scholarly journals Measuring positive mental health in Canada: construct validation of the Mental Health Continuum—Short Form

2017 ◽  
Vol 37 (4) ◽  
pp. 123-130 ◽  
Author(s):  
Heather Orpana ◽  
Julie Vachon ◽  
Jennifer Dykxhoorn ◽  
Gayatri Jayaraman

Introduction Positive mental health is increasingly recognized as an important focus for public health policies and programs. In Canada, the Mental Health Continuum—Short Form (MHC-SF) was identified as a promising measure to include on population surveys to measure positive mental health. It proposes to measure a three-factor model of positive mental health including emotional, social and psychological well-being. The purpose of this study was to examine whether the MHC-SF is an adequate measure of positive mental health for Canadian adults. Methods We conducted confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) using data from the 2012 Canadian Community Health Survey (CCHS)—Mental Health Component (CCHS-MH), and cross-validated the model using data from the CCHS 2011–2012 annual cycle. We examined criterion-related validity through correlations of MHC-SF subscale scores with positively and negatively associated concepts (e.g. life satisfaction and psychological distress, respectively). Results We confirmed the validity of the three-factor model of emotional, social and psychological well-being through CFA on two independent samples, once four correlated errors between items on the social well-being scale were added. We observed significant correlations in the anticipated direction between emotional, psychological and social well-being scores and related concepts. Cronbach’s alpha for both emotional and psychological well-being subscales was 0.82; for social well-being it was 0.77. Conclusion Our study suggests that the MHC-SF measures a three-factor model of positive mental health in the Canadian population. However, caution is warranted when using the social well-being scale, which did not function as well as the other factors, as evidenced by the need to add several correlated error terms to obtain adequate model fit, a higher level of missing data on these questions and weaker correlations with related constructs. Social well-being is important in a comprehensive measure of positive mental health, and further research is recommended.

2021 ◽  
Vol 12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Daniel Hernández-Torrano ◽  
Laura Ibrayeva ◽  
Ainur Muratkyzy ◽  
Natalya Lim ◽  
Yerden Nurtayev ◽  
...  

Positive mental health and well-being are significant dimensions of health, employment, and educational outcomes. Research on positive mental health and well-being requires measurement instruments in native languages for use in local contexts and target populations. This study examines the psychometric properties of the Kazakhstani version of the Mental Health Continuum—Short Form (MHC-SF), a brief self-report instrument measuring emotional, social, and psychological well-being. The sample included 664 University students (425 females) purposefully selected in three higher education institutions in South, East, and Central Kazakhstan. Their average age was 20.25 and ranged from 18 to 43. Participants completed a Kazakhstani version of the MHC-SF online. Statistical analyses to evaluate the structural validity, reliability, and measurement invariance of the Kazakhstani version of the MHC-SF were performed. The results confirmed the superiority of the bifactor model (i.e., three separated factors of well-being plus a general factor of well-being) over the alternatives. However, most of the reliable variance was attributable to the general well-being factor. Subscale scores were unreliable, explaining very low variance beyond that explained by the general factor. The findings demonstrated the measurement invariance of the MHC-SF across gender and age. Overall, these findings support the use of the Kazakhstani version of the MHC-SF to examine a general factor of well-being and the measurement invariance of the instrument across gender and age groups. However, the results advise against the interpretation of the subscale scores as unequivocal indicators of emotional, social, and psychological well-being.


2021 ◽  
Vol 5 (1) ◽  
pp. 32-41
Author(s):  
Katherine Carver ◽  
Hajar Ismail ◽  
Christopher Reed ◽  
Justin Hayes ◽  
Haifa Alsaif ◽  
...  

Anxiety disorders are prevalent among college students and contribute to problems in social and academic functioning. The primary focus in the anxiety literature has been on symptoms and deficits in functioning rather than psychological well-being. The present study investigated the extent to which high levels of anxiety co-occurred with self-reported psychological well-being using a dual-factor model of mental health approach. Participants (n = 100) were categorized into two groups (high anxiety crossed with low and high life satisfaction), and groups were compared on several psychological well-being indicators. Supporting a dual-factor approach, students reporting high levels of anxiety and life satisfaction reported higher levels of hope, grit, gratitude, self-focused positive rumination, and savoring of positive emotions than students reporting high levels of anxiety and low levels of life satisfaction. Groups did not differ in emotion-focused positive rumination or in dampening of positive emotion. These results highlight well-being heterogeneity within individuals reporting high levels of anxiety, with implications for treatment and prevention efforts.


