title: Evaluation of the mental health continuum-short form (MHC-SF) in setswana-speaking South Africans.
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.
authors.affiliation: Emory University, Atlanta, GA 30322, USA. corey.keyes@emory.edu
authors.forename: Corey L M
authors.initials: CL
authors.lastname: Keyes
authors.forename: Marié
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Wissing
authors.forename: Johan P
authors.initials: JP
authors.lastname: Potgieter
authors.forename: Michael
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Temane
authors.forename: Annamarie
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Kruger
authors.forename: Sinette
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: van Rooy
mesh_terms: D000223:Adaptation, Psychological; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D003431:Cross-Cultural Comparison; D005260:Female; D006305:Health Status Indicators; D006306:Health Surveys; D006801:Humans; D007389:Internal-External Control; D007802:Language; D008297:Male; D001523:Mental Disorders / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000208:ethnology / Q000523:psychology; D008603:Mental Health / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D008875:Middle Aged; D011594:Psychometrics / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D011788:Quality of Life / Q000523:psychology*; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012424:Rural Population / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D020377:Self Efficacy; D013019:South Africa; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D014175:Translating; D014505:Urban Population / Q000706:statistics & numerical data