Stability and Change in Subjective, Psychological, and Social Well-Being: A Latent State-Trait Analysis of Mental Health Continuum-Short Form in Korea and the Netherlands.

Mental well-being consists of hedonic/subjective, psychological, and social dimensions. Research has yet to determine how much of the variance in these three dimensions is stable or variable over time. This study used data from South Korea ( N  = 338) and the Netherlands ( N  = 2,094) to answer this question. Data were collected over a period of approximately 14 months in Korea (four time points) and 10 months in the Netherlands (four time points). The study used the Mental Health Continuum-Short Form (MHC-SF) to measure dimensions of well-being and the Multi-Trait Multi-State model for data analysis. Results showed a moderate degree of stability for the three dimensions, with the proportion of stable variance ranging from 51% to 61% ( M  = 58%). Item-level analysis provided more detailed insights into item stability, which helped clarify some of the concept-level results. Despite the large differences between Korea and the Netherlands in cultural values and well-being, estimates of stability and change were quite similar across the two countries. However, some modest cross-cultural differences were also found. The study provides insights that can help researchers and practitioners in the selection or construction of well-being items for various research and practical settings.