Analysis of factor structure of the 42-item Ryff Psychological Well-Being Scale in a sample of African American women in a community health center

Well-being measures often favor individualistic (i.e. autonomy) over collectivistic themes (i.e. communalism). Research with African American (AA) communities has identified collective coping, spirituality, and racial identity as important for psychological well-being (PWB). Moreover, individuals with intersecting identities, such as low socioeconomic status AA women, experience unique stressors negatively affecting PWB. This study aims to examine the factor structure of the PWBS-42 scale in a sample of AA women with depressive symptoms in a community health center setting. Seventy-three AA women were recruited from a pilot study through a community health center in a metropolitan city. PWB was assessed using the 42-item Ryff Psychological Well-being (PWBS-42) scale containing six subscales. An exploratory factor analysis revealed three factors in our sample: Self-Efficacy, Locus of Control, and Relational Satisfaction. Measures of reliability and validity were acceptable. Together, the factors explained 42% of PWB variance. Our results indicate that the original factor structure does not capture the unique factors of well-being in our sample of AA women. Our findings underscore the importance of developing culturally relevant psychometric instruments for groups that have been marginalized, such as AA women.