Languishing, Moderate, or Flourishing? A Snapshot of Mental Health Among Older Adults Based on the Mental Health Continuum-Short Form

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Published: Aug 29, 2026
DOI: https://doi.org/10.28932/humanitas.v10i2.16332
Keywords:
elderly, flourishing, mental health, mental health continuum, MHC-SF flourishing, kesehatan mental, lansia, mental health continuum, MHC-SF

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Zamralita Zamralita
Fakultas Psikologi, Universitas Tarumanagara, Jakarta, Indonesia

Abstract

Indonesia's older population continues to grow, yet a longer lifespan does not guarantee good mental health. This study aimed to map the mental health profile of older adults aged 60 years and above using the Mental Health Continuum-Short Form (MHC-SF), which classifies mental health as flourishing, moderate, or languishing. A quantitative descriptive design was applied. Through purposive sampling, 215 older adults aged 60–87 years (M=67.42; SD = 6.18) were assessed with the Indonesian version of the MHC-SF (α = .89; ω=0.87). Most participants (54.4%; n = 117) were categorized as moderate, followed by flourishing (38.1%; n = 82) and languishing (7.4%; n = 16). Of the three dimensions, emotional well-being scored the highest (M = 3.75), followed by psychological well-being (M = 3.67) and social well-being (M = 3.23). Independent-samples t-test and one-way ANOVA showed no significant differences in mental health by sex, age group, or education. These findings indicate that most older adults remain in a middle zone that can be cultivated toward flourishing, pointing to the need for interventions targeting social well-being.

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How to Cite
Zamralita, Z. (2026). Languishing, Moderate, or Flourishing? A Snapshot of Mental Health Among Older Adults Based on the Mental Health Continuum-Short Form. Humanitas (Jurnal Psikologi), 10(2), 183–198. https://doi.org/10.28932/humanitas.v10i2.16332
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Vol. 10 No. 2 (2026)
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Articles
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This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.

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