Corey L M Keyes

Emory University | EU · Department of Sociology

In the Asia-Pacific region, individual sexual stigma contributes to elevated rates of depression among sexual minority men. Less well understood is the role of socio-structural sexual stigma despite evidence that social context influences the experience of stigma. We use data from the United Nations Multi-country Study on Men and Violence to conduc...

Studies have identified formal volunteer activity as having mental health benefits. This study set out to investigate the role of formal volunteering in the context of psychological flourishing in Scandinavia. Using the European Social Survey conducted in 2006 and 2012, nationally-representative cross-sectional data from 7,078 and 7,318 participant...

El presente estudio tiene como objetivo estudiar la estructura factorial, fiabilidad y validez del Contínuum de Salud Mental (MHC–SF) de Keyes (2009) en el contexto ecuatoriano. La escala fue aplicada a dos muestras, una de 100 personas que funcionó como piloto y otra de 550 personas residentes en la ciudad de Cuenca- Ecuador, a quienes también se...

The present research aimed at studying the psychometric properties of the Mental Health Continuum–Short Form (MHC–SF; Keyes, 2005) in a sample of 1,300 Argentinean adults (50% males; 50% females). Their mean age was 40.28 years old (SD = 13.59). The MHC–SF is a 14 item test that assesses three components (i.e., emotional, social, and psychological)...

With and without mental disorders, low levels of positive mental health are associated with limitations in daily life and with an economic burden in developed countries. We aimed to assess the correlates and predictors of high levels of well-being (WB) in Keyes’ model of mental health. A four-year longitudinal population-based study was administere...

This paper attempts to reconcile two perspectives on the impact of positive trait change. The first perspective views positive trait change as salubrious because it reflects the process of self-enhancement, whereas the second perspective views positive change as costly because it disrupts the self-verification process. We propose that benefits and...

As the life sciences have evolved, theories of unidirectional effects have typically been replaced by theories of reciprocal influence. Trait theory has only recently adopted such a perspective, partially due to its historical emphasis on the stability of traits. In this study, we posit a model of reciprocal influence between traits and well-being....

In this interpretative phenomenological analysis study, we explored how persons with mental disorders perceive mental health. Adapting a salutogenic theoretical framework, 12 former inpatients were interviewed. The analysis revealed experiences of mental health as a movement, like walking up and down a staircase. Perceived mental health is expresse...

We examined the structure, reliability, construct validity, and gender invariance of the Italian version of the Mental Health Continuum–Short Form (Italian MHC–SF), a self-report questionnaire for positive mental health assessment developed by Keyes. The scale was administered to 1,438 Italian respondents, mainly from central and southern Italy, be...

The growing evidence that subjective well-being (SWB) produces an array of beneficial outcomes has increased requests for recommendations on how to promote it. Evidence that all of SWB’s genetic variance overlaps with personality led to the strong claim that it is a ‘personality thing’ and that personality is the strongest predictor of SWB. However...

‘All in the family’: The shared and distinctive causes of personality and well-being

When conscientiousness is costly: Neighborhood quality moderates the benefits of conscientiousness

This chapter summarizes the conception and diagnosis of the mental health continuum, findings supporting the two-continua model of mental health and illness, and the benefits of flourishing to society and individuals, with a focus on youth. Youth who are flourishing report the lowest level of depression, conduct and behavioral problems, and the hig...

Distinct views of the recovery experience prevail in the literature, including divergent opinions about how to define and measure recovery outcomes. This chapter proposes that the study, and the process, of recovery can be augmented by adopting the model of mental health as a complete state. Based on this model, recovery is viewed as flourishing in...

The West inherited a view of health from the ancient Greeks as being more than the absence of illness (i.e., pathogenesis) but also the presence of positive health, or well-being (i.e., salutogenesis). In this chapter, we argue that all nations undergo a process of the rise of pathogenic views of health that is followed by the need for the rise of...

