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Positive occupations were defined as occupational experiences characterized by personally meaningful engagement, a sense of involvement, opportunities for achievement, and supportive social interaction. Structural equation modeling showed acceptable fit (comparative fit index [CFI] = 0.927, Tucker\u2013Lewis index [TLI] = 0.922, root mean square error of approximation [RMSEA] = 0.062, standardized root mean square residual [SRMR] = 0.066). Greater engagement in positive occupations was associated with lower psychological distress (\u03b2 = \u2212.560), higher life functioning (\u03b2 = .633), and higher subjective well-being (\u03b2 = .297). Psychological distress (\u03b2 = \u2212.369) and life functioning (\u03b2 = .211) were also associated with subjective well-being, which was associated with fewer perceived interpersonal difficulties (\u03b2 = \u2212.430). Findings are consistent with considering positive occupational engagement in recovery-oriented occupational therapy for community mental health.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.1177\/15394492261476578","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,13]],"date-time":"2026-08-13T12:01:01Z","timestamp":1786622461000},"update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1177\/sage-journals-update-policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["Structural Relationships Among Positive Occupations, Psychological Distress, Life Functioning, and Well-Being in Community Mental Health"],"prefix":"10.1177","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-5889-1983","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Takuya","family":"Noguchi","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Zikei Hospital, Okayama, Japan"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-6728-2629","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Makoto","family":"Kyougoku","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Kibi International University, Okayama, Japan"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"179","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,13]]},"reference":[{"key":"e_1_3_3_2_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"American Occupational Therapy Association. 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