European Journal of Investigation in Health, Psychology and Education (Apr 2024)

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

  • Alexandra J. Vogt,
  • Lasse Bartels,
  • Isabella C. Bertschi,
  • Fiona Mahler,
  • Michael Grotzer,
  • Daniel Konrad,
  • Kurt Leibundgut,
  • Jochen Rössler,
  • Guy Bodenmann,
  • Markus A. Landolt

DOI
https://doi.org/10.3390/ejihpe14040061
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 14, no. 4
pp. 941 – 953

Abstract

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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.

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