The “bubbles”-study: validation of ultra-short scales for the assessment of positive mental health, life satisfaction, and perceived social support

The positive dimension of mental health should be considered to assess the complete state of a person’s mental health and to protect it. Very brief valid screening instruments implemented in general mental health programs and in therapeutic setting are supportive tools hereby. In the present work, we aimed to develop such tools.

In two studies (Study 1: N = 1,004; Study 2: N = 1,000) on representative German population samples, we developed and validated three ultra-short scales – the “bubbles” – that consist of only one item per construct based on Positive Mental Health Scale (PMH-Scale; Lukat et al. 2016), Satisfaction with Life Scale (SWLS; Diener et al. 1985), and Social Support Questionnaire (F-SozU K-6; Lin et al. 2019) for the assessment of the positive mental health dimension. The bubbles are designed in a graphical/visual format.

The results of Study 1 and Study 2 revealed that the bubbles are valid instruments that fit the original instruments on the factor level; the bubbles mostly replicated their association pattern with demographic variables, and with variables that belong to the negative and the positive dimension of mental health.

The shortness of the bubbles prevents participants’ fatigue and motivation decrease. Thus, due to their time- and cost-efficiency, the bubbles can be used as brief screening tools in research (e.g., large-scale studies, longitudinal studies, experience sampling paradigms) and in praxis (e.g., mental health programs). Future research should validate the bubbles in clinical context and cross-national.