Multidimensional assessment of strengths and their association with mental health in psychotherapy patients at the beginning of treatment

Abstract

Background Modern concepts assume that mental health is not just the absence of mental illness but is also characterized by positive well-being. Recent findings indicated a less pronounced distinction of positive and negative mental health dimensions in clinical samples. Self-perceived strengths were associated with markers of mental health in healthy individuals. However, analyses of strengths and their association with different mental health variables in clinical populations are scarce. Method A cross-sectional design was conducted at a German outpatient training and research center. 274 patients before treatment (female: 66.4%, mean age = 42.53, SD = 13.34, range = 18-79) filled out the Witten Strengths and Resource Form (WIRF), a multidimensional self-report of strengths, as well as other instruments assessing positive and negative mental health variables. Data was analyzed with structural equation modeling and latent regression analyses. Results Confirmatory factor analysis of the WIRF showed good model fit for the assumed three-subscale solution. Regarding mental health, a one-factor model with positive and negative variables as opposite poles showed acceptable fit. A correlated dual-factor model was not appropriate for the data. All WIRF subscales significantly predicted unique parts of variance of the latent mental illness factor (p = .035 – p < .001). Conclusion The context-specific assessment of patients’ strengths was confirmed and led to an information gain in the prediction of mental health. Results suggest that positive and negative facets of mental health are highly entwined in people with pronounced symptoms. The scientific and practical implications of these findings are discussed.

Dual-factor Models of Mental Health: A Systematic Review of Empirical Evidence

“…In sum, the school context might benefit from interventions that promote students' competencies and a positive relational school environment (i.e., between staff, teachers, and students) (Antaramian et al, 2010), which impact both students' well-being and psychopathology. Despite this factorial evidence of the dual-factor model, three studies published in 2023 (Abdel-Khalek, 2023;Schürmann-Vengels et al, 2023;Zhao & Tay, 2023) suggest that bipolar models may better represent the mental health construct compared to the dual model, which suggests that testing the psychometric evidence of the dual-factor models has been receiving particular attention in recent years.…”

“…Most of these studies (f = 21) provided factorial evidence supporting the dual-factor model of mental health, revealing two independent but related factors: positive mental health and mental illness. Three manuscripts (Abdel-Khalek, 2023;Schürmann-Vengels et al, 2023;Zhao & Tay, 2023) reported that a bipolar component or the one-factor model might represent better mental health than a dual-factor model.…”