The estimation of the psychometric properties of the MHC-SF for the broad South African organizational context

Orientation: Within the last decade mental health, as a construct, has grown in popularity. This increase in popularity was not only observable within the health sector, but also within the working environment. Governments and institutions have paid increased attention towards the concept of work-related health and wellbeing. More precisely, work-related health has been found to influence the productivity and absenteeism rates of employees. In this way, wellbeing has also been found to have an impact on the organizations. The importance of the wellbeing construct makes the accurate estimation of it a necessity. However, the psychometric properties of the MHC-SF, as promising measurement instrument for mental health and wellbeing, have not been investigated in a multi-cultural South African organizational context until now. Research purpose: The purpose of this study is to investigate the psychometric properties of the Mental Health Continuum Short Form (MHC-SF) in a multi-cultural South African organizational context. Motivation for the study: Several studies have examined the utility of the MHC-SF in different contexts, including e.g. the Dutch and the US population. Nevertheless, the MHC-SF has not been used within a sample containing several cultural influences at the same time. Additionally, the MHC-SF has not been validated for the organizational context. The popularity of the mental health construct within the working environment makes the accurate investigation of this construct a necessity. Research design, approach and method: A cross sectional research design was used. The MHC-SF, the WES and the SWLS were filled in by a South African sample (N = 624) aged between 12 and 60 years and older. The factorial validity, measurement invariance, reliability and convergent validity of the MHC-SF were examined. Main findings: A three-factor structure consisting of emotional, social and psychological wellbeing was confirmed for the MHC-SF. Measurement invariance, in the form of configural, metric, scalar and full uniqueness invariance show that male and female participants interpreted the questions of the MHC-SF in a similar way. Cronbach´s alpha and composite reliability rho coefficients indicated that the MHC-SF is a reliable measurement instrument for the multi-cultural South African organizational context. Furthermore, the MHC-SF has been correlated to the WES and to the SWLS, demonstrating convergent validity. Work engagement and life satisfaction both predicted mental health and wellbeing. Practical/ managerial implications: A valid and reliable instrument for the measurement of mental health in the form of emotional, psychological and social wellbeing will be available for the comprehensive South African organizational context. This will, on the one hand, contribute to the measurement of wellbeing within this context and thus also to the understanding of wellbeing within this context. On the other hand, governments can be informed, allowing them to develop interventions and strategies to enhance mental health and wellbeing within the organizational context. Contribution/value-add: This research investigates the psychometric properties of the MHC-SF in a comprehensive South African organizational context, which can be used as basis for future research. Furthermore, the value of the current study lies in the research sample, which includes diverse cultural backgrounds and languages.