A Longitudinal Study of the Well-being of Students Using the Student Wellbeing Process Questionnaire (Student WPQ)

Background: Previous research shows that the Student Well-being Process Questionnaire (Student WPQ) has good content validity, construct validity, and discriminate validity. Objective: The present research examined the reliability and predictive validity of the Student WPQ scales. Method: Eighty-seven university undergraduate and postgraduate students aged 18-47 years participated in a longitudinal study which involved completing an online survey twice, with the sessions being 10 weeks apart. The data were used to assess the test-re-test reliability and the predictive validity of the scales. Results: Positive personality and social support had high test-re-test reliability and demands and negative coping had slightly lower reliability suggesting that the WPQ measures both stable traits and changes in state. Cross-sectional analyses confirmed that the predictor variables were associated with wellbeing outcomes. Cross-lag analysis showed that the positive personality and Short Research Article Williams and Smith; JESBS, 24(4): 1-6, 2018; Article no.JESBS.40105 2 demands at time 1 predicted wellbeing at time 2. Changes in positive personality predicted changes in wellbeing. Conclusion: These findings show that the student WPQ has good test-re-test reliability and can be used in longitudinal studies which give a stronger indication of causality.