THE WELLNESS INDEX - DEVELOPING AN INSTRUMENT TO ASSESS ELDERS WELL-BEING

The Wellness Index is a 79-item, self-administered scale used to measu re well-being. The Wellness Index contains six independent dimensions of well-being which include physical health, morale, economic resource s, ADL-IADL, religiosity, and social resources. Data for 463 older adu lts revealed each subscale and the Index had acceptable reliability an d validity. An R factor, principle component analysis, suggested all s ubscales except economic resources could be combined to form a composi te measure of overall level of functioning. Conceptual and methodologi cal issues are discussed as well as implications for the future.