Mental Wellbeing Scale | Free Positive Wellbeing Assessment

Questions 1-5 of 16 31%

Your Results

Based on your responses about the past two weeks

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out of 80

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Where your score falls

16 35 48 64 80

Lower wellbeing

Moderate wellbeing

Higher wellbeing

Wellbeing Facets

How you scored across different areas

What now? This score reflects your recent wellbeing, not a permanent state. Wellbeing naturally fluctuates based on life circumstances. If you want to track changes over time, consider retaking this assessment in a few weeks.

Understanding Wellbeing Research

The science of positive mental wellbeing

Mental wellbeing is more than the absence of mental illness. Over the past several decades, researchers have developed frameworks for understanding and measuring the positive side of mental health — not just whether people are unwell, but whether they are flourishing.

Two Dimensions of Wellbeing

Research broadly distinguishes two types of wellbeing:

Hedonic wellbeing: Positive feelings like optimism, cheerfulness, calm, and life satisfaction
Eudaimonic wellbeing: Positive functioning — having energy, purpose, autonomy, personal growth, and meaningful social connections

Most modern wellbeing instruments, including the Warwick-Edinburgh Mental Wellbeing Scale (Tennant et al., 2007), Keyes' Mental Health Continuum (2002), and Ryff's Psychological Well-Being Scales (1989), measure some combination of both dimensions.

From the Research

"Mental health is a state of well-being in which an individual realizes his or her own abilities, can cope with the normal stresses of life, can work productively, and is able to make a contribution to his or her community."
— World Health Organization (2004). Promoting mental health: concepts, emerging evidence, practice .

Key Findings from Wellbeing Research

Positive mental wellbeing is a distinct construct from the absence of mental illness — people can have high wellbeing despite challenges, or low wellbeing without a diagnosable condition
Wellbeing is responsive to both individual factors (habits, mindset, relationships) and environmental factors (work conditions, social support, financial security)
Short self-report scales can meaningfully capture wellbeing changes over time, making them useful for personal reflection and population monitoring
Hedonic and eudaimonic wellbeing are related but distinct — someone can feel positive emotions (hedonic) while lacking a sense of purpose (eudaimonic), or vice versa

Major Wellbeing Instruments

Several validated instruments exist for measuring positive mental wellbeing. The Warwick-Edinburgh Mental Wellbeing Scale (WEMWBS; Tennant et al., 2007) is widely used in UK population health surveys. The WHO-5 Well-Being Index (WHO, 1998) offers a brief 5-item measure used internationally. Keyes' Mental Health Continuum Short Form (MHC-SF; 2005) measures emotional, social, and psychological wellbeing across 14 items. Diener's Flourishing Scale (2010) captures social-psychological prosperity in 8 items. Ryff's Psychological Well-Being Scales (1989) take a deeper look at eudaimonic functioning across six dimensions.

Score Interpretation

Scores range from 16 to 80. Higher scores indicate greater positive mental wellbeing.

16-45 Lower wellbeing You may be going through a difficult period. Consider what might be affecting your wellbeing.

46-64 Moderate wellbeing A mix of positive experiences and everyday challenges. Typical for most people.

65-80 Higher wellbeing You're experiencing many positive feelings and functioning well across life areas.

Important: There are no strict "good" or "bad" cutoffs. These ranges help contextualize your score. Wellbeing fluctuates naturally based on life circumstances.

How We Built This Assessment

We wrote 16 original questions measuring positive mental wellbeing across three areas: positive feelings, positive functioning, and social connection. Each item uses a 5-point frequency scale and asks about the past two weeks.

This is not the official Warwick-Edinburgh Mental Wellbeing Scale (WEMWBS), which is a copyrighted instrument requiring a license from the University of Warwick. Our items, item count, and scoring are independently developed.

References

Tennant, R. et al. (2007). The Warwick-Edinburgh Mental Well-being Scale (WEMWBS): development and UK validation. Health and Quality of Life Outcomes
Keyes, C. L. M. (2002). The mental health continuum. Journal of Health and Social Behavior
Ryff, C. D. (1989). Happiness is everything, or is it? Journal of Personality and Social Psychology
Diener, E. et al. (2010). New well-being measures: Flourishing and positive and negative feelings. Social Indicators Research
World Health Organization (1998). WHO-5 Well-Being Index

Frequently asked questions

No. The Warwick-Edinburgh Mental Wellbeing Scale (WEMWBS) is a copyrighted 14-item instrument developed by the Universities of Warwick and Edinburgh, requiring a license for any use. Our Mental Wellbeing Scale is an independently written 16-item assessment that measures similar constructs — positive feelings, positive functioning, and social wellbeing — but with original items, different scoring, and a different factor structure.

The WEMWBS (Tennant et al., 2007) focuses on positive mental health with 14 items on a 5-point scale. The Mental Health Continuum-Short Form (MHC-SF) by Keyes uses 14 items across emotional, social, and psychological wellbeing. Ryff's Psychological Well-Being Scales (PWB) measure six dimensions with 42+ items. Diener's Flourishing Scale is 8 items focused on social-psychological prosperity. Our assessment draws on all of these traditions, combining positive feelings, functioning, and social wellbeing into 16 original items.

This assessment has not been independently validated through formal psychometric testing. It is designed for self-reflection and personal insight, not clinical use. The WEMWBS has been validated across multiple populations (Tennant et al., 2007; Stewart-Brown et al., 2009) and is recommended by NHS Health Scotland for population-level wellbeing measurement. If you need a clinically validated wellbeing measure, the official WEMWBS is available through the University of Warwick.

Understanding This Assessment

This tool is designed for self-reflection and education. Here's what you should know.

This is an independently written wellbeing assessment informed by the broader positive mental health research literature, including work by Tennant et al. (WEMWBS), Keyes (MHC-SF), Ryff (PWB), and Diener (Flourishing Scale).

This is not the official Warwick-Edinburgh Mental Wellbeing Scale (WEMWBS). The WEMWBS is a copyrighted instrument requiring a license from the University of Warwick. We are not affiliated with or endorsed by the University of Warwick, University of Edinburgh, or NHS Health Scotland. Our 16 items, scoring, and interpretation are independently developed.

This is not a diagnostic tool. This assessment measures positive wellbeing, not mental illness. A low score does not mean you have depression or another condition.

This assessment is for educational purposes and personal reflection. It is not a substitute for professional mental health evaluation. Scores are not comparable to official WEMWBS results.

If your score is lower than you expected, or if you've been struggling with how you feel, consider speaking with a healthcare provider or mental health professional. They can provide proper assessment and support.

Wellbeing can improve with the right support, changes in circumstances, or through evidence-based practices. A single score is just a snapshot, not a permanent verdict.