title: The structure of the Mental Health Inventory among Chinese in Taiwan.
abstract: This study attempted to ascertain the construct validity and external validity of the Mental Health Inventory in a Chinese population in Taiwan and contrast these results with results obtained from studies of several U.S. populations. In particular, a series of measurement models were specified and evaluated to address the issues of reliability and validity. Data were collected from personal interviews of a probability sample of 1,194 Chinese respondents 14 years of age and older in four townships in southwest Taiwan. The Mental Health Inventory was found to involve two major components: positive well-being and psychological distress. As a hierarchical structure, each component consists of one second-order and two or three first-order factors. The relationships between well-being and distress can be characterized as substantially independent and modestly bipolar depending on the level and specification.
authors.affiliation: School of Public Health, Institute of Gerontology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor 48109-2007.
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Liang
authors.forename: S C
authors.initials: SC
authors.lastname: Wu
authors.forename: N M
authors.initials: NM
authors.lastname: Krause
authors.forename: T L
authors.initials: TL
authors.lastname: Chiang
authors.forename: H Y
authors.initials: HY
authors.lastname: Wu
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D015986:Confounding Factors, Epidemiologic; D003466:Cultural Characteristics; D005069:Evaluation Studies as Topic; D006306:Health Surveys; D006801:Humans; D016013:Likelihood Functions; D008603:Mental Health; D008875:Middle Aged; D008960:Models, Psychological; D011581:Psychological Tests / Q000592:standards*; D011594:Psychometrics; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D013315:Stress, Psychological / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000208:ethnology; D013624:Taiwan / Q000453:epidemiology; D014481:United States