PSYCHOLOGICAL WELL-BEING IN ADULT LIFE

Knowledge of psychological well-being persistently lags behind knowled ge of psychological dysfunction. The imbalance is evident in magnitude of research-studies of psychological problems dwarf the literature on positive psychological functioning-and in the meaning of basic terms (e.g., typical usage equates health with the absence of illness). A pe rson is viewed as mentally sound if he or she does not suffer from anx iety, depression, or other forms of psychological symptomatology. This prevailing formulation never gets to the heart of wellness; to do so, we must define mental health as the presence of the positive. To expl icate the positive is, however, to grapple with basic values and ideal s of the human experience. These values are no less evident in definit ions of human suffering, although consensus in identification of the n egative is somehow easier to achieve. Despite these challenges, much h as been written, within the field of psychology and outside it, regard ing the contours of positive psychological functioning.