-2721; Tel: 202-336-5510; Fax: 202-336-5502; e-mail: order@apa.org; Web site: http://www.apa.org
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: High Schools; Secondary Education; Grade 9; Junior High Schools; Middle Schools; Grade 10; Grade 11; Grade 12
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A
Data File: URL: https://osf.io/exyb7/?view_only=91aea92910d444999f95555beaba5846