Positive mental health : a research agenda

Vaillant provides a thoughtful review of seven models for conceptualizing positive mental
health. He proposes that the best way to understand mental health is to conduct longitudinal
studies of multiple populations, in culturally diverse settings, using instruments that assess
multiple conceptualizations. Looking to future, I agree with Vaillant that there is a need for theoretical and
empirical work to establish the most useful conceptualization of positive mental
health. On the theoretical side, there is a need to clarify and integrate the current
overlapping but distinct constructs into a broader overarching framework. On the
empirical side, there is a need to develop and refine instruments for measuring
positive mental health constructs at multiple levels, including self-report, behavioral
ratings, psychophysiological responding, and neurobiological functioning. There is
also a need to link research on positive mental health to the psychology of normal and
abnormal functioning across the life-span. In particular, it would be valuable to
determine the links between positive mental health and intelligence, temperament,
personality traits, self-regulation and attachment, through genetic, neurobiological,
psychometric and developmental research.