Psychometric evaluation of the mental health continuum - short form in Swedish adolescents

The Mental Health Continuum - Short form (MHC-SF) is a self-report measure that has been increasingly used to monitor mental well-being at the population level. The aim of this study was to evaluate, for the first time, the psychometric properties of the MHC-SF in a population of Swedish adolescents. First, the evaluation was performed by examining face validity and test-retest reliability obtained in a pre-study. Then using data from the Survey of Adolescent Life in Vestmanland 2020 (n = 3880) we performed confirmatory factor analysis on different factor structures based on theory and previous research. Model-based estimates were calculated for assessing the internal reliability of the factor structure with the best fit. Convergent validity was assessed by bivariate as well as model-based correlations, and test-retest reliability was evaluated by intra-class correlation coefficients. The results show that the MHC-SF is best described with a bifactor model consisting of a dominant general well-being factor and three specific group factors of emotional, social and psychological well-being. Its overall reliability was high to very high, while the reliability of its subscales was low. A practical implication of the latter is that the subcales should not be used on their own because they are more likely to reliably measure the general well-being factor than the specific group factors. Test-retest reliability of the total scale was acceptable, and convergent validity was supported. In conclusion, we consider the Swedish MHC-SF to be a psychometrically sound instrument for monitoring overall mental well-being in Swedish adolescents.