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Perceiving mental health as positive predicts good future outcomes

People with mental health disorder who rated their mental health positively were less likely to have a mental health issue 1 year later compared with those who rated their mental health negatively, even when they did not receive treatment for their conditions, study findings indicated.

“Individuals consider much more than the presence or absence of disease or illness when evaluating their own health,” Donna D. McAlpine, PhD, School of Public Health, University of Minnesota, and colleagues wrote in the Journal of Health and Social Behavior. “Given the wide recognition that [self-rated health] is a valid and important measure of health, it is surprising that only recently have researchers begun to investigate the meaning and prognostic significance of self-rated mental health.”

Along with investigating whether self-reported mental health accurately measured mental health, researchers examined whether this self-assessment reflected a broader perception of mental health beyond clinical status and independently predicted future health. They used data from a nationally representative survey in which respondents completed five computer-assisted interviews over a 2-year period where they were asked to rate their own mental health as excellent, very good, good, fair or poor. The researchers compared self-rated mental health among those who indicated good and poor health.

In total, 2,547 individuals screened positive for depression or serious psychological distress in the first year and were included in this study. Among those, 62% rated their own mental health as good. After controlling for confounders, individuals who rated their mental health positively in the first year were 30% less likely to have depression or serious psychological distress at follow-up one year later compared with those who rated their mental health negatively. This pattern remained even when the participants did not receive treatment for a mental health issue.

Those who were optimistic about their mental health were more likely to be Latino or African American, married, employed, privately insured and have higher levels of education. Furthermore, these respondents had higher physical functioning and fewer chronic conditions. People with positive thoughts of their mental health were also less likely to utilize mental health care than those with negative thoughts of their mental health.

“There continues to be much debate about what constitutes mental illness, the validity of DSM categorizations, the boundaries between mental and physical disorder, and the like. Here we suggest that [self-rated mental health] may offer a window into this debate,” McAlpine and colleagues wrote. “Just as [self-rated health] has been suggested as a screener for global health in general practice, we might consider the potential of [self-rated mental health] as a screener for mental health. Simply asking people how they rate their own mental health is a simple intervention to identify individuals who may most benefit from treatment.” – by Savannah Demko

Disclosures: Healio Psychiatry was unable to confirm any relevant financial disclosures at the time of publication.