The WHO-5 Well-Being Index: five heavily studied questions
The WHO-5 is a five-item questionnaire about wellbeing over the last two weeks. It's short, free to use and one of the most validated wellbeing measures in the world.
Where the scale comes from
The World Health Organization Well-Being Index (WHO-5) was introduced in 1998 by the WHO Regional Office for Europe as part of a project on depression in primary care. It was derived from a longer scale and trimmed to five positive statements: feeling cheerful and in good spirits, calm and relaxed, active and vigorous, waking up fresh and rested, and having a daily life filled with things that interest you.
For each statement, you say how often you felt that way over the last two weeks, from "at no time" (0) to "all of the time" (5). The total ranges from 0 to 25 and is usually multiplied by 4, giving a 0–100 scale where higher scores mean better wellbeing.
What the research says
A systematic review of more than 200 studies concluded that the WHO-5 is a valid measure of wellbeing, with a one-factor structure and good sensitivity as a screening tool for depression (Topp et al., 2015). It has been translated into dozens of languages and is used in clinical, population and workplace research.
Because the questions are positively worded, the scale is usually well accepted and doesn't feel like a symptom checklist. The literature suggests that scores of 50 or below (on the 0–100 scale) indicate low wellbeing and warrant a closer look for depression; very low scores, around 28 or below, are more often linked to depression (Topp et al., 2015).
Limits of the scale
The WHO-5 is a thermometer, not a diagnosis. It shows how you've been feeling, but not why, and it can't tell physical fatigue, grief, passing stress and depression apart. The cut-offs were studied in health settings and may work differently in other groups.
Limitations
Like any self-check, the result depends on how you read the questions and when you answer. The scale only covers the last two weeks. A low score doesn't mean you have depression, and a high score doesn't rule out other problems. Only an assessment with a health professional can make a diagnosis.
How Ethea adapts the model
Ethea presents the five items with the original 0–5 response format and converts the total to the 0–100 scale, as in the literature. Unlike our forced-choice tests, this questionnaire was not created by Ethea: credit goes to the WHO and the researchers who developed it. We show indicative ranges, a reminder that this is not a diagnosis, and where to find support.
Ethea is not affiliated with the World Health Organization.
References
Links with a DOI go to the original article. Where no DOI is given, the link opens a Google Scholar search.
- Topp, C. W., Østergaard, S. D., Søndergaard, S., & Bech, P. (2015). The WHO-5 Well-Being Index: A systematic review of the literature. Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics, 84(3), 167–176. DOI: 10.1159/000376585(opens in a new tab)
- World Health Organization, Regional Office for Europe (1998). Wellbeing measures in primary health care: The DepCare Project. WHO Regional Office for Europe. Search Google Scholar(opens in a new tab)
- de Souza, C. M., & Hidalgo, M. P. L. (2012). World Health Organization 5-item well-being index: Validation of the Brazilian Portuguese version. European Archives of Psychiatry and Clinical Neuroscience, 262(3), 239–244. Search Google Scholar(opens in a new tab)