Measuring positive health: Concurrent and factorial validity based on a representative Dutch sample.

Area of Science:

• Health Psychology
• Psychometrics
• Sociology

Background:

• The definition of health is evolving beyond disease absence to encompass physical, emotional, and social well-being.
• Positive Health (PH) focuses on adaptability and self-management in response to life challenges.
• While a PH dialogue tool exists, a validated PH measurement instrument is needed.

Purpose of the Study:

• To test the factorial and concurrent validity of a proposed 17-item Positive Health (PH) measurement model.
• To assess the suitability of the PH model as a measurement instrument for diverse health dimensions.
• To compare the PH model's explanatory power against established health measurements.

Main Methods:

• Factor analysis was employed to evaluate the factorial validity of the PH measurement model.
• Regression analyses were conducted to assess concurrent validity against other health measures (BRS, HR-SWB, ICECAP, EQ5D).
• The study utilized a representative sample of the Dutch population (n=1016).

Main Results:

• Factor analysis supported the factorial validity of the proposed PH measurement model.
• The PH model explained over 50% of the variance in happiness (R²=0.60) and self-rated health (R²=0.57).
• The model explained less than 25% of the variance in autonomy, personal growth, stability, self-care, and resilience. Mental and daily functioning domains showed weak associations with other health measures.

Conclusions:

• The PH measurement model demonstrates suitability for measuring multiple health dimensions.
• The PH model may not comprehensively capture all concepts measured by other health instruments.
• The PH model has the potential to explain health variance beyond existing measurement tools.