{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,7,21]],"date-time":"2026-07-21T18:04:28Z","timestamp":1784657068282,"version":"3.55.0"},"reference-count":50,"publisher":"Public Library of Science (PLoS)","issue":"7","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,7,21]],"date-time":"2026-07-21T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1784592000000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"http:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":["www.plosone.org"],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["PLoS One"],"abstract":"<jats:sec id=\"sec001\">\n                    <jats:title>Background<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>The Mental Health Continuum\u2013Short Form (MHC\u2013SF) is a widely used instrument designed to assess three dimensions of positive mental health: emotional, social, and psychological well-being. However, there is limited evidence regarding its validity within Arab populations.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec id=\"sec002\">\n                    <jats:title>Method<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>This study aimed to validate the Arabic version of the MHC\u2013SF (AMHC\u2013SF) among a community-based sample in Oman. A total of 1,101 participants aged 18\u201365 years (M\u2009=\u200931.49, SD\u2009=\u20099.69) completed the questionnaire through an online survey. Confirmatory factor analyses (CFA) were performed to examine factorial validity, while internal consistency reliability was assessed using Cronbach\u2019s alpha and McDonald\u2019s omega coefficients. Discriminant validity was examined through correlations with anxiety scales.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec id=\"sec003\">\n                    <jats:title>Results<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>Confirmatory factor analysis supported the superiority of the bifactor model over the original three-factor structure, demonstrating excellent model fit (CFI\u2009=\u20090.99, TLI\u2009=\u20090.98, RMSEA\u2009=\u20090.032) and substantial general factor loadings (0.64\u20130.76). Reliability estimates for the total scale and subscales were excellent, with Cronbach\u2019s alpha and McDonald\u2019s omega coefficients ranging from 0.86 to 0.95. The AMHC-SF also showed apparent discriminant validity, as higher well-being scores were associated with lower anxiety levels.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec id=\"sec004\">\n                    <jats:title>Conclusion<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>The findings support the factorial validity, reliability, and discriminant validity of the AMHC\u2013SF, confirming its cross-cultural applicability within the Arab context. The scale represents a brief, psychometrically sound instrument for assessing positive mental health among adults in Oman and other Arabic-speaking populations.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>","DOI":"10.1371\/journal.pone.0352184","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,7,21]],"date-time":"2026-07-21T17:27:22Z","timestamp":1784654842000},"page":"e0352184","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1371\/journal.pone.corrections_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["Validation of the Arab Mental Health Continuum Short Form (AMHC-SF) in Oman: Psychometric properties and factorial structure"],"prefix":"10.1371","volume":"21","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-2882-0225","authenticated-orcid":true,"given":"Sharif","family":"Alsoudi","sequence":"first","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-3787-4329","authenticated-orcid":true,"given":"Amina","family":"Benkouider","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Huda","family":"Al-Manjiya","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"340","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,7,21]]},"reference":[{"issue":"2","key":"pone.0352184.ref001","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"207","DOI":"10.2307\/3090197","article-title":"The mental health continuum: from languishing to flourishing in life","volume":"43","author":"CLM Keyes","year":"2002","journal-title":"J Health Soc Behav"},{"issue":"10159","key":"pone.0352184.ref002","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1789","DOI":"10.1016\/S0140-6736(18)32279-7","article-title":"Global, regional, and national incidence, prevalence, and years lived with disability for 354 diseases and injuries for 195 countries and territories, 1990\u20132017: A systematic analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2017","volume":"392","author":"GBD 2017 Disease and Injury Incidence and Prevalence Collaborators","year":"2018","journal-title":"The Lancet"},{"key":"pone.0352184.ref003","article-title":"The neglect of mental health research in the global health agenda","volume":"6","author":"A Fuehrer","year":"2019","journal-title":"Global Mental Health Journal"},{"issue":"4","key":"pone.0352184.ref004","first-page":"419","article-title":"The growing crisis of youth mental health: Causes and consequences","volume":"13","author":"CM Story","year":"2010","journal-title":"Journal of Youth Studies"},{"issue":"6","key":"pone.0352184.ref005","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"593","DOI":"10.1001\/archpsyc.62.6.593","article-title":"Lifetime prevalence and age-of-onset distributions of DSM-IV disorders in the National Comorbidity Survey Replication","volume":"62","author":"RC Kessler","year":"2005","journal-title":"Arch Gen Psychiatry"},{"issue":"4","key":"pone.0352184.ref006","first-page":"202","article-title":"Children at risk: Attachment and the long-term effects on mental health","volume":"16","author":"DI Keeling","year":"2011","journal-title":"Child and Adolescent Mental Health"},{"issue":"2","key":"pone.0352184.ref007","first-page":"178","article-title":"Academic stress in adolescents: Sources and consequences","volume":"18","author":"S Kitzerew","year":"2003","journal-title":"Journal of Adolescent Research"},{"key":"pone.0352184.ref008","volume-title":"Emerging adulthood: The winding road from the late teens through the twenties","author":"JJ Arnett","edition":"2"},{"issue":"1","key":"pone.0352184.ref009","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"31","DOI":"10.1177\/002214650905000103","article-title":"Social disconnectedness, perceived isolation, and health among older adults","volume":"50","author":"EY Cornwell","year":"2009","journal-title":"J Health Soc Behav"},{"issue":"1","key":"pone.0352184.ref010","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"10","DOI":"10.1159\/000353263","article-title":"Psychological well-being revisited: advances in the science and practice of eudaimonia","volume":"83","author":"CD Ryff","year":"2014","journal-title":"Psychother Psychosom"},{"issue":"2","key":"pone.0352184.ref011","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"203","DOI":"10.1037\/0893-3200.22.2.203","article-title":"Long-term effects of the death of a child on parents\u2019 adjustment in midlife","volume":"22","author":"CH Rogers","year":"2008","journal-title":"J Fam Psychol"},{"issue":"3","key":"pone.0352184.ref012","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"161","DOI":"10.1016\/j.chiabu.2009.08.012","article-title":"Identifying experiences of physical and psychological violence in childhood that jeopardize mental health in adulthood","volume":"34","author":"EA Greenfield","year":"2010","journal-title":"Child Abuse Negl"},{"issue":"4","key":"pone.0352184.ref013","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"951","DOI":"10.2307\/353637","article-title":"Does It Hurt to Care? 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