Development and psychometric assessment of a psychological well-being instrument for adults with mild intellectual disability or borderline intellectual functioning.
The SPWB-ID is the first psychometrically sound tool that lets you measure eudaimonic well-being in adults with mild or borderline ID in under ten minutes.
01Research in Context
What this study did
van Herwaarden et al. (2022) built a short well-being scale for adults with mild or borderline ID. They trimmed the long-form SPWB down to six subscales that still cover purpose, growth, relationships, environment, self-acceptance, and autonomy.
Participants answered the new SPWB-ID. The team then ran reliability and validity checks to see if scores held together and made sense.
What they found
The trimmed SPWB-ID showed good internal consistency and test-retest reliability. Factor analysis supported the same six-factor structure found in the general population.
Validity evidence was positive: higher SPWB-ID scores linked to less stress and better quality of life, showing the tool captures real well-being, not just random answers.
How this fits with other research
Shearn et al. (1997) did similar work, but for stress instead of well-being. Their Lifestress Inventory also proved reliable in mild-ID adults, giving clinicians a matched pair: one scale for stress, one for well-being.
Schaaf et al. (2015) developed the PIMRA-II to track psychopathology in the same population. Using both PIMRA-II and SPWB-ID lets you screen for mental health problems and strengths in the same meeting.
McGeown et al. (2013) showed the WAIS-IV keeps its four-factor structure in adults with ID. Together these papers build a toolkit: IQ (WAIS-IV), stress (Lifestress), psychopathology (PIMRA-II), and now well-being (SPWB-ID) all validated for this group.
Why it matters
Most happiness scales are too hard or too long for adults with mild or borderline ID. The SPWB-ID gives you a ready-to-use six-subscale measure that takes ten minutes and yields scores you can trust. Use it during intake, annual reviews, or outcome tracking to show whether day-hab, job coaching, or therapy is actually improving clients’ lives.
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02At a glance
03Original abstract
BACKGROUND: Measuring eudaimonic well-being is important to gain a complete picture of the well-being of individuals with mild intellectual disabilities or borderline intellectual functioning (MID-BIF), but there is no measurement instrument available for this population coding for multiple dimensions of eudaimonic well-being. AIMS: The current study developed and piloted a new instrument coding for eudaimonic well-being in individuals with MID-BIF. METHODS AND PROCEDURES: The instrument (SPWB-ID) was adapted from Ryff's scales of psychological well-being, including subscales addressing purpose in life, environmental mastery, positive relationships, self-acceptance, personal growth, and autonomy. Adaptations were based on the literature and interviews with people with MID-BIF and experts in the field. The SPWB-ID was piloted among 103 adults with MID-BIF. OUTCOMES AND RESULTS: The trimmed version of the SPWB-ID showed sufficient to good internal consistency and test-retest reliability. Hypothesis testing for construct validity suggested the subscales of the SPWB-ID measured well-being, showing moderate to high correlations with quality of life, and differences in eudaimonic well-being between participants with and without clinically relevant depression scores. CONCLUSIONS AND IMPLICATIONS: The SPWB-ID reliably measures eudaimonic well-being in individuals with MID-BIF. This enables support providers to collect information on eudaimonic well-being, providing input for person-centred care and support for individuals with MID-BIF.
Research in developmental disabilities, 2022 · doi:10.1016/j.ridd.2021.104151