A psychometric evaluation of the Icelandic version of the WHO-5

Scand J Psychol. 2014 Dec;55(6):567-72. doi: 10.1111/sjop.12156. Epub 2014 Aug 18.

Abstract

The psychometric properties of the Icelandic version of the World Health Organization five wellbeing index (WHO-5) were evaluated using two samples, a randomly selected sample (N = 3,896) from the Icelandic National Registry and a convenience sample of primary care patients (N = 126). The factor structure of the scale was tested with confirmatory factor analysis (CFA). The correlation between the WHO-5 and other measures of depression and anxiety were calculated to assess the scale's convergent and divergent validity. The discriminant validity of the WHO-5 was explored with a receiver operating analysis compared to the Mini International Neuropsychiatric Interview. The CFA indicated that the factor structure of the WHO-5 was one-dimensional and factorial invariant between groups. The internal reliability of the WHO-5 was adequate and the convergent, divergent and discriminant validity of the WHO-5 was supported. It is concluded that the psychometric properties of the Icelandic version of the WHO-5 are satisfactory.

Keywords: CFA; WHO-5; depression; wellbeing.

Publication types

  • Evaluation Study
  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Adult
  • Aged
  • Aged, 80 and over
  • Anxiety / psychology*
  • Depression / psychology*
  • Factor Analysis, Statistical
  • Female
  • Health Status
  • Humans
  • Iceland
  • Male
  • Mental Health*
  • Middle Aged
  • Personal Satisfaction*
  • Psychometrics
  • Reproducibility of Results
  • Young Adult