Measuring Positive Mental Health

Abstract

The authors developed a scale for positive mental health (PMH), which encompasses positive state of mind and positive functioning. The existing tools are inadequate to measure the construct, especially in a community where the self-statement format of a scale is difficult to internalize. The authors constructed a tool from an initial item pool with the help of experts and validated it in a sample of 326 young people in the state of Kerala, India. Factor analysis gave 4 underlying factors for the construct of PMH. The scale (mean = 67.41 ± 9.49) has Cronbach’s α value of .76 and test–retest correlation of .84. Convergent validity with the PMH Inventory is .864; discriminant validity with the Mental Health Inventory is .422. The findings prove that the scale, named the Achutha Menon Centre Positive Mental Health Scale, is reliable and valid and can be used in both individual- and population-based studies for measuring PMH.