Evaluation of the mental health continuum–short form (MHC–SF) in setswana-speaking South Africans

✍ Scribed by Corey L. M. Keyes; Marié Wissing; Johan P. Potgieter; Michael Temane; Annamarie Kruger; Sinette van Rooy

• Book ID: 102121250
• Publisher: John Wiley and Sons
• Year: 2008
• Tongue: English
• Weight: 98 KB
• Volume: 15
• Category: Article
• ISSN: 1063-3995
• DOI: 10.1002/cpp.572

✦ Synopsis

Abstract

A continuous assessment and a categorical diagnosis of the presence of mental health, described as flourishing, and the absence of mental health, characterized as languishing, is applied to a random sample of 1050 Setswana‐speaking adults in the Northwest province of South Africa. Factor analysis revealed that the mental health continuum–short form (MHC–SF) replicated the three‐factor structure of emotional, psychological and social well‐being found in US samples. The internal reliability of the overall MHC–SF Scale was 0.74. The total score on the MHC–SF correlated 0.52 with a measure of positive affect, between 0.35 and 0.40 with measures of generalized self‐efficacy and satisfaction with life, and between 0.30 and 0.35 with measures of coping strategies, sense of coherence, and community collective self‐efficacy. The total score on the MHC–SF correlated −0.22 with the total score on the General Health Questionnaire. Criteria for the categorical diagnosis were applied, and findings revealed that 20% were flourishing, 67.8% were moderately mentally healthy, and 12.2% were languishing. Confirmatory factor analysis supported the hypothesized two‐continua model of mental health and mental illness found in the USA. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.