Issues relating to the usage and conceptualization of mental health constructs employed by gerontologists.

Abstract

A major intention of the article was to delineate and clarify issues related to the usage and conceptualization of mental health constructs commonly utilized by gerontologists. Conclusions were drawn to the effect that (a) meanings of mental health constructs cluster differently depending on the type of analysis employed, (b) happiness may be considered the most apposite representative of the array of mental health constructs employed by gerontologists, (c) happiness has been conceptualized either as containing current affect and dispostional components or current affect components only, (d) contemporary models of happiness favour neither the expansionist nor contractionist positions as a means of attaining happiness and (e) questions as to the relative contributions to happiness of the affective and dispositional components represents an important problem for future research. A final intention of the article was to provide a speculative reconceptualization of the happiness construct.