The 12-item well-being questionnaire - An evaluation of its validity and reliability in Dutch people with diabetes

OBJECTIVE-The objective of this study was to investigate the validity and r eliability of the short-form 12-Item Well-Being Questionnaire (W-BQ12). The 12-items were used to construct the three 4-item subscales Negative Well-B eing (NWB), Energy (ENE), and Positive Well-Being (PWB), and the 12-item ov erall scale General Well-Being (GWB). RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS-A total of 1,472 patients with diabetes complet ed the W-BQ12, the Hospital Anxiety and Depression scale, and the State Tra it Anxiety Inventory. Statistics covered Cronbach's alpha, Pearson's correl ation, t tests, and logic regression. Test-retest reliability was studied i n a sample of 202 patients who twice completed the W-BQ12, which was supple mented with the Center for Epidemiological Studies Depression scale and the Short Form (SF)-36 Health Survey. RESULTS-Of the tested subjects, 739 were defined as having type 1 diabetes and 701 as having type 2 diabetes. Cronbach's alpha proved to be high and s table across sex and type of diabetes for all W-BQ12 scales. Test-retest re liability ranged from 0.66 (PWB) to 0.83 (GWB), with a mean interval of 66 +/- 14 days. Convergent validity of the W-BQ12 scales was supported by high correlations with other measures of affect. Of all scales of the first mea surement, ENE proved to have the strongest association with self-reported c hronic-fatigue. NWB and trait anxiety both had the strongest associations w ith self-reported depression and current treatment by a psychologist/psychi atrist. CONCLUSIONS-The W-BQ12 appeared to be a reliable and valid measure of psych ological well-being. This short instrument is easy to administer and may be considered a useful tool for both clinicians and researchers to assess the psychological well-being of patients with diabetes.