What Does Self Rated Mental Health Represent

Abstract

BackgroundUnlike the widely used self rated health, the self rated mental health was found unsuitable as a proxy for mental illness. This paper analyses the relationships between the self ratings of physical health, mental health and overall health, and their association of with the objective indicators for physical and mental health.Design and methodsThe study is a secondary analysis of data from a nationwide representative sample of the non-institutionalized adult residents of Israel in 2003 that was collected via computer-assisted personal interview methods [n=4859].ResultsThe self rated physical health and the self rated mental health were strongly related to each other yet the self rated mental health was not related to chronic physical conditions and the self rated physical health was not related to mental disorders. In a multiple logistic regression analysis, those with positive self rated mental health had 93 times the odds of reporting positive overall health whereas those with positive self rated physical health had 40 times the odds of reporting positive overall health.ConclusionsThe self rating of mental health presents a qualitatively different dimension from mental illness. The self rated mental health is two times more important than the self rated physical health in predicting the self rated overall healthSignificance for public healthThe present study is an original study on the self rated physical, mental and overall health measures. Because of the wide range of associations with other health indicators, and the simplicity with which they are collected, self-rated health measures are widely used in large population surveys.The present study questions the automatic assumption that the self rated mental health functions as a proxy measure of psychiatric morbidity, and suggests that the self rated mental health is more closely related to subjective well-being. The results show that self rated mental health predicts self rated general health better than self rated physical health.

Black–white difference in long-term predictive power of self-rated health on all-cause mortality in United States

“…49 Although very little is known about race and ethnic differences in correlates of SRH, 28-30,50,51 researchers have argued that SRH differently reflects the past, current and future health of diverse populations. 21,23,50,52 The above results emphasize a need for more research on ethnic differences in correlates and validity of SRH.…”

“…24,28,29,52 Blacks and Whites with same level of SRH may have different actual needs for health care. Future research should determine how socioeconomic status, and other factors associated with being a minority, such as discriminatory experiences, life experiences, values, culture, stigma, and access and use of health care can explain the Black White differences in the SRH- mortality link.…”

Canada's residential school system: measuring the intergenerational impact of familial attendance on health and mental health outcomes

“…Self-perceived mental health status has been shown to be an important predictor of overall physical health, and a valid measure of general mental health in a Canadian sample 50 51. The K10 has been evaluated as a measure of non-specific psychological distress and psychiatric morbidity in population health surveys in Canada, the USA and Australia, and has been found to be psychometrically sound in measuring the overall psychological distress for First Nations, Inuit and Métis peoples living off reserve in Canada 52–55…”

Demographic and Socioeconomic Determinants of Physical and Mental Self-rated Health Across 10 Ethnic Groups in the United States

“…12,26,28 It is still not clear how poor physical and mental SRH reflect the past, current, and future health needs of individuals from diverse backgrounds. 25,29 Still, there is a need for additional research on ethnic differences on how demographics, SES, and health factors shape SRH. [40][41][42][43][44][45][46][47][48][49][50][51][52][53] Our finding has implications for clinical and public health practice.…”

“…10,[15][16][17][18][19][20][21][22] Given the critical role of SRH in the process of health care use, 23 there is a need to better understand what physical and mental SRH actually measure across ethnic groups. 12,[25][26][27][28][29] The degree by which SRH reflects psychological distress 25 and chronic medical and mental disorders 1,2,12-14 may differ from one ethnic group to another. [30][31][32][33][34][35][36] The meaning and determinants of SRH are not universal, but population specific.…”