Psychometric Assessment of the Mental Health Continuum-Short Form in Athletes: A Bifactor Modeling Approach

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Stephen Shannon Sport and Exercise Sciences Research Institute, Ulster University, Newtownabbey, Northern Ireland
Bamford Centre for Mental Health and Well-Being, Ulster University, Derry, Northern Ireland

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https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6720-8189 *
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Mark Shevlin School of Psychology, Ulster University, Coleraine, Northern Ireland

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Gavin Breslin Bamford Centre for Mental Health and Well-Being, Ulster University, Derry, Northern Ireland
School of Psychology, Ulster University, Coleraine, Northern Ireland

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DOI:
https://doi.org/10.1123/jcsp.2021-0080
Keywords:
well-being; mental illness; ill-being; methods; confirmatory factor analysis; validity
First Published Online:
18 May 2022
In Print:
Volume 17: Issue 3
Page Range:
306–326
Restricted access

Aim: A recent mental health in sport consensus statement advocates Keyes’ two continua model with an associated Mental Health Continuum (MHC) instrument to assess mental health in athletes. However, there remains statistically inconsistent usage of the MHC in athletes, so further exploration of the MHC’s psychometric factors is required. Methods: Athletes (N = 1,097) aged 32.63 (SD = 11.16) comprising 603 females (55.7%) and 478 males (44.3%), completed the 14-item MHC-Short Form, alongside validated measures of anxiety and depression. Five confirmatory factor analytic and bifactor models were developed based on extant research and theory. Results: Overall, a bifactor structure with a “general” positive mental health factor, and three specific factors (“hedonic well-being,” “social well-being,” and “psychological well-being”) fitted the data well and was deemed the superior model. Conclusion: A bifactor model of the MHC-Short Form is recommended comprising a composite score alongside specific factors of hedonic, social, and psychological well-being.

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