Past research on child and adolescent mental health has focused upon outcomes characterized by the absence of ill-health, such as the absence of substance abuse or depression. In contrast to this pathology or deficit model, we review research focused upon positive indicators of youth mental health, such as the presence of happiness or engagement. W...

As the life sciences evolve, theories of unidirectional effects often get replaced by theories involving cyclic or reciprocal effects. One area where effects have been considered unidirectional until now is trait theory. In fact, the Big Five are generally posited to be stable, and when change is discussed, a trait is considered as either an agent...

This chapter addresses mental health as more than the absence of disease, also approaching it from a positive perspective as the presence of well-being across the lifespan. The study described in the chapter investigated the association of age with psychopathology and positive mental health, controlling for potential confounding effects of physical...

Positive psychology is the scientific study of the qualities and conditions that permit humans to live a life worthwhile. Positive psychology has fostered several new strains of research, three of which are brought together in this chapter – the study of flourishing, positive emotional dynamics, and character strengths and virtues. This research se...

Objectives: We investigated whether positive mental health predicts all-cause mortality. Methods: Data were from the Midlife in the United States (MIDUS) study (n = 3032), which at baseline in 1995 measured positive mental health (flourishing and not) and past-year mental illness (major depressive episode, panic attacks, and generalized anxiety...

Previous research on medical students' mental health has focused almost exclusively on students' emotional well-being and/or their personal psychological functioning, neglecting the more public side of medical training - the students' social health. A total of 237 preclinical students completed surveys at the beginning and the end of their academic...

To investigate whether level of positive mental health complements mental illness in predicting students at risk for suicidal behavior and impaired academic performance. A sample of 5,689 college students participated in the 2007 Healthy Minds Study and completed an Internet survey that included the Mental Health Continuum-Short Form and the Patien...

This chapter summarizes the research on the dual-continua model of mental health and mental illness. Studies supported this model and therefore the view that the presence of mental health is more than the absence of mental illness. Mental health is conceived of as a constellation of dimensions of subjective well-being, specifically hedonic and euda...

To determine the relationship between the genetic and environmental risk factors for externalizing psychopathology and mental wellbeing, we examined detailed measures of emotional, social and psychological wellbeing, and a history of alcohol-related problems and smoking behavior in the last year in 1,386 individual twins from same-sex pairs from th...

Purpose is an intention and a cognitive sense of one’s life. As an intention, purpose is the quality of being determined to do or achieve something, which resides in all forms of life in the universe. For humans, however, the valence and likelihood of enactment of the intention of purpose is capricious, as is the resulting sense of purpose in life....

Mental health is more than the absence of psychopathology, but few studies use positive mental health along with a measure of past year major depressive episode (MDE). This study addresses this gap by investigating the association of MDE and flourishing mental health (FMH) with chronological age and subjective (felt and ideal) age. Data are from th...

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to propose that the study, and the promotion, of recovery can be augmented by adopting the model of mental health as a complete state. Design/methodology/approach – A literature review of the last two decades was undertaken and pathways to complete mental health in recovery are proposed. Findings – More work...

To determine the relationship between the genetic and environmental risk factors for common internalizing psychopathology (IP) and mental well-being (MWB), we examined detailed measures of emotional, social and psychological well-being, and a history of major depression (MD), generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) and panic attacks in the last year, in...

There is a growing consensus that mental health is not merely the absence of mental illness, but it also includes the presence of positive feelings (emotional well-being) and positive functioning in individual life (psychological well-being) and community life (social well-being). We examined the structure, reliability, convergent validity, and dis...

We sought to investigate the structure of the genetic and environmental influences on 3 measures of mental well-being. Analyses focused on the subsample of 349 monozygotic and 321 dizygotic same-sex twin pairs from a nationally representative sample of twins who completed self-report measures of emotional, psychological, and social well-being. The...

The number of adults aged 65 years and older is increasing rapidly, creating public health challenges. We used data from the 1995 and 2005 national surveys of Midlife in the United States (MIDUS) to compare changes in mental well-being of participants (n = 1007) of 3 age cohorts (ages 45-54 years, 55-64 years, and 65-74 years in 1995). Older adults...

