Wellness Dimensions Relate to Happiness in Children and Adolescents

Abstract

Abstract This paper describes the results of a study designed to explore factors in children and adolescents that contribute to happiness, and to contribute to the reliability and validity of the Child and Adolescent Wellness Scale (CAWS). Rooted in resilience research and the philosophy of positive psychology, the CAWS is a recently developed self-report instrument that provides psychologists with a means of evaluating the competencies of children and adolescents across 10 domains associated with well-being. Surveys from a sample of 281 middle and high school students were collected to investigate the instrument's technical properties and its relationship with a measure of happiness or life satisfaction. The CAWS evidenced strong internal consistency reliability. Student CAWS scores were highly correlated (r = .71) with self-report ratings from the Multidimensional Students' Life Satisfaction Survey, providing criterion validity and suggesting that the CAWS dimensions are associated with happiness in youth. Potential applications of the CAWS as a tool to promote positive mental health and future research directions are discussed. Keywords: POSITIVE MENTAL HEALTHSOCIAL-EMOTIONAL ASSESSMENTWELLNESS