Deviation from Ideal Mental Health

(AO1)

• Jahoda suggested six criteria necessary for ideal mental health. An absence of any of these characteristics indicates individuals as being abnormal, in other words displaying deviation from ideal mental health.

• Resistance to stress: Having effective coping strategies and being able to cope with everyday anxiety-provoking situations.

• Growth, development, or self-actualization: Experiencing personal growth and becoming everything one is capable of becoming.

• High self-esteem and a strong sense of identity: Having self-respect and a positive self-concept.

• Autonomy: Being independent, self-reliant, and able to make personal decisions.

• Accurate perception of reality: Having an objective and realistic view of the world.

limitation ( AO3)

• The difficulty of meeting all criteria, very few people would be able to do so, and this suggests that very few people are psychologically healthy.

• Cultural relativism: these ideas are culture-bound, based on a Western idea of ideal mental health, and should not be used to judge other cultures.

  
  

jahoda 6 criteria

A - accurate perspective of reality

S - self actualisation

P - positive attitude upon self

E - environmental mastery

A - autonomy

R - resisting stress