We sought to describe the prevalence of mental health and illness, the stability of both diagnoses over time, and whether changes in mental health level predicted mental illness in a cohort group. In 2009, we analyzed data from the 1995 and 2005 Midlife in the United States cross-sectional surveys (n = 1723), which measured positive mental health a...

This article proposes to re-examine concepts of restoration based on a wider vision of mental health. Following a brief description of the model of mental, health full restoration in relation to mental illness and optimization of positive mental health are introduced as complimentary experiences of recovery. Practices that they sustain are an aspec...

Mental health has long been defined as the absence of psychopathologies, such as depression and anxiety. The absence of mental illness, however, is a minimal outcome from a psychological perspective on lifespan development. This article therefore focuses on mental illness as well as on three core components of positive mental health: feelings of ha...

Arguing that mental health and mental illness are not merely opposite ends of one single measurement continuum, Keyes (2002, 2005, 2006) proposes that mental health should be viewed as a complete state consisting of two dimensions: (1) the mental illness continuum and (2) the mental health continuum. Furthermore, symptoms of mental health consist o...

A broader concept of recovery This article proposes to re-examine concepts of restoration based on a wider vision of mental health. Following a brief description of the model of mental, health full restoration in relation to mental illness and optimization of positive mental health are introduced as complimentary experiences of recovery. Practices...

This paper reviews published research and presents new analyses from the 1995 nationally representative sample from the Midlife in the United States (MIDUS) study to investigate whether there is support for the paradox of race and health in the United States. Findings reveal that Blacks have lower rates of several common mental disorders, but Black...

This paper is an invited response to Kashdan, Biswas-Diener, & King (2008) and to Waterman's (2008) commentary. Kashdan et al. assert that the distinction between hedonic and eudaimonic well-being is unwarranted philosophically and scientifically. We disagree, because a correct understanding of Aristotle refutes Kashdan et al.'s claims, and we refu...

This research addressed issues at the heart of counseling psychology: operationalizing mental health and identifying parsimonious ways of predicting levels of mental health. The primary purpose of the study was to investigate the replicability of the structure of C. L. M. Keyes's (2002) model of mental health in 2 samples of college students (total...

Marital HappinessMaslow, AbrahamMature Defense MechanismsMeaningMeditationMenninger, KarlMental HealthMental IllnessMindfulnessMoral DevelopmentMoral JudgmentMotherhoodMyers, David G.References

FamilismFamily FunctioningFamily Quality of LifeFatherhoodFive Factor ModelFlourishingFlowFolk WisdomForgivenessFour-Front Assessment ApproachFrankl, Viktor EmilFredrickson, BarbaraFreedomFunctional MRIFuture MindednessReferences

Aim of the study was to assess the relationship between social participation and Sense of Community in a sample of University students and the impact of such variables on Social well being. A further aim was to assess the generality of the relationships between these constructs across different countries, and specifically, the USA, Italy and Iran....

The positive link between marriage and physical and psychological well-being is well established, but whether marriage is associated with social well-being is not. Using nationally representative data from the MIDUS study (N=3,032), the present study examines the degree to which there are marital status differences in perceived social well-being, t...

A continuous assessment and a categorical diagnosis of the presence of mental health, described as flourishing, and the absence of mental health, characterized as languishing, is applied to a random sample of 1050 Setswana-speaking adults in the Northwest province of South Africa. Factor analysis revealed that the mental health continuum-short form...

Research indicates that the relationship between socioeconomic status (SES) and delinquency is not as strong as suggested by the leading crime theories. This article argues that such theories do not predict that SES in and of itself causes delinquency but rather that the economic problems associated with SES cause delinquency. Such problems include...

This study investigates whether religious identity explains unique variance of the self esteem and depressive symptoms of older working and retired adults. Data were collected from a larger, five-year project begun in 1992 that compared the well-being of older workers and with that of new retirees living in the Raleigh-Durham-Chapel Hill, North Car...

