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

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DOI

https://doi.org/doi: 10.24095/hpcdp.37.4.03.

Language of the publication
English
Date
2017-04
Type
Article
Author(s)
  • Orpana, Heather
  • Vachon, Julie
  • Dykxhoorn, Jennifer
  • Jayaraman, Gayatri
Publisher
Public Health Agency of Canada

Abstract

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.

Subject

  • Health

Keywords

  • factor analysis,
  • mental health,
  • surveys and questionnaires,
  • positive mental health

Pagination

123-130

Peer review

Yes

Identifiers

PubMed ID
28402801
ISSN
2368-738X

Article

Journal title
Health Promotion and Chronic Disease Prevention in Canada: Research, Policy and Practice
Journal volume
37
Journal issue
4

Citation(s)

Orpana H, Vachon J, Dykxhoorn J, Jayaraman G. Measuring positive mental health in Canada: construct validation of the Mental Health Continuum-Short Form. Health Promot Chronic Dis Prev Can. 2017 Apr;37(4):123-130. doi: 10.24095/hpcdp.37.4.03. PMID: 28402801; PMCID: PMC5576910.

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