Intercultural differences in factor structure of the SWN-20 in patients with schizophrenia

We examined the reliability and factor structure of the Korean version of the 20-item Subjective Well-being Under Neuroleptic Treatment Scale (SWN-20) with Korean patients of schizophrenia and drew comparisons with the factors of the original authors and of comparable studies from Greece and Turkey to uncover evidences of possible cultural differences in the conceptualization of subjective well-being. The SWN-20 was found to be reliable and the factors seemed to reflect the emphasis often found in Asia on the wholeness of mind and body, and of self, others, and surroundings. Nonetheless, some crucial commonalities with other studies regarding the first primary factor suggested that a measure of well-being that is relatively consistent across cultures may be derived.