Abstract
The validity and utility of a dual-factor system (DFS) of mentalhealth was explored. Factors were the traditional perspective onmental health, psychopathology (PTH), and the more recentperspective, subjective well-being (SWB). Research has shown thatPTH and SWB are not simply opposite poles of a single continuum,however, the constructs have yet to be integrated.The sample consisted of 407 children in Grades 3–6. Subjects wereclassified as high or low on each construct, offering fourresearch groups, two challenging the unidimensional perspective.Group membership was the classification variable in a series ofdiscriminant function analyses. Predictors assessed the domainsof temperament, personality, self-concept, locus of control, andinterpersonal relations.Results offered strong initial evidence for the validity andpotential utility of a DFS. Results are discussed, as areimplications for mental illness prevention/intervention.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
REFERENCES
Bouchard Jr., T. J.: 1995, ‘Longitudinal studies of personality and intelligence: A behavior genetic and evolutionary psychology perspective’ in D. H. Saklofske and M. Zeidner (eds.), International Handbook of Personality and Intelligence (Plenum, New York), pp. 81–106.
Bracken, B. A.: 1993, Assessment of Interpersonal Relations (PRO-ED, Austin, TX).
Brebner, J.: 1998, ‘Happiness and personality’ Personality and Individual Differences 25, pp. 279–296.
Buss, A.: 1989, ‘Temperaments as personality traits’ in G. A. Kohnstamm, J. E. Bates and M. K. Rothbart (eds.), Temperament in Childhood (Wiley, Chisester), pp. 49–58.
Buss, A. H. and R. Plomin: 1975, A Temperament Theory of Personality Development (Wiley, New York).
Buss, A. H. and R. Plomin: 1984, Temperament: Early Developing Personality Traits (Erlbaum, Hillsdale, NJ).
Carton, J. S. and S. Nowicki Jr.: 1996, ‘Origins of generalized control expectancies: Reported child stress and observed maternal control and warmth’ Journal of Social Psychology 136, pp. 753–760.
Champoux, M., G. DiGregorio, M. L. Schneider and S. J. Suomi: 1990, ‘Inanimate environmental enrichment for group-housed rhesus macaque infants’ American Journal of Primatology 22, pp. 61–67.
Costa, P. T. Jr. and R. R. McCrae: 1980, ‘Influence of extraversion and neuroticism on subjective well-being: Happy and unhappy people’ Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 38, pp. 668–678.
Costa, P. T. Jr. and R. R. McCrae: 1994, ‘Set like plaster? Evidence for the stability of adult personality’ in T. F. Heatherton and J. L. Weinberger (eds.), Can Personality Change? (APA, Washington, DC), pp. 21–40.
Cowen, E. L.: 1991, ‘In pursuit of wellness’ American Psychologist 46, pp. 404–408.
Diener, E.: 1984, ‘Subjective well-being’ Psychological Bulletin 95, pp. 542–575.
Diener, E.: 2000, ‘Subjective well-being: The science of happiness and a proposal for a national index’ American Psychologist 55, pp. 34–43.
Eysenck, H. J. and S. B. Eysenck: 1975, Eysenck Personality Questionnaire (Educational and Industrial Testing Service, San Diego, CA).
Feiring, C. and M. Lewis: 1989, ‘The social networks of girls and boys from early through middle childhood’ in D. Belle (ed.), Children's Social Networks and Social Supports (Wiley, New York, NY), pp. 119–150.
Fernandes, M. and D. Fontana: 1996, ‘Changes in control beliefs in Portuguese primary school pupils as a consequence of the employment of self-assessment strategies’ British Journal of Educational Psychology 66, pp. 301–313.
Francis, L. J.: 1996, ‘The development of an abbreviated form of the revised junior Eysenck personality questionnaire (JEPQR-A) among 13–15 year olds’ Personality and Individual Differences 21, pp. 835–844.
Francis, L. J.: 1999, ‘Happiness is a thing called stable extraversion: A further examination of the relationship between the Oxford Happiness Inventory and Eysenck's dimensional model of personality and gender’ Personality and Individual Differences 26, pp. 5–12.
