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Mental Health as a Complete State: How the Salutogenic Perspective Completes the Picture

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Bridging Occupational, Organizational and Public Health

Abstract

There have been at least three conceptions of health throughout human history. The pathogenic approach views health as the absence of disability, disease, and premature death. The salutogenic approach views health as the presence of positive states of human capacities and functioning in cognition, affect, and behavior. The third approach is the complete state model, which derives from the ancient word for health as being hale, meaning whole. This approach is exemplified in the World Health Organization’s definition of health as a complete state, consisting of the presence of positive states of human capacities and functioning as well as the absence disease or infirmity. This chapter reviews evidence supporting the complete state model when applied to mental health and illness. Studies are reviewed making the case for promoting and protecting positive mental health to prevent mental illness and to improve overall psychosocial functioning of individuals and population health.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Sociology, Emory University, Room 225 Tarbutton Hall, Atlanta, 30322, GA, USA

    Corey L. M. Keyes

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  1. Corey L. M. Keyes
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Correspondence to Corey L. M. Keyes .

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Keyes, C.L.M. (2014). Mental Health as a Complete State: How the Salutogenic Perspective Completes the Picture. In: Bridging Occupational, Organizational and Public Health. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-007-5640-3_11

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-007-5640-3_11

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, Dordrecht

  • Print ISBN: 978-94-007-5639-7

  • Online ISBN: 978-94-007-5640-3

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