| Title | Evaluating the psychometric properties of the mental health continuum-short form (MHC-SF) |
| Subtitle | - |
| Authors | Lamers, Sanne M.A.
Westerhof, Gerben J. Bohlmeijer, Ernst T. Ten Klooster, Peter M. Keyes, Corey L.M. |
| Contributor | - |
| Publication Type | Article |
| Topic |
Health and well-being |
| Note | |
| Abstract | There is a growing consensus that mental health is not merely the absence of mental illness, but it also includes the presence of positive feelings (emotional well-being) and positive functioning in individual life (psychological well-being) and community life (social well-being). We examined the structure, reliability, convergent validity, and discriminant validity of the Mental Health Continuum- Short Form (MHC-SF), a new self-report questionnaire for positive mental health assessment. We expected that the MHC-SF is reliable and valid, and that mental health and mental illness are 2 related but distinct continua. This article draws on data of the LISS panel of CentERdata, a representative panel for Longitudinal Internet Studies for the Social Sciences (N51,662). Results revealed high internal and moderate test-retest reliability. Confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) confirmed the 3-factor structure in emotional, psychological, and social well-being. These subscales correlated well with corresponding aspects of well-being and functioning, showing convergent validity. CFA supported the hypothesis of 2 separate yet related factors for mental health and mental illness, showing discriminant validity. Although related to mental illness, positive mental health is a distinct indicator of mental well-being that is reliably assessed with the MHC-SF. & 2010 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Clin Psychol 67:99–110, 2011. |
| Study Units |
LISS panel > Health LISS panel > Mental Health LISS panel > Personality LISS panel > Politics and Values LISS panel > Social Integration and Leisure |
| Datasets | Mental health
Core module Personality Core module Health Core module social integration and leisure Core module politics and values |
| Source | Journal of Clinical Psychology, Vol. 67, p.99-110 |
| Publisher | Wiley Periodicals |
| Publication Year | 2011 |
| Copyright | - |
| Intl Identifier | DOI: 10.1002/jclp.20741 |
| Language | English |
| URL |  http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/jclp.20741/abstract |
| Uploaded File | - |