Mental illness – it sounds serious, and its moniker equates it with physical illness, but it was not considered a priority by the medical and public health community until the last decade of the 20th century. In 1996, the World Health Organization published the results of the Global Burden of Disease study (Murray & Lopez, 1996). As is now well kno...

This article summarizes the conception and diagnosis of the mental health continuum, the findings supporting the two continua model of mental health and illness, and the benefits of flourishing to individuals and society. Completely mentally healthy adults--individuals free of a 12-month mental disorder and flourishing--reported the fewest missed d...

This study empirically tested the self-systems theory of subjective change in light of the rapid change after the fall of the Berlin Wall. The theory predicts that individuals have a tendency to perceive stability and that perceived stability exerts a strong positive effect on subjective well-being. We would expect perceptions of decline and, to a...

A continuous assessment and a categorical diagnosis of the presence of mental health, described as flourishing, and the absence of mental health, characterized as languishing, are proposed and applied to data from the second wave of the Child Development Supplement (CDS-II) of the Panel Study of Income Dynamics (PSID), in which a comprehensive set...

In this introduction to a special issue, the author suggests that a third generation of research on subjective well-being has emerged that is focused on health and human development as the presence of well-being (i.e., health) and not merely the absence of illness, disease, and developmental deficiencies. In turn, this article describes the constru...

This handbook proposes a more integrative approach to women’s depression, in particular, and mental health, for all more generally. Until recently, women’s health issues have centered on the topic of reproductive health, because research focused almost exclusively on biological and anatomical differences distinguishing men and women. However, since...

Research has shown that risk of chronic disease increases with age. Mental disorders and chronic disease are highly comorbid, with studies showing reciprocal causal relations. However, research focuses exclusively on combinations of, or a specific, mental illness. This study investigates the hypothesis that complete mental health is a protective fa...

A continuous assessment and a categorical diagnosis of the presence (i.e., flourishing) and the absence (i.e., languishing) of mental health were proposed and applied to the Midlife in the United States study data, a nationally representative sample of adults between the ages of 25 and 74 years (N = 3,032). Confirmatory factor analyses supported th...

Health is widely believed to be more than the absence of illness, yet no previous research has documented whether organizations would benefit if occupational health moved beyond an "absence of illness" model. Cross-sectional data from the Midlife Development in the United States (MIDUS) study were used to compare productivity outcomes and health ca...

Research on adults has yielded upwards of 13 facets of subjective well-being that reflect the dimensions of emotional, psychological, and social well-being. There is little or no research on whether the same dimensions characterize the well-being of youth, and the research that does exist on subjective well-being in young people focuses exclusively...

At its most elemental level, human development consists of constancy and change in quantitative and qualitative aspects of behavior and functioning. The science of human development therefore illuminates the causes, mechanisms, and conse- quences of constancy and change in behavior and functioning. There is no simple characterization of human devel...

This study employs a measure of mental health as a complete state that combines information about an individual's mental illness (i.e., major depressive episode in the past 12 months) and subjective well-being (i.e., mental health) status to investigate its linkage with cardiovascular diseases (CVD). Data are from a representative sample of USA adu...

To examine the effects of physical and social behaviors on "complete health." "Complete health" was constructed from measures of physical and mental health collected through the National Survey of Midlife Development in the United States (MIDUS; n = 3032). Multinomial regression models examined the association of complete health with physical and s...

Somatization is the expression of physical symptoms in the absence of medically explained physical illness. As a disproportionate response to psychosocial distress, somatization is usually correlated with depression. According to the idiom of distress hypothesis, the association of somatization and mental health is mitigated when somatizing indirec...

Considerable prior research has investigated links between racial/ethnic status and diverse aspects of mental functioning (e.g. psychological disorders, quality of life, self-esteem), but little work has probed the connections between minority status and eudaimonic well-being. Derived from existential and humanistic perspectives, eudaimonia describ...

