Mental health is complex, comprising both mental distress and well-being. This study used latent class analysis to identify common combinations of mental distress and well-being (‘mental health classes’) among schoolchildren aged 8–9 years (N = 3340). Thirteen items, measuring a range of conduct problems, emotional symptoms, and subjective well-being, were included in the analysis. Four mental health classes were identified: (1) complete mental health (n = 1895, 57%), (2) vulnerable (n = 434, 13%), (3) emotional symptoms but content (n = 606, 18%), and (4) conduct problems but content (n = 404, 12%). The classes were reliably identified across different datasets, and for males and females. Differential relations with covariates indicated that mental health classes were distinct and externally valid. The results supported the dual-factor model of mental health, suggesting that mental distress and subjective well-being are separate continua. Three of the four possible combinations of high and low distress and subjective well-being posited by the dual-factor model were found using this inductive statistical method. Importantly, our analysis also revealed two ‘symptomatic but content’ groups, differentiated by symptom domain (internalising/externalising). The covariate analyses between mental health classes and sociodemographic factors, prior academic attainment, school connectedness, and peer support, indicated that there are nuanced relations between those variables and particular constellations of mental distress and well-being. As one of the few dual-factor studies to focus on middle childhood, the current study adds important new evidence that contributes to our understanding of the complexities of mental health among schoolchildren.

心理健康是复杂的，既包括精神困扰，也包括幸福感。这项研究使用潜伏类分析来确定8-9岁（N  = 3340）学龄儿童的心理困扰和幸福感的常见组合（“心理健康课” ）。分析中包括13个项目，这些项目测量一系列行为问题，情绪症状和主观幸福感。确定了四个心理健康类别：（1）完全心理健康（n  = 1895，57％），（2）脆弱（n  = 434，13％），（3）情绪症状但内容（n  = 606，18％） ，和（4）出现问题，但内容（n = 404，12％）。可以在不同的数据集中可靠地识别出类别，并且针对男性和女性。与协变量的微分关系表明，心理健康类别是不同的，并且在外部是有效的。结果支持了心理健康的双因素模型，表明心理困扰和主观幸福感是分开的。使用这种归纳统计方法，发现了由双因素模型提出的高，低困扰和主观幸福感的四种可能组合中的三种。重要的是，我们的分析还揭示了两个“症状但内容”组，它们根据症状域（内在化/外在化）进行区分。心理健康课程和社会人口统计学因素，先前的学历，学校联系和同伴支持之间的协变量分析，指出这些变量与特定的心理困扰和福祉之间存在细微的关系。作为为数不多的针对中年儿童的双因素研究之一，当前的研究增加了重要的新证据，有助于我们理解小学生心理健康的复杂性。