Development and preliminary validation of the South Wales Social Well-being Scale (SWSWBS)

Area of Science:

• Psychology
• Sociology
• Public Health

Background:

• Well-being encompasses physical, mental, and social components, yet social well-being is under-researched.
• Existing research often prioritizes physical and mental health aspects over social well-being.
• There is a need for validated instruments to measure social well-being comprehensively.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop a new scale for measuring social well-being.
• To conduct preliminary validation of the South Wales Social Well-being Scale (SWSWBS).
• To assess the psychometric properties of the SWSWBS, including validity and reliability.

Main Methods:

• A non-experimental, cross-sectional design was employed in two phases: scale development and validation.
• Items were generated from a Group Concept Mapping study and reduced to 14 for a sample of 103 university students and staff.
• Construct validity (exploratory factor analysis, convergent validity) and reliability (internal consistency, split-half) were tested.

Main Results:

• A 3-factor structure emerged: "Safe and inclusive interaction with others," "Learning, helping, and feeling useful," and "Security, worthwhile activities, family and friends."
• The SWSWBS demonstrated good internal consistency (Cronbach's alpha = 0.85) and split-half reliability (0.78).
• The scale showed satisfactory validity and reasonable variability, though a ceiling effect was noted.

Conclusions:

• The South Wales Social Well-being Scale (SWSWBS) demonstrates satisfactory psychometric properties for preliminary validation.
• The SWSWBS can be used to measure social well-being, complementing existing mental well-being scales.
• Replication with larger, diverse populations is recommended to further establish the scale's utility and application for a holistic understanding of well-being.