Gaub, M. and C. L. Carlson: 1997, ‘Behavioral characteristics of DSM-IV ADHD subtypes in a school-based population’ Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology 25, pp. 103–111.
Gould, M. S., H. Bird and B. S. Jaramillo: 1993, ‘Correspondence between statistically derived behavior syndromes and child psychiatric diagnoses in a community sample’ Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology 21, pp. 287–313.
Greenspoon, P. J. and D. H. Saklofske: 1997, ‘Validity and reliability of the multidimensional students' life satisfaction scale with Canadian children’ Journal of Psychoeducational Assessment 15, pp. 138–155.
Greenspoon, P. J. and D. H. Saklofske: 1998, ‘Confirmatory factor analysis of the multidimensional students' life satisfaction scale’ Personality and Individual Differences 25, pp. 965–972.
Harter, S.: 1985, The Self-Perception Profile for Children (University of Denver, Denver, CO).
Huebner, E. S.: 1994, ‘Preliminary development and validation of a multidimensional life satisfaction scale for children’ Psychological Assessment 6, pp. 149–158.
Jahoda, M.: 1958, Current Concepts of Positive Mental Health (Basic Books, New York, NY).
Kiesler, C. A., C. Simpkins and T. Morton: 1989, ‘The psychiatric inpatient treatment of children and youth in general hospitals’ American Journal of Community Psychology 17, pp. 821–830.
Lewinsohn, P., J. Redner and J. Seeley: 1991, ‘The relationship between life satisfaction and psychosocial variables: New perspectives’ in F. Strack, M. Argyle and N. Schwartz (eds.), SubjectiveWell-Being (Plenum Press, New York, NY), pp. 141–169.
Masten, A. S. and J. D. Coatsworth: 1998, ‘The development of competence in favorable and unfavorable environments: Lessons from research on successful children’ American Psychologist 53, pp. 205–220.
McCallum, S. and B. A. Bracken: 1993, ‘Interpersonal relations between school children and their peers, parents, and teachers’ Educational Psychology Review 5, pp. 155–176.
Mischel, W. and Y. Shoda: 1995, ‘A cognitive-affective system theory of personality: Reconceptualizing situations, dispositions, dynamics, and invariance in personality structure’ Psychological Review 102, pp. 246–268.
Pavot, W., F. Fujita and E. Diener: 1997, ‘The relation between self-aspect congruence, personality and subjective well-being’ Personality and Individual Differences 22, pp. 183–191.
Prior, M., G. Crook, A. Stripp, M. Power and M. Joseph: 1986, ‘The relationship between temperament and personality: An exploratory study’ Personality and Individual Differences 7, pp. 875–881.
Reynolds, C. R. and R. W. Kamphaus: 1992, Behavior Assessment System for Children (American Guidance Service, Circle Pines, MN).
Rutter, M.: 1987, ‘Temperament, personality and personality disorder’ British Journal of Psychiatry 150, pp. 443–458.
Schlosser, B.: 1990, ‘The assessment of subjective well-being and its relationship to the stress process’ Journal of Personality Assessment 54, pp. 128–140.
Schneider, M. L., C. F. Moore, S. J. Suomi and M. Champoux: 1991, ‘Laboratory assessment of temperament and environmental enrichment in rhesus monkey infants (Macaca mulatta)’ American Journal of Primatology 25, pp. 137–155.
Seeman, J.: 1989, ‘Toward a model of positive health’ American Psychologist 44, pp. 1099–1109.
Segal, Z. V. and S. R. Swallow: 1993, ‘Schematic self-representation in emotional disorder: Conceptual and methodological considerations’ Australian Psychologist 28, pp. 145–150.
Weiss, B. and T. Catron: 1994, ‘The specificity of comorbidity of externalizing problems and internalizing problems in children’ Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology 22, pp. 389–401.
World Health Organization: 1964, Basic Documents, 15th edn.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Greenspoon, P.J., Saklofske, D.H. Toward an Integration of Subjective Well-Being and Psychopathology. Social Indicators Research 54, 81–108 (2001). https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1007219227883
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1007219227883