2017 ◽  
Vol 14 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Fulya Cenkseven Önder ◽  
Engin Eşigül

The main purpose of this was to investigate the role of social problem solving as a mediator or a moderator of percieved stress and psychological well-being in university students. The participants of this study consisted of 350  females and 164 males, a total of 514 university students. Their ages ranged from 18 to 25 years. Data were collected by using the Percieved Stres Inventory (Cohen, Kamarck, & Mermelstein, 1983), Social Problem Solving Inventory Revised Short Form (D’Zurilla, Nezu, & Maydeu-Olivares, 2002) and Scales of Psychological Well-Being (Ryff, 1989). The results indicated that the percieved stress was negatively correlated with the social problem and the psychological well-being. The social problem solving was positively correlated with the psychological well-being. Hierarchial regression analysis showed that social problem solving partially mediated the relationship between perceived stress and psychological well-being. However, social problem solving did not moderate the relationship between perceived stress and psychological well-being. These findings were discussed in the light of related literature and implications were suggested for future research. ÖzetBu çalışmanın temel amacı üniversite öğrencilerinin algıladıkları stres düzeyleri ile psikolojik iyi olma düzeyleri arasındaki ilişkide sosyal problem çözme becerilerinin aracı ve düzenleyici rolünün incelenmesidir. Araştırma 350’si kadın 164’ü erkek toplam 514 üniversite öğrencisi üzerinde gerçekleştirilmiştir. Araştırmaya katılan öğrenciler 18-25 yaş arasında olup, yaş ortalamaları 20.09’dur (Ss=2.02). Araştırmada veri toplamak amacıyla Algılanan Stres Ölçeği (Cohen, Kamarck ve Mermelstein, 1983), Sosyal Problem Çözme Envanteri Kısa Formu (D’Zurilla, Nezu ve Maydeu-Olivares, 2002) ve Psikolojik İyi Olma Ölçekleri (Ryff, 1989) kullanılmıştır. Araştırma sonucunda algılanan stres ile sosyal problem çözme ve psikolojik iyi olma arasında negatif yönde anlamlı, sosyal problem çözme ve psikolojik iyi olma arasında pozitif yönde anlamlı ilişkiler olduğu tespit edilmiştir. Hiyerarşik regresyon analizleri sonucunda sosyal problem çözmenin, algılanan stres ve psikolojik iyi olma arasındaki ilişkide kısmi aracı role sahip iken, düzenleyici bir rolü olmadığı belirlenmiştir. Elde edilen bulgular ilgili alanyazın ve sınırlılıklar ışığında tartışılmış, daha sonra yapılacak çalışmalara ve uygulayıcılara yönelik öneriler sunulmuştur.


2020 ◽  
pp. 1-4
Author(s):  
Febin H ◽  
◽  
Jithesh M ◽  

The entire health scenario have been transformed or even altered with the COVID pandemic. Each and every one in the society is being affected in the scenario of mental health, with the resulting drastic changes happened in the society. One of the key vulnerable groups in the society is none other than children. Even though the educational scenario has been supplemented by the learning platforms, the social scenario have been affected so adversely. They are having several psychological issues as per reported studies from various parts of the globe. Ayurvedic principles of psychiatry and psychology including preventive principles, medicines and psychotherapy will do fine if applied in this area, so as to enhance the quality of life of the affected children. The various possibilities are discussed in the article


Assessment ◽  
2020 ◽  
pp. 107319112091024 ◽  
Author(s):  
Fabiana Monteiro ◽  
Ana Fonseca ◽  
Marco Pereira ◽  
Maria Cristina Canavarro

This study aimed to investigate the factor structure of the Mental Health Continuum–Short Form (MHC-SF) in the postpartum context using a single-factor model, a correlated three-factor model, and a bifactor model. The reliability and validity of the MHC-SF were also examined. The total sample consisted of 882 postpartum Portuguese women. Confirmatory factor analysis showed that the bifactor model yielded a significantly better fit to the data than the other models. The unidimensionality strength indices (explained common variance = .76, percentage of uncontaminated correlations = .69) and the ω H values supported the general factor of positive mental health, which accounted for 91.5% of the reliable variance in the total score. Additionally, the MHC-SF showed high reliability (ω = .96), and its total and subscale scores were significantly correlated with other measures related to mental health. The results of this study suggest a strong general factor of positive mental health and support the use of its total score in this context.


