Cross-national variation in how members of the community define flourishing mental health

Bibliographic Data

ID7990885
AuthorsRichard A Burns (0000-0002-7750-4341, National Centre for Epidemiology and Population Health, Australian National University, Canberra, ACT, Australia, corresponding author), Kerry Sargent-Cox (0000-0002-9495-7879, Australian National University), Kerry Sargent (National Centre for Epidemiology and Population Health, Australian National University, Canberra, ACT, Australia), Dimity A Crisp (0000-0003-0241-1121, University of Canberra)
Year2025
Volume71
Issue6
Pages1067-1077
Publication date2025-02-28
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueInternational Journal of Social Psychiatry (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0020-7640 • E-ISSN: 1741-2854
PublisherSAGE Publishing (PUBLISHER • US)
DOI10.1177/00207640251323345
PMID40018854
OpenAlexW4408034347
LanguageEN
References cited25

Background: The experience of flourishing (i.e. high wellbeing) is informing our understanding of psychological health beyond psychopathology. Aims: This study examines whether community members define their sense of flourishing in terms of the presence of wellbeing and/or the absence of psychopathology. Methods: Participants ( n = 1,094) were stratified by sex and age (18–39 years, 40–59 years and 60 years+), resided in Australia, the United Kingdom, Singapore, South Africa and Malaysia. Participants were presented with 12 items from the European Social Survey Wellbeing Module and 9 symptoms from the Diagnostic Statistical Manual for Major Depressive Disorder and Generalized Anxiety Disorder; mental health items were rephrased to reflect an absence of psychopathology. Respondents selected and ranked the five statements that best reflected their sense of flourishing. Results: Wellbeing statements were the most frequently endorsed items for example, ‘Feeling calm and peaceful’, ‘Life is valuable and worthwhile’, ‘Having people who care’ and ‘Feeling positive about oneself’, but they were only endorsed by approximately 35% to 38% of respondents. Three pathology items were amongst the top 10 items endorsed. Conclusions: That not one indicator was endorsed by the majority of respondents suggests that flourishing definitions of positive mental health need to be defined by both the presence of wellbeing and absence of psychopathology. Notably, there were few between-nation differences in items endorsed, and those differences reported were not of a large magnitude suggesting consistency in the endorsement of indicators between nations

Anxiety · Feeling · Flourishing · Mental health · Psychiatry · Psychopathology · Clinical Psychology · Health disparities and outcomes · Health, psychology, and well-being · Psychological Well-being and Life Satisfaction · Psychology · Social Psychology

Tools

Open DOIOpen Access