Happiness is frequently posited as an important outcome of quality of life and characteristic of well-adjusted and functioning individuals. Happy individuals are less likely to report adverse mental health. Understanding the importance that individuals place on happiness is less clearly articulated and inconsistent. Valuing or placing higher importance of happiness appear to confer both benefits and risk for mental health outcomes. The primary aim of this study was to examine the relationship between the importance of happiness and mental health outcomes and whether the relationship between happiness and mental health is moderated by the importance individuals place on happiness. We utilised data from two studies, a university student sample (n = 413) and a community sample (n = 248) to examine the study aims. Mental health was operationalised in terms of psychological distress and symptoms of depression and anxiety. Happiness and the level of importance individuals ascribed to happiness were associated with adverse mental health outcomes. In multi-variate analyses, level of happiness was more strongly related to mental health. Interactions between happiness and the importance of happiness revealed that the effect of happiness was moderated by the importance that individuals placed on happiness. Overall happiness and to a lesser extent, the importance of happiness, are significantly associated with mental health outcomes. Happiness was most strongly related to mental health amongst those who rated the importance of happiness more highly.

幸福经常被认为是生活质量和个人适应良好，功能良好的重要结果。快乐的人不太可能报告不利的心理健康。理解个体对幸福的重要性的表达不够清晰，也不一致。重视或高度重视幸福似乎会给心理健康结果带来益处和风险。这项研究的主要目的是研究幸福与心理健康结局之间的关系，以及幸福与心理健康之间的关系是否受到个人对幸福的重视程度的调节。我们利用了两项研究的数据，即大学生样本（n  = 413）和社区样本（n = 248）以检查研究目标。在心理困扰以及抑郁和焦虑症状方面进行了心理健康治疗。幸福和个人对幸福的重视程度与不良的心理健康状况有关。在多变量分析中，幸福感与心理健康的关系更为密切。幸福与幸福重要性之间的相互作用表明，个人对幸福的重视程度减轻了幸福的影响。整体幸福感以及在较小程度上幸福感的重要性与心理健康结果显着相关。在那些对幸福的重要性给予更高评价的人中，幸福与心理健康关系最密切。