This presentation will use an analysis of the psychometric properties of the PERMA Profiler—a measure of wellbeing—as the basis for a discussion, more broadly, of wellbeing measurement in psychology and the way in which it is being used to benefit the South Australian population. The PERMA Profiler, as developed by Butler and Kern (2016), measures five domains of wellbeing: Positive emotion, Engagement, Relationships, Meaning, and Accomplishment, and provides an overall wellbeing score. In a sample of 1963 participants, analysis reveals good internal consistency for all subscales except Engagement and the expected direction of convergent and divergent validity. The proposed five factor structure was replicated using confirmatory factor analysis, however, exploratory factor analysis suggested a single wellbeing factor was more appropriate.
The PERMA Profiler has been a central component of the SAHMRI Wellbeing and Resilience Centre’s work with a broad range of organisational and community projects, across the South Australian population. Participants of wellbeing programs are offered regular wellbeing measures and are provided with individual reports to monitor their wellbeing. A new technology platform has been developed by the centre to make wellbeing measurement and monitoring more readily available. Insights from our practical work outside of the traditional research context are discussed.