Mental well-being in Iran: The importance of comprehensive well-being in understanding the linkages of personality and values

Abstract

The main purpose of this chapter is to search into the concept of mental well-being in Iran. First, the author reviews the philosophical and psychological conceptualizations of mental health in the West, focusing on the distinction between hedonic and eudaimonic aspects of well-being. Second, the author provides a conceptual analysis of the implicit theory of Islam about mental health with reference to Islamic texts. This conceptual analysis reveals that the distinction between hedonic and eudaimonic aspects of well-being is generally applicable to the Islamic cultures, although there are some cultural differences in the content and proprieties. Third, the author reviews the current empirical findings in Iran using western scales of well-being. This chapter proceeds with discussing the strengths and drawbacks of these empirical studies and highlighting a few ways in which these drawbacks can be overcome in the future. Finally, the author argues that although much needs to be done in the years to come, the Iranian experience with western well-being scales has been successful heretofore.