THE MEASUREMENT OF ADOLESCENT PSYCHOLOGICAL HEALTH - ONE OR 2 DIMENSIONS

Psychological health in adult populations has been conceptualized as b eing comprised of two distinct, though related, dimensions: well-being and distress. Research into adolescent psychological health, however, has been dominated by a single factor approach with well-being and di stress defining opposite ends of this continuum. Measures of psycholog ical health were administered to 345 late adolescents. A series of con firmatory factor analyses supported an oblique two-factor model of psy chological health with measures of anxiety and negative affect definin g a distress construct and measures of positive affect satisfaction wi th life, and happiness defining a well-being construct. A measure of d epression loaded on both well-being and distress It is concluded that although these two dimensions are highly correlated, they are distingu ishable in adolescent samples. It is suggested that to avoid confusion in the literature authors should take more care in labeling the aspec ts of psychological health that they wish to assess.