Measuring mental well-being: A validation of the Short Warwick-Edinburgh Mental Well-Being Scale in Norwegian and Swedish.

Aims: Mental health, currently one of the biggest challenges worldwide, requires attention and research. The aim of this study was to examine the psychometric properties of the Short Warwick-Edinburgh Mental Well-Being Scale (SWEMWBS), and validate the scale for use in Norway and Sweden. SWEMWBS, which includes both hedonic and eudemonic principles of mental well-being, could facilitate useful future studies.

Method: Data were collected among Norwegian and Swedish hotel managers (N=600) through self-rated online questionnaires. Tests used to examine the psychometric properties of the scale included descriptive statistics, correlations, reliability analyses, and explorative factor analyses in SPSS, as well as confirmatory factor analyses in AMOS. Robustness tests were run for gender and country subsamples.

Results: The scale showed adequate internal consistency and reliability. Results of the confirmatory factor analysis showed moderate fit in Norway and Sweden. In addition, the scale showed acceptable construct, criterion-related, and discriminant validity.

Conclusion: The psychometric properties of the SWEMWBS were acceptable in both the Norwegian and the Swedish translations of the scale.