Outcomes associated with positive mental health
Physical health
Mortality
Physical health
Mortality
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| Outcomes associated with positive mental health |
The influence of positive affect on mortality has been widely asserted, with one major study showing an increase in longevity of 7.5 years, (Danner et al 2001; Levy et al 2002), but it is most consistent for older people living in the community. This is not the case for residents of institutions; in these circumstances, low positive affect ‘may reflect a fighting spirit in a situation of lost control’ and so be more protective (Pressman and Cohen 2005). This is an important finding: happiness may be more adaptive in some circumstances than in others (Lyubomirsky et al 2005).
