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Impact of positively- versus negatively-worded items on the factor structure of three psychological measures: W-BQ22, W-BQ12 & SF-36

Speight, J., Barendse, S. and Bradley, C. 1999, Impact of positively- versus negatively-worded items on the factor structure of three psychological measures: W-BQ22, W-BQ12 & SF-36, Quality of life research, vol. 8, no. 7, pp. 576-576.

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Title Impact of positively- versus negatively-worded items on the factor structure of three psychological measures: W-BQ22, W-BQ12 & SF-36
Author(s) Speight, J.
Barendse, S.
Bradley, C.
Journal name Quality of life research
Volume number 8
Issue number 7
Start page 576
End page 576
Publisher Springer Netherlands
Place of publication Dordrecht , Netherlands
Publication date 1999-11
ISSN 0962-9343
1573-2649
Summary Background: The 22-item Well-being Questionnaire (W-BQ22) (Bradley, 1994) includes Anxiety, Depression, Energy and Positive Well-being subscales. However, the constructs of anxiety and depression could not be easily distinguished from each other. Consequently, the W-BQ12 was designed to include just three subscales, Negative Well-being (including only negatively-worded anxiety and depression items), Energy (2 positively- and 2 negativelyworded items) and Positive Well-being (all positively-worded items). The SF-36 (Ware & Sherbourne, 1983), a widely used health status measure, includes a 4-item vitality subscale (2 positively- and 2 negatively-worded items) and a 5-item mental health scale (2 positively worded and 3 negatively-worded items).

Method: Factor structures of W-BQ22, W-BQ12 and SF-36 were compared using data from 789 outpatients with diabetes.

Results: W-BQ22 factor analysis showed negatively-worded anxiety and depression items loading together, while positively-worded depression items loaded with positive well-being items and separately from positively-worded anxiety items. W-BQ12 loaded as intended on 3 factors, with negatively-worded anxiety and depression items loading together on one factor: negative well-being. The four energy items (2 positively- and 2 negatively-worded) loaded together (factor 3) and the four positive well-being items loaded together (factor 1). Unforced factor analysis of the SF-36 produced 5 factors and split the mental health and vitality items into two components, which could only be defined in terms of positive and negative wording. A forced 8-factor solution produced similar results, with the mental health and vitality items being split into two components according to their positive or negative wording. A forced 2-factor solution brought mental health/vitality items together, separate from physical health items.

Conclusion: The previously unrecognised influence of positive and negative wording on factor structure is clearly shown here to be of importance in conceptualising and designing measures of psychological well-being to be used with people with diabetes and may be of relevance for other populations.
Language eng
Field of Research 170199 Psychology not elsewhere classified
Socio Economic Objective 970117 Expanding Knowledge in Psychology and Cognitive Sciences
HERDC Research category C2.1 Other contribution to refereed journal
Copyright notice ©1999 Kluwer Academic Publishers
Persistent URL http://hdl.handle.net/10536/DRO/DU:30036397

Document type: Journal Article
Collection: School of Psychology
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