Validation of Student Wellbeing Teacher-Report Scale (SWTRS) using multilevel factor analysis

The Student Wellbeing Teacher-Report Scale is a 12-item instrument with three subscales (i.e., academic, social, and emotional well-being) for assessing students' subjective well-being in school-based screenings. This study examined the factor structure, validity, and reliability of the Student Wellbeing Teacher-Report Scale within a multilevel framework using responses from 81 teachers about 1,910 students in the United States. Results from multilevel confirmatory factor analysis supported a three-factor correlated model at both the within- and between-teacher levels, with one item from the social well-being removed. Cross-level metric invariance was established, suggesting that school-specific well-being was conceptualized similarly at the individual and teacher/classroom levels. Results from multilevel structural equation modeling showed that each subscale had unique, significant associations with internalizing and externalizing behaviors at the within-teacher level. However, only the social well-being subscale was associated with externalizing behaviors at the between-teacher level. The three subscales demonstrated satisfactory internal reliability across levels, supported by multilevel α and ω coefficients ranging from .81 to .95. Overall, findings provide strong psychometric support for the Student Wellbeing Teacher-Report Scale with a social well-being item (i.e., handles frustrations well at school) removed as a school-based screener and highlight directions for further refinement and application in practice. It is important to note that the relatively small teacher sample size may have limited the ability to detect significant results at the teacher/classroom level. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2026 APA, all rights reserved).