Assessing We-Disease Appraisals of Health Problems: Development and Validation of the We-Disease Questionnaire

• Main Authors: Alexandra J. Vogt (Author), Lasse Bartels (Author), Isabella C. Bertschi (Author), Fiona Mahler (Author), Michael Grotzer (Author), Daniel Konrad (Author), Kurt Leibundgut (Author), Jochen Rössler (Author), Guy Bodenmann (Author), Markus A. Landolt (Author)
• Format: Book
• Published: MDPI AG, 2024-04-01T00:00:00Z.
• Subjects: article
• Online Access: Connect to this object online.

Summary

In couples dealing with health problems, we-disease appraisals can influence dyadic coping strategies to alleviate distress. This study describes the development and validation of a self-report scale to assess we-disease appraisals of health problems. The newly developed We-Disease Questionnaire (WDQ) was administered in three samples: parents of children with type 1 diabetes (<i>n</i> = 240) or cancer (<i>n</i> = 125) and individuals with visual impairment and their partners (<i>n</i> = 216). Reliability was measured by coefficient omega. To assess construct validity, correlations with other measures of individual and dyadic adjustment were examined. Descriptive statistics across all samples were compared. A 4-item version of the WDQ demonstrated good reliability and validity and showed meaningful associations with established scales. We-disease appraisals were highest among parents of children with cancer and lowest among couples with visual impairment. The WDQ is a reliable and valid measure that can be used across different health problems.

Item Description

10.3390/ejihpe14040061
2254-9625
2174-8144