چکیده (انگلیسی):

Background: Increasingly, researchers attend to both
positive and negative aspects of mental health. Such distinctions
call for clarifi cation of whether psychological
well-being and ill-being comprise opposite ends of a bipolar
continuum, or are best construed as separate, independent
dimensions of mental health. Biology can
help resolve this query – bipolarity predicts ‘mirrored’
biological correlates (i.e. well-being and ill-being correlate
similarly with biomarkers, but show opposite directional
signs), whereas independence predicts ‘distinct’
biological correlates (i.e. well-being and ill-being have
different biological signatures). Methods: Multiple aspects
of psychological well-being (eudaimonic, hedonic)
and ill-being (depression, anxiety, anger) were assessed
in a sample of aging women (n = 135, mean age = 74) on
whom diverse neuroendocrine (salivary cortisol, epinephrine,
norepinephrine, DHEA-S) and cardiovascular
factors (weight, waist-hip ratio, systolic and diastolic
blood pressure, HDL cholesterol, total/HDL cholesterol,
glycosylated hemoglobin) were also measured. Results:Measures of psychological well-being and ill-being were
signifi cantly linked with numerous biomarkers, with
some associations being more strongly evident for respondents
aged 75+. Outcomes for seven biomarkers
supported the distinct hypothesis, while fi ndings for only
two biomarkers supported the mirrored hypothesis.
Conclusion : This research adds to the growing literature
on how psychological well-being and mental maladjustment
are instantiated in biology. Population-based inquiries
and challenge studies constitute important future
directions.