Predicting physical health: implicit mental health measures versus self-report scales.
Researchers have traditionally relied on self-report questionnaires to assess psychological well-being, but such measures may be unable to differentiate individuals who are genuinely psychologically healthy from those who maintain a facade or illusion of mental health based on denial and self-deception. Prior research suggests that clinically derived assessment procedures that assess implicit psychological processes may have advantages over self-report mental health measures. This prospective study compared the Early Memory Index, an implicit measure of mental health/distress, with a range of familiar self-report scales as predictors of physical health. The Early Memory Index showed significant prospective associations with health service utilization and clinically verified illness. In contrast, self-report measures of mental health, perceived stress, life events stress, and mood states did not predict health outcomes. The findings highlight the limitations of self-report questionnaires and suggest that implicit measures have an important role to play in mental health research.
Cousineau
Tara McKee
TM
Graduate School of Professional Psychology, University of Denver, 2460 South Vine Street, Denver, CO 80206, USA. jonathan@shedler.com
Shedler
Jonathan
J
D000328:Adult; D000339:Affect; D004644:Emotions; D005260:Female; D006304:Health Status; D006801:Humans; D008016:Life Change Events; D008297:Male; D008568:Memory; D008603:Mental Health; D017063:Outcome Assessment, Health Care; D010555:Personality Inventory / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D011336:Probability; D011446:Prospective Studies; D011581:Psychological Tests / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D011594:Psychometrics; D012017:Referral and Consultation / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D013315:Stress, Psychological / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000523:psychology; D013333:Student Health Services / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires