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Enduring mental health: Prevalence and prediction.

Publication ,  Journal Article
Schaefer, JD; Caspi, A; Belsky, DW; Harrington, H; Houts, R; Horwood, LJ; Hussong, A; Ramrakha, S; Poulton, R; Moffitt, TE
Published in: Journal of abnormal psychology
February 2017

We review epidemiological evidence indicating that most people will develop a diagnosable mental disorder, suggesting that only a minority experience enduring mental health. This minority has received little empirical study, leaving the prevalence and predictors of enduring mental health unknown. We turn to the population-representative Dunedin cohort, followed from birth to midlife, to compare people never-diagnosed with mental disorder (N = 171; 17% prevalence) to those diagnosed at 1-2 study waves, the cohort mode (N = 409). Surprisingly, compared to this modal group, never-diagnosed Study members were not born into unusually well-to-do families, nor did their enduring mental health follow markedly sound physical health, or unusually high intelligence. Instead, they tended to have an advantageous temperament/personality style, and negligible family history of mental disorder. As adults, they report superior educational and occupational attainment, greater life satisfaction, and higher-quality relationships. Our findings draw attention to "enduring mental health" as a revealing psychological phenotype and suggest it deserves further study. (PsycINFO Database Record

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Published In

Journal of abnormal psychology

DOI

EISSN

1939-1846

ISSN

0021-843X

Publication Date

February 2017

Volume

126

Issue

2

Start / End Page

212 / 224

Related Subject Headings

  • Young Adult
  • Temperament
  • Prevalence
  • Personality
  • Mental Health
  • Mental Disorders
  • Male
  • Humans
  • Female
  • Cohort Studies
 

Citation

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Schaefer, J. D., Caspi, A., Belsky, D. W., Harrington, H., Houts, R., Horwood, L. J., … Moffitt, T. E. (2017). Enduring mental health: Prevalence and prediction. Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 126(2), 212–224. https://doi.org/10.1037/abn0000232
Schaefer, Jonathan D., Avshalom Caspi, Daniel W. Belsky, Honalee Harrington, Renate Houts, L John Horwood, Andrea Hussong, Sandhya Ramrakha, Richie Poulton, and Terrie E. Moffitt. “Enduring mental health: Prevalence and prediction.Journal of Abnormal Psychology 126, no. 2 (February 2017): 212–24. https://doi.org/10.1037/abn0000232.
Schaefer JD, Caspi A, Belsky DW, Harrington H, Houts R, Horwood LJ, et al. Enduring mental health: Prevalence and prediction. Journal of abnormal psychology. 2017 Feb;126(2):212–24.
Schaefer, Jonathan D., et al. “Enduring mental health: Prevalence and prediction.Journal of Abnormal Psychology, vol. 126, no. 2, Feb. 2017, pp. 212–24. Epmc, doi:10.1037/abn0000232.
Schaefer JD, Caspi A, Belsky DW, Harrington H, Houts R, Horwood LJ, Hussong A, Ramrakha S, Poulton R, Moffitt TE. Enduring mental health: Prevalence and prediction. Journal of abnormal psychology. 2017 Feb;126(2):212–224.

Published In

Journal of abnormal psychology

DOI

EISSN

1939-1846

ISSN

0021-843X

Publication Date

February 2017

Volume

126

Issue

2

Start / End Page

212 / 224

Related Subject Headings

  • Young Adult
  • Temperament
  • Prevalence
  • Personality
  • Mental Health
  • Mental Disorders
  • Male
  • Humans
  • Female
  • Cohort Studies