• Media type: E-Article
  • Title: Assessing We-Disease Appraisals of Health Problems: Development and Validation of the We-Disease Questionnaire
  • Contributor: Vogt, Alexandra J.; Bartels, Lasse; Bertschi, Isabella C.; Mahler, Fiona; Grotzer, Michael; Konrad, Daniel; Leibundgut, Kurt; Rössler, Jochen; Bodenmann, Guy; Landolt, Markus A.
  • Published: MDPI AG, 2024
  • Published in: European Journal of Investigation in Health, Psychology and Education, 14 (2024) 4, Seite 941-953
  • Language: English
  • DOI: 10.3390/ejihpe14040061
  • ISSN: 2254-9625
  • Origination:
  • Footnote:
  • Description: 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 (n = 240) or cancer (n = 125) and individuals with visual impairment and their partners (n = 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.
  • Access State: Open Access