title: Enduring mental health: Prevalence and prediction.
abstract: We review epidemiological evidence indicating that most people will develop a diagnosable mental disorder, suggesting that only a minority experience enduring mental health. This minority has received little empirical study, leaving the prevalence and predictors of enduring mental health unknown. We turn to the population-representative Dunedin cohort, followed from birth to midlife, to compare people never-diagnosed with mental disorder (N = 171; 17% prevalence) to those diagnosed at 1-2 study waves, the cohort mode (N = 409). Surprisingly, compared to this modal group, never-diagnosed Study members were not born into unusually well-to-do families, nor did their enduring mental health follow markedly sound physical health, or unusually high intelligence. Instead, they tended to have an advantageous temperament/personality style, and negligible family history of mental disorder. As adults, they report superior educational and occupational attainment, greater life satisfaction, and higher-quality relationships. Our findings draw attention to "enduring mental health" as a revealing psychological phenotype and suggest it deserves further study. (PsycINFO Database Record
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology and Neuroscience, Duke University.
authors.forename: Jonathan D
authors.identifier: 0000-0003-4112-9268
authors.initials: JD
authors.lastname: Schaefer
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology and Neuroscience, Duke University.
authors.forename: Avshalom
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Caspi
authors.affiliation: Social Science Research Institute, Duke University.
authors.forename: Daniel W
authors.initials: DW
authors.lastname: Belsky
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology and Neuroscience, Duke University.
authors.forename: Honalee
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Harrington
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology and Neuroscience, Duke University.
authors.forename: Renate
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Houts
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychological Medicine, University of Otago.
authors.forename: L John
authors.initials: LJ
authors.lastname: Horwood
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
authors.forename: Andrea
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Hussong
authors.affiliation: Dunedin Multidisciplinary Health and Development Research Unit, Department of Psychology, University of Otago.
authors.forename: Sandhya
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Ramrakha
authors.affiliation: Dunedin Multidisciplinary Health and Development Research Unit, Department of Psychology, University of Otago.
authors.forename: Richie
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Poulton
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology and Neuroscience, Duke University.
authors.forename: Terrie E
authors.identifier: 0000-0002-8589-6760
authors.initials: TE
authors.lastname: Moffitt
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D002648:Child; D015331:Cohort Studies; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D001523:Mental Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000453:epidemiology*; D008603:Mental Health / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D010551:Personality; D015995:Prevalence; D013694:Temperament; D055815:Young Adult