Evaluation of the mental health continuum–short form (MHC–SF) in setswana‐speaking South Africans

TLDR

The study applied continuous assessment and categorical diagnosis of flourishing versus languishing to a random sample of 1,050 Setswana‑speaking adults in South Africa's Northwest province. Factor analysis confirmed the three‑factor structure of the MHC‑SF and its internal reliability (α = 0.74), with total scores positively correlating with positive affect, self‑efficacy, life satisfaction, coping, sense of coherence, and community self‑efficacy, negatively with the General Health Questionnaire, and confirmatory factor analysis supported a two‑continua model of mental health and illness.

Abstract

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 (MHC-SF) replicated the three-factor structure of emotional, psychological and social well-being found in US samples. The internal reliability of the overall MHC-SF Scale was 0.74. The total score on the MHC-SF correlated 0.52 with a measure of positive affect, between 0.35 and 0.40 with measures of generalized self-efficacy and satisfaction with life, and between 0.30 and 0.35 with measures of coping strategies, sense of coherence, and community collective self-efficacy. The total score on the MHC-SF correlated -0.22 with the total score on the General Health Questionnaire. Criteria for the categorical diagnosis were applied, and findings revealed that 20% were flourishing, 67.8% were moderately mentally healthy, and 12.2% were languishing. Confirmatory factor analysis supported the hypothesized two-continua model of mental health and mental illness found in the USA.