Mental health is today a highly prominent topic and represents one of the key dimensions of individual resilience, as it is a fundamental indicator of a person's ability to manage stress, adapt to uncertainty and maintain stable long-term functioning. Within the Index of Individual Resilience (IIR), the mental health dimension is included precisely because psychological state influences almost all other components of resilience, from physical health and social relationships to the ability to make decisions in crisis situations.
Data from Solvo Institute, drawn from research carried out by agency SC&C and from the Odolnost.cz online questionnaire, are the primary source enabling a look beneath the surface and a description of the actual state of the population.
Subjective wellbeing is inherently difficult to measure: feelings cannot be weighed or precisely measured like kilograms of body fat. WHO-5 offers one of the simplest yet most precisely validated ways to achieve such measurement. A systematic review of WHO-5 covering more than two hundred studies demonstrated its high sensitivity, specificity and applicability across populations and clinical contexts, confirming its reliability for population research and mental health screening (Topp et al., 2014).
Results from the Solvo survey show marked polarisation: almost a quarter of respondents score 20 or more points, meaning they felt predominantly well, energetic and psychologically stable in the past two weeks. Conversely, a third of the population falls below the 13-point threshold. These people show clearly reduced emotional wellbeing and it would be beneficial for them to pay attention to their psychological state.
Survey results obtained in the Czech Republic (N = 1,235; CAWI 620, CAPI 615; data collection 23–29 May 2025 by SC&C agency): 22% of the population scores 20–25 points, 30% score less than 13 points. Average: 15 points.
Methodology
Within the IIR, the mental wellbeing dimension accounts for 11%, but its actual impact significantly exceeds its numerical weight. For measurement we use a set of five questions based on the internationally recognised WHO-5 Well-Being Index. The value below 13 points signals low emotional wellbeing and represents the recommended cut-off for screening depressive symptoms.
What increases the likelihood of good mental health?
The data analysis shows several significant factors strongly associated with the mental health dimension:
1. Financial situation — Mental wellbeing grows with income level. A marked threshold appears at approximately 40,000 CZK gross monthly.
2. Age — Younger people show higher wellbeing levels. Despite public debate about the psychological difficulties of younger generations, their average emotional wellbeing remains higher than in older age groups.
3. Municipality size — Respondents from smaller municipalities report better psychological wellbeing than inhabitants of large cities.
4. BMI — Lower BMI (higher level of physical fitness) correlates with higher mental health.
These factors are not the whole explanation. The other, often more important half takes place in our minds: optimism, subjective life satisfaction, a sense of meaning and orientation, inner disposition in managing uncertainty.
A. Antonovsky: why some people "swim" and others "sink"
Aaron Antonovsky in his seminal book Unraveling the Mystery of Health (1987) described the concept of salutogenesis and "sense of coherence" (SOC) — meaningfulness, manageability and comprehensibility. Antonovsky shifted attention from "why do people get ill" to "what enables people to remain healthy, resilient and functional despite stress and adversity."
Empirical data from Solvo confirms that mental wellbeing is not an isolated variable, but an integral part of the broader ecosystem of individual resilience.
Bessel van der Kolk: The Body Keeps the Score
Bessel van der Kolk in The Body Keeps the Score (2014) demonstrates that trauma and chronic stress are "stored" in bodily processes and that psychological state is inseparable from bodily regulation (sleep, energy, tension). WHO-5 items directly reflect these mechanisms.
Correlation
Correlation analysis confirms that the mental health dimension (WHO index) behaves very consistently across generations. In all age cohorts, the mental health dimension shows a moderately strong positive association with the overall IIR — the correlation coefficient is around 0.5.
Discussion: Individual resilience, but everyone's problem
The results show that Czech mental health is at a critical point: a significant share of people show signs of reduced emotional wellbeing corresponding to the recommended cut-off for screening depressive symptoms. This polarisation appears across age, educational and socioeconomic groups.
The overall picture is twofold. First, the Czech Republic has a significant group (approx. 22%) with high psychological wellbeing representing a major reservoir of individual resilience. Second, almost a third of the population lives with low wellbeing that can, without adequate support, develop into deeper psychological difficulties.
Conclusion
Almost a third of Czechs fall below the WHO-5 threshold (<13), corresponding to the recommended cut-off for screening depressive symptoms. This level of risk appears across all age, income and educational groups, suggesting that low mental wellbeing is not a marginal phenomenon but a structural feature of current social reality.
The central question is therefore not whether the state of mental health is a problem — the data shows it is. The question is how to turn this polarisation into a trajectory of resilience growth.
References:
Antonovsky, Aaron. 1987. Unraveling the Mystery of Health. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
Southwick, Steven M et al. "Resilience definitions, theory, and challenges." European journal of psychotraumatology, 1 Oct. 2014.
Topp, Christian W. et al. 2015. "The WHO-5 Well-Being Index: A Systematic Review." Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics 84 (3): 167–176.
van der Kolk, Bessel A. 2014. The Body Keeps the Score. New York: Viking.