Perceived Wellness Survey (PWS)

Abstract

The Perceived Wellness Survey (PWS) is a widely utilized 36-item self-report instrument designed to measure an individual’s subjective perception of their overall wellness across multiple dimensions. Developed by Adams, Bezner, and Steinhardt in 1997, the PWS integrates a multidimensional model of wellness, acknowledging that perceived health is composed of interconnected domains. The scale is structured to provide scores across six distinct factors: mental, emotional, social, physical, spiritual, and intellectual health, making it a comprehensive tool for assessing holistic well-being.

The PWS is grounded in the philosophy that health extends beyond the absence of illness, focusing instead on positive psychological functioning and the perceived balance between life’s demands and personal resources. Its comprehensive nature allows for detailed assessment of specific areas of strength and areas needing improvement in an individual’s life.

Keywords

Perceived Wellness Survey, PWS, holistic health, mental health, emotional health, social health, spiritual health, intellectual health, wellness dimensions, psychological assessment.

Authors

T. Adams, J. Bezner, M. Steinhardt, L. Garner, S. Woodruff, R.J. Drabbs, R.J. Zambarano.

Purpose

The primary purpose of the Perceived Wellness Survey (PWS) is to provide researchers and practitioners with a reliable and valid instrument for quantifying subjective feelings of wellness. It moves beyond traditional deficit models of health by focusing on positive psychological functioning and an integrated view of human potential. The scale is particularly useful for measuring the efficacy of health promotion programs and for tracking changes in well-being over time in diverse populations.

The PWS aims to capture the perceived balance and functioning within and across the six key dimensions of health, recognizing that overall wellness results from the synergy of these components rather than the mere absence of disease. It is used extensively in college health settings and community health research.

Construct

The PWS measures the psychological construct of Perceived Wellness, which is defined as a subjective, dynamic state of optimal health and vitality spanning six interrelated dimensions. These dimensions are conceptualized based on a holistic framework commonly used in health promotion literature, emphasizing the interconnectedness of mind, body, and spirit.

The six specific dimensions measured by the PWS are:

• Mental Health: Measures optimism, future outlook, and positive expectations regarding life outcomes (Items 1, 7, 13, 19, 25, 31).
• Emotional Health: Assesses self-confidence, self-worth, feelings of competence, and security (Items 2, 8, 14, 20, 26, 32).
• Social Health: Evaluates perceived support and reliability from family and friends, and the capacity for interpersonal connection and confiding (Items 3, 9, 15, 21, 27, 33).
• Physical Health: Focuses on subjective perceptions of current and future physical condition, illness resistance, and functional limitations (Items 4, 10, 16, 22, 28, 34).
• Spiritual Health: Relates to having a sense of purpose, meaning in life, and mission about one’s future (Items 5, 11, 17, 23, 29, 35).
• Intellectual Health: Measures the pursuit of knowledge, engagement in mentally challenging activities, and satisfaction with cognitive stimulation (Items 6, 12, 18, 24, 30, 36).

Validity

Initial studies by Adams, Bezner, Garner, & Woodruff (1998) established strong evidence for the construct validity of the PWS. This validation process confirmed that the 36 items appropriately loaded onto the six hypothesized dimensions, demonstrating internal coherence consistent with the theoretical model of integrated wellness. Convergent validity has been shown through correlations with other established measures of life satisfaction and mental health.

Further research, including validation in international samples (e.g., Iranian population by Kaveh et al., 2016), has supported the cross-cultural applicability and validity of the PWS, confirming its utility as a robust measure of multidimensional perceived health. The scale demonstrates good differentiation between individuals with varying levels of subjective well-being, confirming that it accurately reflects the theoretical components it was designed to measure.

Reliability

The Perceived Wellness Survey exhibits high internal consistency, indicating strong reliability across its subscales. Original development papers consistently reported high Cronbach’s alpha coefficients for the overall scale and for each of the six dimensions, confirming that the items within each domain measure a shared underlying construct.

For example, the spiritual and psychological dimensions were specifically tested in 2000, confirming their adequate psychometric properties. This high level of internal consistency suggests that the PWS provides consistent and stable results, making it highly suitable for both cross-sectional and longitudinal research aimed at assessing intervention effectiveness and tracking changes in perceived reliability over time.

Factor Analysis

The structure of the PWS was confirmed through Factor analysis, which revealed a clear six-factor solution corresponding directly to the six proposed dimensions: mental, emotional, social, physical, spiritual, and intellectual health. This analysis demonstrated that each of the 36 items significantly loads onto its intended factor, confirming the instrument’s underlying theoretical structure.

