Deviation from ideal mental health

Question 1

What categories did Jahoda (1958) identify as being relevant to good mental health?

Answer 1

1. Self attitudes - high self esteem
2. Personal growth and self actualisation - being able to develop full capabilities
3. Integration - e.g. coping with stressful situations
4. Autonomy - independence
5. Accurate perception of reality
6. Mastery of the environment - ability to love, adjust to new situations, solve problems

Question 2

What is deviation from ideal mental health?

Answer 2

Idea that proposes that the absence of the above criteria indicates abnormality and potential mental disorder.

Question 3

Evaluation?

Answer 3

• tries to apply the principles of physical health to mental health
• physical illnesses generally have physical causes like a virus - makes them relatively easy to detect and diagnose
• many mental disorders do not - they are the consequence of life experiences
• unlikely that mental abnormality can be diagnosed in the same way as physical abnormality

Question 4

Evaluation?

Answer 4

• many of Jahoda’s mental health criteria are culture-bound
• e.g. goal of self-actualisation is relevant to individualist cultures but not collectivist cultures (as people promote the need of the group not themselves)
• limits usefulness of this definition to certain cultural groups