Open Access

ARTICLE

Measuring Mental Health Promoting Behaviours: Development and Psychometric Properties of a Danish Act Belong Commit-Mental Health Promoting Behaviours (ABC-MHPB) Scale

Line Nielsen^1,*, Ziggi Ivan Santini², Malene Kubstrup Nelausen¹, Carsten Hinrichsen³, Frederik Schou-Juul³, Vibeke Jenny Koushede⁴, Robert J Donovan^5,6, Charlotte Bjerre Meilstrup¹
1 Department of Psychology, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark
2 FORMS—Research in Recovery and Mental Health Promotion, Mental Health Center Amager, Amager and Hvidovre Hospital, Copenhagen, Denmark
3 National Institute of Public Health, University of Southern Denmark, Copenhagen, Denmark
4 Faculty of Social Sciences, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark
5 School of Human Sciences, University of Western Australia, Perth, Australia
6 School of Medical and Health Sciences, Edith Cowan University, Perth, Australia
* Corresponding Author: Line Nielsen. Email:

International Journal of Mental Health Promotion https://doi.org/10.32604/ijmhp.2026.079059

Received 13 January 2026; Accepted 13 March 2026; Published online 24 April 2026

Abstract

Background: The Act Belong Commit-ABCs of Mental Health campaign is the world’s first comprehensive, population-wide, community-based initiative to promote mental health. In response to a growing demand for valid tools to monitor mental health promoting behaviours, this study presents the development and psychometric evaluation of the ABC-Mental Health Promoting Behaviours (ABC-MHPB) scale in a Danish population-based sample. Methods: A 10-item scale was developed, based on the ABC framework, to assess mental health promoting behaviours. A total of 119,221 randomly selected participants aged 18+ filled out an electronic survey, including the scale to measure the underlying construct of mental health promoting behaviours. Analyses pertaining to construct, content, reliability, discriminant, and convergent validity assessments were carried out, and an operationalization was proposed. Results: The initial 10-item version showed inadequate model fit, resulting in the removal of one item. Construct validity testing supported a 9-item three-factor model with satisfactory fit. Full invariance was observed across education (primary/unknown vs. higher), and partial invariance across sex (women vs. men) and age (<25 vs. 25+), with content, discriminant, and convergent validity also supported. Based on a practical operationalization of the scale, regression results showed a cross-sectional pattern characteristic of a dose-response association with the outcomes of mental well-being and loneliness. Conclusion: The findings suggest that the 9-item ABC-MHPB scale is an appropriate tool for assessing and monitoring mental health promoting behaviours in the general population and might be relevant as a tool to evaluate interventions aiming to promote mental health. Further validation over time and in diverse populations, along with intervention and longitudinal studies, is needed to confirm its associations with mental health outcomes.

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Keywords

Mental health; mental wellbeing; mental health promoting behaviours; public mental health; scale development; psychometrics

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