Change in Level of Positive Mental Health as a Predictor of Future Risk of Mental Illness

We sought to describe the prevalence of mental health and illness, the stability of both diagnoses over time, and whether changes in mental health level predicted mental illness in a cohort group.

In 2009, we analyzed data from the 1995 and 2005 Midlife in the United States cross-sectional surveys (n = 1723), which measured positive mental health and 12-month mental disorders of major depressive episode, panic, and generalized anxiety disorders.