1993 ◽  
Vol 21 (2) ◽  
pp. 107-119 ◽  
Author(s):  
Daniel T. L. Shek

The Chinese version of the Hopelessness Scale (C-HOPE) was administered to 500 Chinese university students, along with other instruments assessing psychiatric symptoms and positive mental health. The C-HOPE was found to have high internal consistency as a scale and factor analysis with a three-factor solution showed that three factors were abstracted from the scale, namely, Hopelessness, Certainty about the Future, and Future Expectation, and these three factors could reliably be reproduced in two random sub-samples. While the C-HOPE was found to correlate significantly with other measures of psychiatric symptoms and positive mental health, it correlated most highly with indices of purpose in life and existential well-being and it was specifically linked to depression rather than to anxiety.


2020 ◽  
Vol 40 (3) ◽  
pp. 81-85
Author(s):  
Mélanie Varin ◽  
Elia Palladino ◽  
Tanya Lary ◽  
Melissa Baker

The Positive Mental Health Surveillance Indicator Framework (PMHSIF) provides estimates of positive mental health outcomes and associated risk and protective factors for youth aged 12 to 17 years in Canada. This study explored the relationship between sociodemographic factors and psychological and social well-being among youth in Canada using data from the Canadian Student Tobacco, Alcohol and Drugs Survey 2016–2017. Grade and province were significantly associated with psychological and social well-being


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sarita Sood ◽  
Ananya Sharma

Abstract A sudden outbreak of diseases poses a serious threat to mental health. Relying on strengths might mitigate negative mental health outcomes and promote positive mental health. Prior research suggests a potential moderated mediation effect between fear of illness and subjective psychological well-being. Based on the Complete State Model and the Competence-Based Model of mental health, this study examined the relationship between fear of illness and subjective psychological well-being through perceived distress moderated by resilience in the context of COVID-19 pandemic. A cross-sectional survey using questionnaires was employed. Data were collected online from 384 participants ( 270 females and 114 males, age range= 15 to 29 years). The participants had indirect exposure to COVID-19 through information from the media. Results demonstrated that fear of illness significantly predicts subjective psychological well-being both directly and indirectly. In addition, the moderated mediation effect of resilience was confirmed. Resilience moderated the indirect effect between fear of illness and subjective psychological well-being through perceived distress. The magnitude of the indirect effect was contingent on resilience. Further, the effect of perceived distress on subjective psychological well-being is weakened as the level of resilience increases. This study contributes theoretically to a better understanding of the salutogenic effect of resilience on positive mental health during a pandemic. Based on the findings, implications and future directions are discussed.


Psico-USF ◽  
2015 ◽  
Vol 20 (2) ◽  
pp. 259-274 ◽  
Author(s):  
Wagner de Lara Machado ◽  
Denise Ruschel Bandeira

<p>The <italic>Mental Health Continuum - Short Form</italic> (MHC-SF) is a self-reporting instrument for assessing positive mental health, which is understood as symptoms of positive affection, self-development and social connectivity. The present article describes the adaptation and validation of the MHC-SF for the Brazilian Portuguese language in a sample of 686 adults, which included 72.7% female participants and had an average age of 33.9 (<italic>SD</italic>= 11.30) years. The various methods employed to assess the MHC-SF psychometric properties (principal component analysis, factor analysis, Item Response Theory and network analysis) indicated that a unidimensional structure is sufficient to represent the structure of the instrument and its high reliability. In addition, the results showed that the individual-centered aspects of mental health are more easily manifested relative to the social-oriented aspects. The Brazilian version of the MHC-SF is a valid and reliable instrument for the assessment of positive mental health.</p>


2019 ◽  
Vol 36 (3) ◽  
pp. 201-205 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. Donnelly ◽  
A. O’Reilly ◽  
L. Dolphin ◽  
L. O’Keeffe ◽  
J. Moore

ObjectivesMental health is regarded as more than the absence of mental health difficulties, with clinical and research focus moving towards measurement of well-being. The Mental Health Continuum-Short Form (MHC-SF) was developed to assess overall and emotional, social and psychological well-being. Little is known about the use of the MHC-SF with young people engaging with mental health services. The current pilot study sought to examine the performance of the MHC-SF in an Irish primary care youth mental health service for 12–25 year olds.MethodsA sample of 229 young people (female n=143; male n=85, unknown n=1) aged 12–24 years (M=15.87, SD=2.51) who completed the MHC-SF prior to commencing their first intervention session in Jigsaw participated in this study. The psychometric properties of the MHC-SF were investigated using confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) and Cronbach’s alpha for internal consistency.ResultsCFA supported the three-factor structure of the MHC-SF for emotional, social, and psychological well-being, and very good internal consistency was observed.ConclusionFindings provide evidence for the psychometric properties of the MHC-SF in a primary care youth mental health setting, and suggest that the MHC-SF’s three-factor structure is valid for use in this context. Limitations and recommendations for future research are discussed.


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