Calibrating well-being, quality of life and common mental disorder items: Psychometric epidemiology in public mental health research

BackgroundThe assessment of ‘general health and well-being’ in public mental health research stimulates debates around relative merits of questionnaire instruments and their items. Little evidence regarding alignment or differential advantages of instruments or items has appeared to date.AimsPopulation-based psychometric study of items employed in public mental health narratives.MethodMultidimensional item response theory was applied to General Health Questionnaire (GHQ-12), Warwick-Edinburgh Mental Well-being Scale (WEMWBS) and EQ-5D items (Health Survey for England, 2010–2012; n = 19 290).ResultsA bifactor model provided the best account of the data and showed that the GHQ-12 and WEMWBS items assess mainly the same construct. Only one item of the EQ-5D showed relevant overlap with this dimension (anxiety/depression). Findings were corroborated by comparisons with alternative models and cross-validation analyses.ConclusionsThe consequences of this lack of differentiation (GHQ-12 v. WEMWBS) for mental health and well-being narratives deserves discussion to enrich debates on priorities in public mental health and its assessment.

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The nature buffer: the missing link in climate change and mental health research

Journal of Environmental Studies and Sciences ◽

10.1007/s13412-021-00669-2 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Naseem Dillman-Hasso

Keyword(s):

Climate Change ◽

Mental Health ◽

Health Research ◽

Well Being ◽

Mental Health Research ◽

Future Research ◽

Mental Health Benefits ◽

C 32 ◽

Health And Well Being ◽

Impacts Of Climate Change

AbstractThe connections between climate change and mental health are well known (Berry et al., Int J Publ Health 55(2):123–132, 2010; Clayton and Manning 2018; Kim et al., J Environ Sci Health C 32(3):299–318, 2014). Research also points to the positive impacts of nature on mental health, well-being, and attention (Capaldi et al., Int J Wellbeing 5(4):1–16, 2015; Kaplan and Kaplan 1989; Tillmann et al., J Epidemiol Community Health 72(10):958–966, 2018). However, no empirical research has examined how degradation of nature as a result of climate change can impact the mental health benefits that nature provides. This paper first reviews the existing research on the negative mental health consequences of climate change and the benefits of nature exposure for stress, mental health, and well-being. The connection between these two lines of research is examined in order to fully understand the impacts of climate change on mental health. Suggestions for future research are included.

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Can the 12-item General Health Questionnaire be used to measure positive mental health?

Psychological Medicine ◽

10.1017/s0033291707009993 ◽

2007 ◽

Vol 37 (7) ◽

pp. 1005-1013 ◽

Cited By ~ 93

Author(s):

YONGJIAN HU ◽

SARAH STEWART-BROWN ◽

LIZ TWIGG ◽

SCOTT WEICH

Keyword(s):

Mental Health ◽

Mental Disorder ◽

General Health ◽

General Health Questionnaire ◽

Well Being ◽

Population Based ◽

Positive Mental Health ◽

Household Composition ◽

Health Questionnaire ◽

Health States

Background. Well-being is an important determinant of health and social outcomes. Measures of positive mental health states are needed for population-based research. The 12-item General Health Questionnaire (GHQ-12) has been widely used in many settings and languages, and includes positively and negatively worded items. Our aim was to test the hypothesis that the GHQ-12 assesses both positive and negative mental health and that these domains are independent of one another.Method. Exploratory (EFA) and confirmatory (CFA) factor analyses were conducted using data from the British Household Panel Survey (BHPS) and the Health Survey for England (HSE). Regression models were used to assess whether associations with individual and household characteristics varied across positive and negative mental health dimensions. We also explored higher-level variance in these measures, between electoral wards.Results. We found a consistent, replicable factor structure in both datasets. EFA results indicated a two-factor solution, and CFA demonstrated that this was superior to a one-factor model. These factors correspond to ‘symptoms of mental disorder’ and ‘positive mental health’. Further analyses demonstrated independence of these factors in associations with age, gender, employment status, poor housing and household composition. Statistically significant ward-level variance was found for symptoms of mental disorder but not positive mental health.Conclusions. The GHQ-12 measures both positive and negative aspects of mental health, and although correlated, these dimensions have some independence. The GHQ-12 could be used to measure positive mental health in population-based research.

