The Dimensionality of Well-being in People with Multiple Sclerosis: A Hierarchical Confirmatory Factor Analysis

Research Objectives: It is imperative to measure well-being among people with MS with psychometrically sound measurements so that the clinical impact of MS can be better understood. This study aimed to examine the psychometric properties and factor structure of the PERMA-Profiler as a measure of well-being in people with MS.

Design: Cross-sectional study design.

Setting: Participants were recruited from the National MS Society.

Participants: N = 373 participants. Most participants were females (81.0%) and Caucasians (90.6%). The inclusion criteria for this study included being at least 18 years old and having a MS diagnosis.

Interventions: Not applicable.

Main Outcome Measures: Well-being was assessed with the PERMA-Profiler (Butler & Kern, 2016). Disability-related stress was measured using the Brief Disability Related Stress Scale (BDRSS; Lee & Chan, 2022). Functional limitations were assessed using the World Health Organization Disability Assessment Schedule 2.0 (Ustun et al., 2010).

Results: A correlated five-factor model demonstrated acceptable model fit. Overall, well-being factors, except engagement factor, had a very good to excellent reliability values. Our results revealed that disability-related stress was negatively associated with positive emotion (r = -.56, p<.05), engagement (r = -.44, p<.05), relationships (r = -.46, p<.05), meaning (r = -.53, p<.05), accomplishment (r = -.59, p<.05). Our results also revealed that functional limitations were negatively associated with positive emotion (r = -.50, p<.05), engagement (r = -.40, p<.05), relationships (r = -.36, p<.05), meaning (r = -.50, p<.05), accomplishment (r = -.57, p<.05).

Conclusions: The PERMA-Profiler is a reliable and valid self-report measure for assessing well-being among people with MS. The analyses support the correlated five-factor model as the optimal factor structure of the PERMA-Profiler, and the PERMA-Profiler demonstrates satisfactory internal consistency reliability. The use of the PERMA-Profiler can provide meaningful insights into effectiveness of psychosocial rehabilitation treatments and research on interventions using positive psychology framework.

Author(s) Disclosures: No conflicts of interests.