The purpose of this chapter is to review the conception and diagnosis of mental health. Research is reviewed that shows that there are grave reasons for concern about the mental health of adults in the US. Fewer than one quarter adults aged 25-74 yrs fit the criteria for flourishing in life, which is defined as a state in which an individual feels...

The existence of social civility is explored in terms of the components of social responsibility, social concern, and social involvement. Social civility is viewed as consisting of the degree to which people have a sense of duty or obligation to society, the extent of their concern for the welfare of others as well as themselves, and whether they h...

This study tested three hypotheses derived from the application of socioemotional selectivity theory and exchange theory to the exchange of emotional support with age and its relationship with positive and negative affect by age. Data are from the Midlife in the United States study of 3,032 U.S. adults between the ages of 25 and 74. The social cont...

To operationalize, estimate the prevalence, and ascertain the epidemiology of complete health. Cross-sectional analyses of self-reported survey data collected via a telephone interview and a self-administered questionnaire. Households in the 48 contiguous states in the United States in 1995. Random-digit dialing sample of 3032 adults between the ag...

This study tested three hypotheses derived from the application of socioemotional selectivity theory and exchange theory to the exchange of emotional support with age and its relationship with positive and negative affect by age. Data are from the Midlife in the United States study of 3,032 U.S. adults between the ages of 25 and 74. The social cont...

This paper introduces and applies an operationalization of mental health as a syndrome of symptoms of positive feelings and positive functioning in life. Dimensions and scales of subjective well-being are reviewed and conceived of as mental health symptoms. A diagnosis of the presence of mental health, described as flourishing, and the absence of m...

Subjective well-being (SWB) is evaluation of life in terms of satisfaction and balance between positive and negative affect; psychological well-being (PWB) entails perception of engagement with existential challenges of life. The authors hypothesized that these research streams are conceptually related but empirically distinct and that combinations...

This study investigates the consequences of perceived improvements and perceived declines in life domain functioning. Self-concept theory suggests that perceived improvement should increase both negative and positive mental health because it violates the self-consistency standard but satisfies the self-enhancement standard. Because perceived declin...

This study investigates the impact of subjective changes in the execution of the roles of spouse, worker, and parent on the level and structure of positive and negative affect. According to the self-theory of subjective change, perceived improvement and decline are unsettling because each violate standards of self-conception, but perceived stabilit...

Reviews the elements of subjective well-being (i.e., emotional, psychological, and social well-being) and describes a measurement system for tracking high-level well-being (i.e., flourishing) in employees. Because empirical studies reveal a positive correlation between employee well-being and an array of business outcomes, this paper proposes a the...

This chapter discusses psychological well-being in midlife. Psychological well-being during midlife has not been an explicit target of prior scientific inquiry. The formulations draw attention to developmental aspects of psychological well-being, such as how different life periods may involve distinct psychological challenges and gains. The criteri...

The proposal of five dimensions of social well-being, social integration, social contribution, social coherence, social actualization, and social acceptance, is theoretically substantiated. The theoretical structure, constructure, construct validity, and the social structural sources of the dimensions of social well-being are investigated in two st...

What are the contours and the consequences of Erikson's generativity developmental concept in adults' lives in the US? Our inquiry originates with the larger question of how society structures adults' health and well-being. Framed by the social structure and personality perspective, our study investigates the effects of age and educational stratifi...

A theoretical model of psychological well-being that encompasses 6 distinct dimensions of wellness (Autonomy, Environmental Mastery, Personal Growth, Positive Relations with Others, Purpose in Life, Self-Acceptance) was tested with data from a nationally representative sample of adults (N = 1,108), aged 25 and older, who participated in telephone i...

Reviews and discusses research on 3 aspects of subjective well being - psychological, social, and emotional - that affect mental health in adulthood. Evidence is reviewed that indicates the beneficial social and economic outcomes that are associated with higher levels of subjective well-being, and identifies multiple determinants of subjective well...

Typescript. Thesis (M.S.)--University of Wisconsin--Madison, 1991. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 44-49).