Abstract

This article describes the Italian validation of a scale recently developed in UK to measure different aspects of positive mental health: the Warwick-Edinburgh Mental Well-Being Scale (WEMWBS). The Italian WEMWBS was administered to 345 subjects (46.7% males) aged 18 to 80 years (mean age = 39.90). One year later the scale was completed by a 52-subjects independent group aged 19-78 years (50% males; mean age 40.94) to assess one week test-retest reliability. Confirmatory factor analysis supported a single factor hypothesis (CFI = .92, RMSEA = .06, SRMR = .08), although the Italian validation suggested that two items should be eliminated. A Cronbach's alpha of 0.87 and a one-week test-retest of 0.80 indicated a good reliability as both internal consistency and stability. The scale was sufficiently free from the effect of social desirability (r = 0.15), and showed high correlations with other mental health and well-being scales (p < 0.01). The Italian WEMWBS showed good psychometric qualities. As a short scale, it is an appropriate tool for monitoring mental well-being at a population level.