Psychometric Properties of the Warwick–Edinburgh Mental Wellbeing Scale (WEMWBS) in the Iranian Older Adults

PURPOSE: Mental wellbeing is considered as an important and effective factor in older adults’ psychological health. Due to lack of a standard instrument for the assessment of mental wellbeing in Iranian older adults, the present study was performed to examine validity and reliability of the Persian version of the Warwick–Edinburgh Mental Wellbeing Scale (WEMWBS-P) for use among Iranian older adults. PATIENTS AND METHODS: The study sample included 304 older adults aged 60 and over, admitted to the Shohada Educational Hospital affiliated to the Tabriz University of Medical Sciences, North West of Iran. The participants were recruited through the convenience sampling method in May to September 2017. RESULTS: The mean and standard deviation of the mental wellbeing score were 50.30 and 8.82, respectively. Exploratory factor analysis (EFA) results demonstrated a one-factor solution with 13 items which was verified by the confirmatory factor analysis (CFA). The estimated internal consistency measure of Cronbach’s alpha (0.93) and two weeks’ time test-retest reliability index (0.84) met the prerequisite criteria. CONCLUSION: According to the results, the WEMWBS-P with 13 items has acceptable validity and reliability to assess the mental wellbeing of Iranian and other Persian-speaking older adults.