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Neurotic symptoms and subjective well-being in a community sample: different sides of the same coin?

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  09 July 2009

A. F. Jorm  and
P. Duncan-Jones
A. F. Jorm*
Affiliation:
NH & MRC Social Psychiatry Research Unit, The Australian National University, Canberra, Australia
P. Duncan-Jones
Affiliation:
NH & MRC Social Psychiatry Research Unit, The Australian National University, Canberra, Australia
*
1Address for correspondence: Dr A. F. Jorm, NH & MRC Social Psychiatry Research Unit, Australian National University, GPO Box 4, Canberra City, ACT 2601, Australia.
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Synopsis

Community survey data on neurotic symptoms and subjective well-being scales were examined with principal components analysis. The two types of scales were found to load on separate, but negatively correlated, factors. Furthermore, some differential correlates of the two types of scale were found, but the differences were not great. It was concluded that neurotic symptom and well-being scales do largely measure different ends of a single continuum, but well-being scales seem to have an extraversion component not shared by neurotic symptom scales. Subjective well-being measures may be useful in epidemiological surveys where it is desirable to discriminate among low symptom scorers.

Type
Original Articles
Information
Psychological Medicine , Volume 20 , Issue 3 , August 1990 , pp. 647 - 654
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1990

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