Year: 2025
Type: preprint
Abstract: Research on mental health has traditionally separated the study of illbeing—including clinically defined mental and behavioural disorders and subthreshold problems—from the study of wellbeing—which encompasses factors such as life satisfaction and positive affect. While previous reviews of studies primarily employing self-report scales indicate that illbeing and wellbeing are distinct yet interconnected constructs, a deeper examination of their relationship is lacking. In this Perspective, we synthesize genetic, biological, developmental, psychosocial, societal, cultural, and clinical research on illbeing and wellbeing. Our review reveals substantial genetic overlap and similar biological underpinnings for illbeing and wellbeing. In contrast, environmental factors and societal changes often exert divergent influences. We propose a differentiated multidisciplinary framework in which the shared and unique determinants, predictors, mechanisms, and consequences of mental illbeing and wellbeing vary across levels of analysis, offering a more nuanced understanding of the interconnections.
Authors: Christian K. Tamnes, Mona Bekkhus, Maja Eilertsen, Ragnhild B. Nes, Monica Beer Prydz, Eivind Ystrom, Eira R. Aksnes, Synøve N. Andersen, Helga Ask, Ziada Ayorech, Tina Baier, Dani Beck, Eirik Jerven Berger, Ludvig D. Bjørndal, Olga D. Boer, Marieke Bos, Avshalom Caspi, Rosa Cheesman, Razieh Chegeni, Laura Cortés-García, Perline A. Demange, Joakim Coleman Ebeltoft, Maud Edvoll, Nikolai Haahjem Eftedal, Espen Moen Eilertsen, Yuan Fang, Lia Ferschmann, Sam Fluit, Siri Hausland Folstad, Eivor Fredriksen, Liridona Gashi, Kristin Gustavson, Thomas Hansen, Live Skow Hofgaard, Valerie Karl, Michal Kozák, Kristian G. Krogshus, Jinrui Liu, Torkild Hovde Lyngstad, Niamh MacSweeney, Hermine Maes, Lilian Mayerhofer, Tom McAdams, Terrie E. Moffitt, Nasimeh Naseri, Thomas S. Nilsen, Linn B. Norbom, Egil Nygaard, Aurora Oftedal, Willy Pedersen, Qi Qin, Rubén Rodríguez-Cano, Vegard Skirbekk, Dinka Smajlagic, Ole Martin Solberg, Anneli D. Tandberg, Irene J.E. Teulings, Fartein Ask Torvik, Stella Tsotsi, Vidar S. Ulset, Emily Gabriela Vira, Espen Røysamb, Tilmann von Soest
Institutions: University of Oslo, Diakonhjemmet Hospital, Norwegian Institute of Public Health, WZB Berlin Social Science Center, Leiden University, Duke University, Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Norwegian Centre for Violence and Traumatic Stress Studies, OsloMet – Oslo Metropolitan University, Virginia Commonwealth University, King's College London, Karolinska Institutet, University of Colorado Boulder
Language: English
Subfield: Social Psychology
Field: Psychology
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: gold
Awards: G1274085498, G1416717560, G1457321001, Post-pandemic mental health: Risk and resilience in young people (covidmentYOUNG), G1720116196, G1892999159, G1994207335, G2014461362, G258599494, G2669053186, G2949564185, G3051413233, Post-Pandemic Vulnerability and Resilience: A bioecological approach towards youth wellbeing in Nordic schools and communities (SISU), G3877560130, G4019268957, G4696372340, G517237802, G5631227239, The Intergenerational Transmission of Mental Health Problems: Identifying Causal Pathways and How to Interrupt Them, G7193064738, G7384872225, "Effector discovery and validation of Puccinia striiformis sp. f. tritici, a wheat pathogen", G7590024527, G7617509975, G765095283, G7689767205, G7745085399, G8116064542, G820456750, G9000319514
OpenAlex ID: W4413819329