Complete mental health in south australian youth: Prevalence, measurement, and promotion

Anthony John Venning, Jaklin Ardath Eliott, Lisa J. Kettler, Anne Wilson

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceedingChapterpeer-review

8 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

From a positive psychological perspective, a focus on developing an individual's strengths rather than exclusively focusing on the symptoms of mental illness is a better way to promote a sustainable mental health. With this in mind, the Complete State Model of Mental Health (Keyes CLM, Lopez SJ, Towards a science of mental health. In: Snyder CR, Lopez JL (eds) Handbook of positive psychology. Oxford University Press, New York, pp 45-59, 2002) was adopted to examine both mental health and mental illness within Australian adolescents (13-17 years; N = 3,913). Normative scores for the Adult Hope Scale (Snyder et al, J Pers Soc Psychol, 60:570-585, 1991) were established, and results suggest that the prevalence of mental health has been overestimated, and that the presence of hopeful thinking is a better predictor of mental health than the absence of mental illness. This research helps to redirect the focus of mental health policy and practice in Australia by highlighting the importance of a positive focus in developing strategies to promote a sustainable mental health and reduce the burden of mental illness, both in adolescence and beyond.

Original languageEnglish
Title of host publicationMental Well-Being
Subtitle of host publicationInternational Contributions to the Study of Positive Mental Health
PublisherSpringer
Pages29-50
Number of pages22
ISBN (Electronic)9789400751958
ISBN (Print)940075194X, 9789400751941
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 1 Aug 2013
Externally publishedYes

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