Developing and Validating a Patient-Centered Measure of Well-Being in Bipolar Disorder: The WELL-B.
- 1Department of Psychiatry, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA.
- 2Department of Learning Health Sciences, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA.
Abstract
Objectives
Traditional measures of well-being in bipolar disorder (BD) often equate well-being with the absence of mood symptoms, overlooking strengths-based indicators like acceptance, agency, and positive emotion that individuals with BD identify as central to their lived experience of wellness. To address this misalignment, we developed and psychometrically validated a new well-being measure, the Well-being Evaluation for Living with Bipolar (WELL-B), grounded in the concept of thriving.Methods
The WELL-B was co-designed with individuals with BD and caregivers through a collaborative learning health system and piloted in the Prechter Longitudinal Study for Bipolar Disorder (PLS-BD). Participants (N = 192) completed the WELL-B twice over 2 months. The WELL-B captured personalized, qualitative examples of well-being across eight domains and corresponding quantitative ratings using four overarching prompts. Using both Classical Test Theory and Modern Test Theory frameworks, we evaluated factor structure, internal consistency, item-level properties, test-retest reliability, and convergent and divergent validity.Results
Exploratory factor analysis revealed a stable three-factor solution: general well-being, time availability, and work-related well-being factors. All factors showed strong internal consistency (alphas > 0.85), and item response theory analyses indicated moderate to high item discrimination. The well-being factor was strongly associated with better mental health functioning and lower depression, anxiety, and alcohol use. Most participants rated the WELL-B as acceptable, feasible, and meaningful for reflecting on their wellness.Conclusions
The WELL-B offers a strengths-based, patient-centered approach to assessing well-being in BD. Future directions include refinement, broader validation, and testing clinical utility for treatment planning and monitoring.
Related
- Psychometric Evaluation of the Parental Education in Physiotherapy Scale: A Brief Measure of Family‐Centered Educational Practices in Pediatric Physiotherapy
- One Size Fits None: Developing a Person‐Centered Approach to Weight Management in Older Adults
- Validating LLM judges for automated oversight of patient communication
- Theory of Artificial Intelligence Adaptation for Linguistic Concordance: Bridging Gaps in Patient-Centered Communication
- Start low to stay long: adapted dose escalation as a patient-centered strategy for adjuvant Abemaciclib
BibTeX
@article{stromberg2026developing,
title = {{Developing and Validating a Patient-Centered Measure of Well-Being in Bipolar Disorder: The WELL-B.}},
author = {Audrey R Stromberg and Alexandra H Vinson and Claudia Diaz-Byrd and Ravleen Kaur and Melvin G McInnis and Sarah H Sperry},
journal = {Bipolar disorders},
year = {2026},
month = oct,
doi = {10.1111/bdi.70193},
url = {https://europepmc.org/article/MED/42920380},
note = {CC BY},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - Developing and Validating a Patient-Centered Measure of Well-Being in Bipolar Disorder: The WELL-B.
AU - Audrey R Stromberg
AU - Alexandra H Vinson
AU - Claudia Diaz-Byrd
AU - Ravleen Kaur
AU - Melvin G McInnis
AU - Sarah H Sperry
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/10/30
JO - Bipolar disorders
DO - 10.1111/bdi.70193
UR - https://europepmc.org/article/MED/42920380
AB - Objectives Traditional measures of well-being in bipolar disorder (BD) often equate well-being with the absence of mood symptoms, overlooking strengths-based indicators like acceptance, agency, and positive emotion that individuals with BD identify as central to their lived experience of wellness. To address this misalignment, we developed and psychometrically validated a new well-being measure, the Well-being Evaluation for Living with Bipolar (WELL-B), grounded in the concept of thriving.Methods The WELL-B was co-designed with individuals with BD and caregivers through a collaborative learning health system and piloted in the Prechter Longitudinal Study for Bipolar Disorder (PLS-BD). Participants (N = 192) completed the WELL-B twice over 2 months. The WELL-B captured personalized, qualitative examples of well-being across eight domains and corresponding quantitative ratings using four overarching prompts. Using both Classical Test Theory and Modern Test Theory frameworks, we evaluated factor structure, internal consistency, item-level properties, test-retest reliability, and convergent and divergent validity.Results Exploratory factor analysis revealed a stable three-factor solution: general well-being, time availability, and work-related well-being factors. All factors showed strong internal consistency (alphas > 0.85), and item response theory analyses indicated moderate to high item discrimination. The well-being factor was strongly associated with better mental health functioning and lower depression, anxiety, and alcohol use. Most participants rated the WELL-B as acceptable, feasible, and meaningful for reflecting on their wellness.Conclusions The WELL-B offers a strengths-based, patient-centered approach to assessing well-being in BD. Future directions include refinement, broader validation, and testing clinical utility for treatment planning and monitoring.
SN - 1398-5647
SN - 1399-5618
ER -