Socio-demographic Correlates of Positive Mental Health and Differences by Depression and Anxiety in an Asian Community Sample

Abstract Introduction: Positive Mental Health (PMH) instrument is a self-administered multidimensional measure that is validated in the adult multi-ethnic Asian population in Singapore and comprises General Coping (GC), Emotional Support (ES), Spirituality, Interpersonal Skills (IS), Personal Growth and Autonomy (PGA) and Global Affect (GA) domains. This paper aimed to (i) examine socio-demographic differences and identify correlates for the total PMH and domain-specifi c scores in the sample, and (ii) compare the PMH total score for respondents with and without depression or anxiety. Materials and Methods: Singapore residents aged 21 to 65 years, of Chinese, Malay or Indian ethnicity and residing in households across Singapore (n = 404) completed the 47-item PMH instrument in an anonymous survey. Socio-demographic information was obtained during the survey and respondents also completed the Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ)-8 and Generalised Anxiety Disorder (GAD)-7 scale to establish depression and anxiety. Descriptive analyses were conducted to examine for differences in PMH scores by socio-demographic groups and between those with and without depression and anxiety. Results: The total PMH score was signifi cantly different across ethnicity and marital status in the bivariate analysis. After multivariate analysis, ethnicity remained a signifi cant correlate for total PMH and the 6 domain-specifi c PMH scores, marital status correlated with Spirituality, educational level was associated with IS; while gender was associated with ES and PGA. Signifi cantly lower PMH total scores were observed for those with depression and anxiety as compared to those without. Conclusion: Socio-demographic correlates of PMH were identifi ed in an Asian community sample. PMH scores were signifi cantly lower among those with depression and anxiety