Wellness Beliefs Scale – WBS
Measures lay definitions and beliefs about health and wellness across functional, biomedical, and wellbeing dimensions.
Scale Development & Technical Details
Scale Overview
The Wellness Beliefs Scale – WBS was developed by Fiona Bishop & Lucy Yardley (2010). It is designed to measure Lay definitions of health. The scale is intended for use with Adults.
Scale Structure
This instrument consists of 21 items organized into 3 factors/subscales: Functional, Biomedical, Wellbeing.
| Factor / Subscale | Items | N |
|---|---|---|
| Functional | 2,6,8,9,12,14,17 | 7 |
| Biomedical | 1,3,7,11,16,18,20 | 7 |
| Wellbeing | 4,5,10,13,15,19,21 | 7 |
Response Format
Respondents rate each item using a custom response format.
Response anchors: 1 = Not Important At All, 2 = 2, 3 = 3, 4 = 4, 5 = 5, 6 = 6, 7 = Very Important.
Scoring
Items are scored by subscale, with each subscale sum representing a distinct dimension.
Total scores range from 21 to 147. Interpretation guidelines:
- Low Importance: 21 – 63
- Moderate Importance: 64 – 105
- High Importance: 106 – 147
Administration
The scale is self-administered and typically takes approximately 5 minutes to complete. It can be administered individually or in group settings. No special training is required for administration.