The Dual-Factor Model of Mental Health: A Short-Term Longitudinal Study of School-Related Outcomes

• Published in: Social indicators research 2013-11, Vol.114 (2), p.549-565
• Main Authors: Lyons, Michael D., Huebner, E. Scott, Hills, Kimberly J.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Academic achievement; Adolescence; Adolescents; Behavior; Biological and medical sciences; Cognition; Cognitive models; Emotions; Grade Point Average; Grades (Scholastic); History, theory and methodology; Human Geography; Junior High School Students; Learner Engagement; Longitudinal studies; Medical personnel; Medical sciences; Membership; Mental disorders; Mental Health; Mental health care; Mental health outcomes; Methodology; Microeconomics; Middle school students; Middle schools; Modeling; Psychological aspects; Psychology; Psychopathology; Public Health; Public health. Hygiene-occupational medicine; Quadrants; Quality of Life Research; Schools; Social Sciences; Sociodemographic Factors; Sociology; Sociology of the family. Age groups; Standardized Tests; Statistical significance; Student participation; Students; Teenagers; Variables; Well Being; Youth problems
• ISSN: 0303-8300; 1573-0921
• DOI: 10.1007/s11205-012-0161-2

The Dual-Factor Model of Mental Health, proposed by Greenspoon and Sasklofske (Soc Indic Res 54:81–108, 2001), suggested that student mental health should be assessed on a dimension of psychopathology as well as a dimension of subjective well-being (SWB). Greenspoon and Sasklofske (Soc Indic Res 54:81–108, 2001) argued that measuring both psychopathology and SWB allow mental health professionals to have a more complete understanding of the child's psychological health. The present exploratory study provided a further evaluation of the usefulness of the Dual-Factor model in understanding adolescents' SWB using both person-centered and variable-centered analyses. Using person-centered analyses, we explored whether group membership revealed differential changes in middle school students' GPAs as well as emotional, cognitive, and behavioral engagement across a 5-month time period. Furthermore, we used variable-centered analyses to examine whether middle school students' levels of SWB at Time 1 predicted changes in our criterion variables. Specifically, we assessed whether SWB at Time 1 predicted student school engagement and GPA at Time 2 above and beyond their levels of internalizing and externalizing behaviors at Time 1, levels of student engagement and grades at Time 1, and demographic variables. Results of the person-centered analyses found statistically significant differences across the four groups identified in the Dual-Factor Model for emotional, cognitive and behavioral engagement as well as GPA. The results from the variable-centered analyses suggest subjective well-being to be a significant predictor of emotional, cognitive and behavioral engagement beyond measures of psychopathology. These results provide additional support for use of the Dual-Factor Model.