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Validation of the Mental Health Continuum Short Form and Subjective Vitality Scale with Egyptian Adolescent Athletes

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The Human Pursuit of Well-Being

Abstract

The multidimensional model of mental health includes both emotional and functional well-being. Functional well-being is made up of psychological and social well-being. The factor structure of the mental health continuum short form (MHC-SF), designed to measure these three factors, has been confirmed with a sample of US adolescents. In this paper, we present two studies designed to test the factor structure, concurrent validity and internal consistency of the Arabic version of the MHC-SF with sporting adolescents and to examine its relationship with subjective vitality. Exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses revealed an adequate fit of the three-factor model for only nine items; this version has an acceptable internal consistency. Future research will need to determine whether this difference was due to physical activity levels, age or culture. Multiple correspondence analysis (MCA) confirmed Keyes’ (Journal of Health and Social Research, 43, 207–222, 2002) three categories of mental health (i.e., flourishing, moderately mentally healthy and languishing). Finally, the scale showed a positive correlation with subjective vitality.

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Notes

  1. 1.

    Multiple correspondence analyses (MCA) is a statistical technique used to highlight correspondences between variables describing a population. The aim of MCA is, on one hand, to study the links between several variables defined on a given population, and, on the other hand, to study the structure induced by this set of variables on the population (Escofier, 2003).

  2. 2.

    It is about 78 km north of Cairo.

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Acknowledgment

Author thanks professors Mohamed E. Ali for his help in preparing the Arabic versions. He also thanks professors Mohamed Salama and Mohamed Gebreel for collecting data of Egyptian athletes. Author thanks both Profs. Ineke Vergeer and Stephanie Hanrahan for their help in the early manuscript. Finally, he thanks Professor Corey Keyes for his collaboration.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Sport Psychology Department, Helwan University, Helwan, Egypt

    Mareï Salama-Younes

  2. Psychology Department, European University of Brittany, Rennes, France

    Mareï Salama-Younes

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  1. Mareï Salama-Younes
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Correspondence to Mareï Salama-Younes .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Fac. Arts & Sciences, University of Rijeka, Slavka Krautzeka bb, Rijeka, 51000, Croatia

    Ingrid Brdar

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Salama-Younes, M. (2011). Validation of the Mental Health Continuum Short Form and Subjective Vitality Scale with Egyptian Adolescent Athletes. In: Brdar, I. (eds) The Human Pursuit of Well-Being. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-007-1375-8_19

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