Attitudes Toward Wellness Checks Measure

Abstract

The Attitudes Toward Wellness Checks Measure (ATWCM), developed by Adler, Bliese, Allard, and Sharp (2023), is a 10-item rating scale designed specifically to gauge military personnel’s perceptions and attitudes toward mandatory wellness checks. This instrument emerged from a study that evaluated the efficacy of a pilot wellness check initiative implemented at a major U.S. Army installation, focusing on enhancing soldier health and operational readiness.

The scale employs a five-point Likert response format. Notably, three of the items within the ATWCM are dedicated to assessing common therapeutic factors related to the experience of receiving a wellness check. While the measure was administered to a sample of U.S. Army soldiers stationed at the test installation, comprehensive psychometric data, including reliability and validity coefficients, have not yet been formally reported for this instrument.

Keywords

Army, Attitudes toward Wellness Checks, Health Promotion, Job Readiness, Soldiers, Army Personnel, Health Care Services, Well Being, Military Measures, Mental Health Screening.

Authors

Adler, Amy B.; Bliese, Paul D.; Allard, Yvonne S.; Sharp, Douglas.

Purpose

The primary purpose of the ATWCM is to provide a standardized tool for assessing the subjective experience and disposition of military personnel regarding mandated wellness checks. These checks represent a proactive, universal intervention within the military context, aimed at promoting overall psychological and physical health and maintaining high levels of soldier readiness.

By measuring soldier attitudes, the scale helps researchers and military leaders understand how personnel perceive the utility, relevance, and impact of these health initiatives. This feedback is essential for refining intervention strategies and ensuring that wellness programs are perceived as helpful rather than burdensome or stigmatizing.

Construct

The ATWCM measures the psychological construct of Perceived Utility and Acceptance of Proactive Health Interventions within a high-stakes organizational setting. It focuses on the subjective appraisal of the wellness check experience itself.

The scale items capture several key dimensions: the perceived helpfulness of the intervention in both professional and personal life, the utilization of skills learned, the perceived value of subsequent mental health counseling, and critical therapeutic elements such as feeling listened to during the check. This multi-faceted approach aims to capture the overall attitude, ranging from taking the check seriously to viewing it as a waste of time.

Validity

As of the initial publication in 2024, there are no formal data available regarding the validity of the Attitudes Toward Wellness Checks Measure (ATWCM). Further psychometric studies are required to establish construct validity, concurrent validity, and predictive validity for this novel instrument, particularly concerning its relationship with actual utilization of resources or subsequent mental health outcomes.

Reliability

There are currently no reported statistics concerning the internal consistency (e.g., Cronbach’s alpha) or test-retest reliability of the ATWCM. Researchers intending to use this rating scale are advised to conduct preliminary reliability testing appropriate to their specific sample population and research goals to ensure measurement consistency.

Factor Analysis

No data concerning the underlying factor structure of the 10-item scale has been reported by the authors. Therefore, it is currently unknown whether the ATWCM assesses a single, unified construct (unidimensionality) or multiple distinct factors related to different facets of attitudes toward wellness checks.

Instrument

Test Type: Original rating scale.

Format: The instrument comprises 10 items utilizing a five-point Likert-type response scale. Responses range from 1 (not at all) to 5 (a lot). The administration method utilized in the initial study was electronic.

Language Available: English.

Population Group: Human, male, and female.

Age Group: Adulthood (18 years and older), encompassing Young Adulthood (18–29 years), Thirties (30–39 years), and Middle Age (40–64 years).

Population Details: The scale was initially administered to a sample of U.S. Army soldiers located in the United States, specifically those assigned to the installation where the universal wellness check intervention was piloted.

Test Methodology: The Attitudes Toward Wellness Checks Measure (Adler et al., 2023) was administered electronically to the sample of U.S. Army soldiers following their participation in the wellness check intervention. The methodology was designed to capture immediate attitudes and perceptions regarding the utility and experience of the proactive health program.

Keywords

Army Personnel, Military Measures, Health Promotion, Mental Health Screening, Therapeutic Factors, Rating Scales, Soldier Readiness, Psychological Services.

Authors

Author ORCID Identifier:

• Adler, Amy B.: orcid.org/0000-0002-0886-5530

• Bliese, Paul D.: orcid.org/0000-0002-5384-8879

• Allard, Yvonne S.: orcid.org/0000-0003-0772-9016

Affiliation Email addresses:

• Adler, Amy B.: Walter Reed Army Institute of Research Center for Military Psychiatry and Neuroscience

• Bliese, Paul D.: Walter Reed Army Institute of Research Center for Military Psychiatry and Neuroscience

• Allard, Yvonne S.: Walter Reed Army Institute of Research Center for Military Psychiatry and Neuroscience

• Sharp, Douglas: Headquarters, 1st Infantry Division

• Email (Adler): [email protected]

Correspondence Address: Adler, Amy B.: Walter Reed Army Institute of Research, Center for Military Psychiatry and Neuroscience, 503 Robert Grant Avenue, Silver Spring, Maryland, United States, 20910, [email protected]

Permissions & Fee and Test Year

Permissions: The measure may be used for Research and Teaching purposes.

Fee: No fee is required for the use of this instrument, as the measure is non-commercial.

Test Year: 2023 (Year of development and initial administration).

References

Adler, A. B., Bliese, P. D., Allard, Y. S., & Sharp, D. (2024). Wellness checks: Piloting a universal intervention for soldiers. Psychological Services, 21(2), 337–346. doi.org/10.1037/ser0000794

Items of the Attitudes Toward Wellness Checks Measure

The Attitudes Toward Wellness Checks Measure is a 10-item scale. The instrument uses a five-point Likert scale (1= not at all, 2 = a little bit, 3 = moderately, 4 = quite a bit, 5 = a lot). Three of these items are designed to measure common therapeutic factors.

Attitudes Toward Wellness Checks Measure

Questions

• I took the [unit] wellness check seriously.

• During the [unit] wellness check, I received information about wellness resources.

• During the [unit] wellness check, I felt listened to.

• [Unit] wellness checks helped me see the value of mental health counseling.

• It was good to get things off my chest during the [unit] wellness check.

• The [unit] wellness check has been helpful to me in my professional life.

• The [unit] wellness check has been helpful to me in my personal life.

• I am using skills I learned through the [unit] wellness check.

• The [unit] wellness check was a waste of time.

• The [unit] wellness check got me thinking about things I hadn’t considered before.

Note: Items are rated on a five-point response scale (1 = not at all, 2 = a little bit, 3 = moderately, 4 = quite a bit, 5 = a lot).