Validation of the Multidimensional Wellness Inventory: A Factor Analytic Approach

• In Event: Roundtable Session 13
  In Roundtable Session: Wellness, Resilience, and Innovation: Holism and Health in Education and Beyond It

Abstract

Wellness cannot be confined to physical exercise and nutrition, as historically labeled. A multi-dimensional/holistic approach to student wellness is paramount to understanding and evaluating students’ awareness and (potential) need for growth in one or more areas of their lives. In the current research, using data from 526 undergraduate students, we began the process of validating the Multi-dimesional Wellness Inventory through a confirmatory factor analysis (CFA). The initial inventory included nine theoretical constructs. After the CFA, eight dimensions and twenty-four items remained. The inventory is important to educators in higher education interested in meeting the students where they are and using the information in the inventory to provide key feedback to students about areas for potential growth in multiple wellness dimensions.

Authors

• Brianna M. Scott, University of Indianapolis

• Mindy M. Mayol, University of Indianapolis

• James B. Schreiber, Duquesne University