The study of health and well-being of communities has its roots in two relatively recent research traditions: psychiatric epidemiology and social indicator research. Psychiatric epidemiology applies public health methods to the study of mental disorder, while social indicator research attempts to determine the quality of life in our neighborhoods, our cities, and in the county as a whole. The two approaches complement one another to provide measures and developing methodologies that show great promise in understanding mental health problems and in charting the prospects for psychological well-being within communities