This successful replication of the six-factor model across various studies supports the theoretical premise that perceived wellness is a complex, multi-faceted construct rather than a single unified dimension. The clear factor separation allows researchers to analyze specific areas of wellness independently while still generating an overall wellness score.

Instrument

Test Type: Self-report questionnaire / Multidimensional psychological scale

Format: 36 items assessed using a 6-point Likert scale.

Language Available: English (Original), Persian/Farsi (Validated translation).

Population Group: General population, frequently used with college students and adults.

Age Group: Adolescents and Adults.

Population Details: Initial validation focused on college populations, but subsequent research has extended its use to general adult samples seeking to measure holistic well-being. It is particularly relevant for health education and counseling settings.

Test Methodology: Respondents rate their level of agreement with each statement using the following scale: (1) Very strongly Disagree to (6) Very strongly Agree. Scores are calculated for each of the six subscales, with 15 specific items being reverse coded to mitigate potential response bias.

Keywords

Health promotion, subjective well-being, psychological assessment, self-efficacy, life satisfaction, six dimensions of wellness, scale validation, psychometrics.

Authors

Author ORCID Identifier: Not provided in source.

Affiliation Email addresses: Not provided in source.

Correspondence Address: Not provided in source.

Permissions & Fee and Test Year

The Perceived Wellness Survey was initially conceptualized and published in 1997. Specific details regarding permissions, licensing, and usage fees should be confirmed by visiting the official instrument website, which is linked below in the item section.

Test Year: 1997 (Initial Publication).

Reference’s

The following academic works document the development, conceptualization, and validation of the Perceived Wellness Survey (PWS):

1. Adams, T., Bezner, J., & Steinhardt, M. (1997). The conceptualization and measurement of perceived wellness: Integrating balance across and within dimensions. American Journal of Health Promotion, 11(3), 208–218.
2. Adams, T., Bezner, J., Garner, L., & Woodruff, S. (1998). Construct validation of the Perceived Wellness Survey. American Journal of Health Studies: 14(4), 212-219.
3. Adams, T.B., Bezner, R.J., Drabbs, M.E., Zambarano, R.J., Steinhardt, M.A. (2000). Conceptualization and measurement of the spiritual and psychological dimensions of wellness in a college population. Journal of American College Health, 48, 165–173.
4. Adams, Bezner, & Steinhardt. (1997). Perceived Wellness Survey. In: Simmons C. A., Lehmann P. (eds). Tools for strengths-based assessment and evaluation, New York, NY: Springer, pp. 138-140. (2013). (Source link: Google Scholar)
5. Kaveh, M. H., Ostovarfar, J., Keshavarzi, S., and Ghahremani, L. (2016). Validation of Perceived Wellness Survey (PWS) in a Sample of Iranian Population. Malaysian Journal of Medical Sciences. 23(4), 46–53 (Source link: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5025062/)

The instrument can also be found online at: http://www.perceivedwellness.com/

Items of the Perceived Wellness Survey (PWS)

IMPORTANT: The following scale items must be preserved in their original language and must not be changed in any way.

1. I am always optimistic about my future
2. There have been times when I felt inferior to most of the people I knew*
3. Members of my family come to me for support
4. My physical health has restricted me in the past*
5. I believe there is a real purpose for my life
6. I will always seek out activities that challenge me to think and reason
7. I rarely count on good things happening to me*
8. In general‚ I feel confident about my abilities
9. Sometimes I wonder if my family will really be there for me when I am in need*
10. My body seems to resist physical illness very well
11. Life does not hold much future promise for me*
12. I avoid activities that require me to concentrate*
13. I always look on the bright side of things
14. I sometimes think I am a worthless individual*
15. My friends know they can always confide in me and ask me for advice
16. My physical health is excellent
17. Sometimes I don’t understand what life is all about*
18. Generally‚ I feel pleased with the amount of intellectual stimulation I receive in my daily life
19. In the past‚ I have expected the best
20. I am uncertain about my ability to do things well in the future*
21. My family has been available to support me in the past
22. Compared to people I know‚ my past physical health has been excellent
23. I feel a sense of mission about my future
24. The amount of information that I process in a typical day is just about right for me (i.e.‚ not too much and not too little)
25. In the past‚ I hardly ever expected things to go my way*
26. I will always be secure with who I am
27. In the past‚ I have not always had friends with whom I could share my joys and sorrows*
28. I expect to always be physically healthy
29. I have felt in the past that my life was meaningless*
30. In the past‚ I have generally found intellectual challenges to be vital to my overall well-being
31. Things will not work out the way I want them to in the future*
32. In the past‚ I have felt sure of myself among strangers
33. My friends will be there for me when I need help
34. I expect my physical health to get worse*
35. It seems that my life has always had purpose
36. My life has often seemed void of positive mental stimulation*

* reverse coded