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The nature buffer: The missing link in climate change and mental health research

10.31234/osf.io/qdfte ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Naseem Dillman-Hasso

Keyword(s):

Climate Change ◽

Mental Health ◽

Empirical Research ◽

Health Research ◽

Well Being ◽

Mental Health Research ◽

Future Research ◽

Mental Health Benefits ◽

Health And Well Being ◽

Impacts Of Climate Change

The connections between climate change and mental health are well known (Berry et al., 2010; Clayton and Manning 2018; Kim et al., 2014). Research also points to the positive impacts of nature on mental health, well-being, and attention (Capaldi et al., 2015; Kaplan and Kaplan 1989; Tillmann et al., 2018). However, no empirical research has examined how degradation of nature as a result of climate change can impact the mental health benefits that nature provides. This paper first reviews the existing research on the negative mental health consequences of climate change and the benefits of nature exposure for stress, mental health, and well-being. The connection between these two lines of research is examined in order to fully understand the impacts of climate change on mental health. Suggestions for future research are included.

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Black women and COVID-19: The need for targeted mental health research and practice

Qualitative Social Work ◽

10.1177/1473325020973349 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 20 (1-2) ◽

pp. 247-255

Author(s):

Quenette L Walton ◽

Rosalyn Denise Campbell ◽

Joan M Blakey

Keyword(s):

Mental Health ◽

Social Work ◽

Black Women ◽

Well Being ◽

Mental Health Research ◽

Women’S Mental Health ◽

Frontline Workers ◽

Women's Mental Health ◽

Personal Experiences ◽

Health And Well Being

COVID-19 has significantly impacted a substantial number of Black Americans. Black women, in particular, are facing challenges financially, physically, and mentally during this unprecedented time. Between serving as frontline workers, being concerned about contracting the virus, contributing to their families financially, and worrying about their loved ones’ health, Black women are experiencing great strain on their mental health and well-being. These stressors illustrate the need for social work researchers and practitioners to address Black women’s mental health. This paper presents our reflections, experiences, and response to COVID-19 as Black women and scholars. Guided by our reflections and personal experiences, we put forth suggestions and reflexive thoughts for social work researchers and practitioners to prioritize Black women’s mental health during and after these unprecedented times.

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Establishing national mental health and well‐being indicators for Scotland

Journal of Public Mental Health ◽

10.1108/17465729200600010 ◽

2006 ◽

Vol 5 (1) ◽

pp. 42-48 ◽

Cited By ~ 7

Author(s):

Jane Parkinson

Keyword(s):

Mental Health ◽

Additional Data ◽

Psychiatric Morbidity ◽

Public Mental Health ◽

Well Being ◽

Future Trends ◽

Health Profile ◽

Starting Point ◽

National Mental Health ◽

Health And Well Being

The growing interest in the mental health and well‐being of populations raises questions about traditional measures of public mental health, which have largely focused on levels of psychiatric morbidity. This paper describes work in progress to identify a set of national mental health and well‐being indicators for Scotland that could be used to establish a summary mental health profile, as a starting point for monitoring future trends. The process in taking this work forward involves identifying a desirable set of indicators, scoping the data that are currently collected nationally in Scotland, identifying additional data needs, and ensuring existing data collection systems include mental health and well‐being. It is expected that an indicator set for adults will have been identified by 2007. The paper presents some of the conceptual and practical challenges involved in defining and measuring positive mental health and is presented here as a contribution to ongoing debates in this field.

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Advancing Indigenous Mental Health Research

Transcultural Psychiatry ◽

10.1177/1363461520923151 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 57 (2) ◽

pp. 235-249

Author(s):

Joseph P Gone ◽

Laurence J Kirmayer

Keyword(s):

Mental Health ◽

Health Research ◽

Well Being ◽

Mental Health Research ◽

Transcultural Psychiatry ◽

Future Research ◽

Ethical Awareness ◽

Policy And Practice ◽

Conceptual Clarity ◽

Indigenous Mental Health

The articles in this issue of Transcultural Psychiatry point the way toward meaningful advances in mental health research pertaining to Indigenous peoples, illuminating the distinctive problems and predicaments that confront these communities as well as unrecognized or neglected sources of well-being and resilience. As we observe in this introductory essay, future research will benefit from ethical awareness, conceptual clarity, and methodological refinement. Such efforts will enable additional insight into that which is common to Indigenous mental health across settler societies, and that which is specific to local histories, cultures and contexts. Research of this kind can contribute to nuanced understandings of developmental pathways, intergenerational effects, and community resilience, and inform policy and practice to better meet the needs of Indigenous individuals, communities and populations.

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