TY - JOUR
T1 - Assessing Psychological Well-Being Among Adolescents
T2 - A New Multidimensional Instrument for Chilean School Students
AU - Bravo-Sanzana, Mónica
AU - Terán-Mendoza, Oscar
AU - Miranda, Rafael
AU - Oriol, Xavier
AU - Varela, Jorge
AU - Mieres-Chacaltana, Manuel
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2025 by the authors.
PY - 2025/11
Y1 - 2025/11
N2 - Adolescent psychological well-being is a key component of social and educational sustainability. Strengthening well-being during the school years supports healthy development, academic engagement, and resilience to contemporary challenges. Within the framework of the United Nations 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, fostering mental health and equity in education contributes to more inclusive, cohesive, and peaceful communities. This study aimed to develop and validate the Psychological Well-Being Scale for Adolescents in a Chilean school population. Drawing on Ryff’s multidimensional model, the scale included 32 items and was administered to 8638 high school students from all sixteen regions of Chile. Exploratory Factor Analysis identified a seven-factor structure in which self-acceptance was divided into two dimensions: one associated with self-esteem and achievement, and another with self-appreciation and body image. Confirmatory Factor Analysis demonstrated that the seven-factor model achieved the best fit. The scale showed high internal consistency, adequate convergent validity, and measurement invariance. The Psychological Well-Being Scale for Adolescents is a psychometrically sound and culturally adapted instrument validated with Chilean adolescents in school contexts. Current evidence supports its use for research and applied assessment within Chilean educational settings.
AB - Adolescent psychological well-being is a key component of social and educational sustainability. Strengthening well-being during the school years supports healthy development, academic engagement, and resilience to contemporary challenges. Within the framework of the United Nations 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, fostering mental health and equity in education contributes to more inclusive, cohesive, and peaceful communities. This study aimed to develop and validate the Psychological Well-Being Scale for Adolescents in a Chilean school population. Drawing on Ryff’s multidimensional model, the scale included 32 items and was administered to 8638 high school students from all sixteen regions of Chile. Exploratory Factor Analysis identified a seven-factor structure in which self-acceptance was divided into two dimensions: one associated with self-esteem and achievement, and another with self-appreciation and body image. Confirmatory Factor Analysis demonstrated that the seven-factor model achieved the best fit. The scale showed high internal consistency, adequate convergent validity, and measurement invariance. The Psychological Well-Being Scale for Adolescents is a psychometrically sound and culturally adapted instrument validated with Chilean adolescents in school contexts. Current evidence supports its use for research and applied assessment within Chilean educational settings.
KW - adolescence
KW - factor analysis
KW - network analysis
KW - school
KW - well-being
UR - https://www.scopus.com/pages/publications/105021528605
U2 - 10.3390/su17219482
DO - 10.3390/su17219482
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:105021528605
SN - 2071-1050
VL - 17
JO - Sustainability (Switzerland)
JF - Sustainability (Switzerland)
IS - 21
M1 - 9482
ER -
