The Relationship between Eudaimonia and Mental Health

Objectives: This study explores the role of eudaimonia in general mental health and its components, positive and negative mental health. Subjects and Methods: A total of 318 undergraduate students, of which 201 (63.2%) were females, participated in this study. Questionnaires were used to measure eudaimonia and various facets of mental health. Descriptive statistics, correlation, and hierarchical regression analyses were used to analyze the data. Results: Regression analyses demonstrated that after controlling for the effects of sociodemographic variables, higher eudaimonia contributes to greater general mental health (R²=.09, p<.001) and more pronounced positive mental health functioning (β=.09, p<.0001) while it decreases the presence of negative mental health (R²=-.08, p<.05). Conclusions: The results support the notion that being intentional in life and giving purpose to everyday pursuits is associated with mental health.Component-level analyses indicate that eudaimonia shapes general mental health by being linked to increased positive mental health and decreased mental health problems.