The Well-being Questionnaire: evidence for a three-factor structure with 12 items (W-BQ12)

Background. The Well-being Questionnaire (W-BQ) has been designed to measur e psychological well-being in people with a chronic somatic illness and is recommended by the World Health Organization for widespread use. However, s tudies into the factor structure of this instrument are still limited and t heir findings are inconsistent. This study aimed to investigate the factor structure of the Dutch version of the W-BQ. Methods. A cross-validation design was used. A total of 1472 people with di abetes completed the W-BQ and were randomly assigned to group A or B. In gr oup A (N = 736), exploratory factor analyses were conducted. Group B (N = 7 36) was split up into four subgroups of male or female patients with type 1 or type 2 diabetes. In these subgroups, confirmatory factor analyses were employed to test the model(s) developed in group A and the two models descr ibed in the literature (four-factor model with 22 items and a three-factor model with 12 items). Results. Exploratory factor analyses yielded a three-factor model with 21 i tems (negative well-being, energy and positive well-being). In the subgroup s of group B confirmatory factor analyses only accepted the three-factor mo del with 12 items. This factor solution was stable across gender, type of d iabetes and level of education. Conclusions. The best description of the factor structure of the Dutch tran slation of the W-BQ was given by a three-factor solution with 12 items (W-B Q12), measuring positive well-being (four items), negative well-being (four items) and energy (four items).