Reliability and Validity of the Brief Emotional Experience Scale (BEES) as a Measure of Emotional Well-Being

Shane L Rogers; Nicole Brown; Matthew Goulding; Kathryn Campbell; Brennen Mills; Ross Hollett; Travis Cruickshank; Kazunori Nosaka

doi:10.3390/bs15050643

Reliability and Validity of the Brief Emotional Experience Scale (BEES) as a Measure of Emotional Well-Being

Behav Sci (Basel). 2025 May 9;15(5):643. doi: 10.3390/bs15050643.

Authors

Shane L Rogers¹, Nicole Brown², Matthew Goulding³, Kathryn Campbell², Brennen Mills⁴, Ross Hollett¹, Travis Cruickshank⁴, Kazunori Nosaka⁴

Affiliations

¹ School of Arts and Humanities (Psychology), Edith Cowan University, Joondalup, WA 6027, Australia.
² Association of Independent Schools of Western Australia, Perth, WA 6017, Australia.
³ Institute of Education and Humanities, University of Wales Trinity Saint David, Lampeter SA48 7ED, UK.
⁴ School of Medical and Health Sciences, Edith Cowan University, Joondalup, WA 6027, Australia.

Abstract

This study presents initial reliability and validity evidence for the Brief Emotional Experience Scale (BEES) as a measure of emotional well-being. Using ordinal confirmatory factor analysis across three cross-sectional samples, Australian university students (n = 1239), the general public (n = 5631), and school students from Australia and the UK (n = 767). A correlated two-factor structure was supported. In the university sample, the BEES demonstrated strong convergent validity with other well-being measures and was linked to the lowest levels of reported distress when completing the survey. Preliminary cut-offs for high emotional distress were developed via comparison with the Kessler Psychological Distress Scale (K10), identifying around 20% of females and 10% of males as highly distressed. The findings of this research indicate the BEES can be utilised as a simple, flexible, and low-burden measure of emotional well-being.

Keywords: adjective-based questionnaire; brief emotional experience scale; convergent validity; emotion measurement; emotional well-being; factor analysis; psychometric evaluation; reliability; self-report measurement.