Psychological Well-Being and Mental Health in Youth: Technical Adequacy of the Comprehensive Inventory of Thriving

Abstract

Well-being is a crucial construct in young people’s lives that directly affects their overall quality of life, academic performance, and social relationships. Although there is an emphasis on the significance of positive psychological states in mental health, few have focused on positive states, and psychological well-being is often conceptualized using negative indicators of mental health. The present study aims to fill the gap in the literature by testing the reliability and validity of the Turkish version of the Comprehensive Inventory of Thriving for Youth (CIT-Y) and exploring the relationship between psychological well-being and mental health problems among Turkish young people. The study involved 459 youths from a state elementary school in a city in Türkiye, with 48.8% (224 females and 235 males) of them being female and aged between 11 and 15 years (M = 12.85, SD = 0.73). Findings from the study suggest that the CIT-Y is a reliable and valid measure for assessing psychological well-being in Turkish young people. Additionally, the results show that young people with internalizing and externalizing problems report fewer positive psychological states compared to those without such problems. This emphasizes the significance of well-being domains, including loneliness and respect, in comprehending mental health issues among young people. These findings can aid mental health providers in designing interventions to enhance the psychosocial adjustment of students by providing resources to cultivate mental health and well-being.