Complete Mental Health Screening: Psychological Strengths and Life Satisfaction in Korean Students

Abstract

Despite increasing interest in the role of positive psychology in youth development, its application into school-based mental health care has been limited. The South Korean government has implemented a national mental health screening for primary and secondary schools, but this initiative focuses on the identification and treatment of distress symptoms with little attention given to psychological strengths. The current study explored the use of complete mental health screening—integrating positive and negative indicators of mental health—in six primary schools in Seoul, South Korea. Using automatic three-step latent profile analyses, underlying profiles of complete mental health among Korean primary school students were identified. The relations between the identified profiles and life satisfaction were also examined. Results identified four subtypes of complete mental health. Students with higher psychological strengths were more likely to experience higher life satisfaction. Implications for researchers and practitioners are discussed.