Examining the Structure of the PERMA Theory of Well-Being in Veterans With Mental Illnesses

Abstract

Assessing and improving veterans’ well-being, especially those veterans who are at risk for or experiencing mental illnesses, has received national attention. We examined (a) the structural validity of the Positive emotion, Engagement, Relationships, Meaning, and Accomplishment (PERMA) theory of well-being and (b) psychometric properties of the PERMA-Profiler in veterans with mental illnesses. The sample consisted of one-hundred and fifty-six veterans with mental illnesses. Confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) and hierarchical CFA were conducted to test one-factor, five-factor, and a second-order PERMA model. Our findings indicated that re-specified second-order model was found to have best model fit indices. The subconstructs of the PERMA were correlated with resilience and functional limitations in theoretically expected direction. The PERMA-Profiler scale was found to have strong internal consistency and acceptable concurrent validity in a sample of veterans with mental illnesses. Rehabilitation counseling clinicians and researchers can use the PERMA-Profiler to screen the five pillars of well-being and overall well-being in veterans with mental illnesses through the lens of an empirical PERMA theory of well-being.

Keywords

well-being and PERMA positive psychology psychiatric rehabilitation psychiatric disabilities veterans

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