What characterizes a well‐functioning person? Perspectives from Scandinavian laypeople and mental health professionals

Datos Bibliográficos

ID21391970
AutoresLennart Kiel (0000-0001-7869-5082, Department of Psychology and Behavioural Sciences Aarhus University Aarhus Denmark, autor de correspondencia), Majse Lind (0000-0001-5837-8389, Department of Communication and Psychology Aalborg University Aarhus Denmark), Helle Spindler (0000-0002-7098-5699, Department of Psychology and Behavioural Sciences Aarhus University Aarhus Denmark)
Año2024
Volumen65
Número5
Páginas937-946
Fecha de publicación2024-10-01
Peer ReviewedSí
Open AccessSí
TipoARTICLE
RevistaScandinavian Journal of Psychology (JOURNAL)
Identificadores de la revistaISSN: 0036-5564 • E-ISSN: 1467-9450
EditorialWiley (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1111/sjop.13041
PMID38845106
OpenAlexW4399444337
IdiomaEN
Citas recibidas1
Referencias citadas47

Functioning describes how well a person handles life, but the constituents of functioning and its measurement remain subjects of debate among researchers. However, approaches investigating how the concept of functioning is understood among laypeople and practitioners have received less attention. The present study uses a bottom‐up approach to explore the concept of functioning among laypeople and mental health professionals in a Scandinavian context. Participants were asked to describe a person doing well in life and a person not doing well in life, resulting in a total of 2,345 statements from 128 laypeople and 78 mental health professionals. Initially, statements were rated according to the meta‐concepts of Agency and Communion. This analysis revealed a dominant prevalence of Agency across groups, with laypeople demonstrating a heightened emphasis on Agency when characterizing an individual not doing well in life, suggesting an intensified focus on personal responsibility and achievement when describing dysfunction. Next, an independent semantic domain analysis was used to elucidate and identify distinctive features of functioning within the statements. This revealed a shared conceptualization of functioning among both laypeople and mental health professionals based on three main domains: (1) thriving; (2) daily activities and social roles; and (3) personality features. The findings underscore the importance of considering subjective experiences of thriving, efficacy in managing daily tasks and roles, and personality traits in attaining a comprehensive understanding of functioning levels

Health care · Health professionals · Mental health · Psychiatry · Applied Psychology · Health, psychology, and well-being · Mental Health and Psychiatry · Mental Health Treatment and Access · Psychology · Social Psychology