What is Mental Health and Well-Being in Equal-Life?

Within Equal-Life, mental health is defined as the presence of psychological or psychiatric illness or psychological ill health (psychopathology), whereas well-being refers to positive psychological health.

Mental health is usually assessed and defined within diagnostic systems, i.e., DSM-V and ICD-11, providing diagnoses of for example depression, anxiety or attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). For younger children and adolescents, mental health can also be assessed using symptom measures (e.g., Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ) or Multidimensional Peer Nomination Inventory (MNPI), assessing for instance internalising and externalising symptoms. Well-being is part of the World Health Organisation’s (WHO) salutogenic definition of mental health: “a state of well-being in which every individual realizes his or her own potential, can cope with the normal stresses of life, can work productively and fruitfully, and is able to make a contribution to her or his community”.