Co-Developing and Validating the I-SPARX Wellness Questionnaire: A Community-Driven Psychometric Study with Inuit Youth in Nunavut

Inuit youth in Nunavut demonstrate resilience despite enduring inequities and unmet mental health needs shaped by colonial legacies. As Inuit communities prioritize youth mental wellness, actively engaging young people in research and developing culturally relevant assessment tools is critical. This study describes the collaborative process of designing an Inuit-specific well-being survey, the [Questionnaire name blinded], and examines its psychometric properties. Eighteen Inuit youth council members and eight adult community members from five communities in Nunavut worked with a university-based research team to identify wellness themes essential for an outcome measure evaluating an online psychoeducational intervention. This collaboration resulted in a 39-item measure assessing the effectiveness of the [Intervention name blinded] serious game in supporting Inuit youth mental wellness. Data from 117 Inuit youth, ages 12 to 24, across Nunavut, were analyzed to assess the measure’s reliability and factor structure. Results indicate strong psychometric properties, with high internal consistency and a three-factor model reflecting hope for the future, cognitive-behavioural strategies, and distress regulation. The [Questionnaire name blinded], co-developed with Inuit youth, offers a culturally relevant, psychometrically sound tool for assessing mental wellness. This measure holds promise for future evaluations of cognitive-behavioural interventions and psychoeducational e-resources aimed at fostering the well-being of Inuit youth.