Although surveys of mental health involve some controversy, a significant relationship between values and mental health appears to exist. To study the adaption of individuals with alternative values to their psychological worlds, over 2,000 adults identified their most important values. Alcohol abuse, drug abuse, dizziness, anxiety, and general ill health were investigated in detail. Values that imbued a sense of personal efficacy over impersonal outcomes contributed to healthy psychological adaptation, whereas values that fostered insecurity inhibited psychological adaptation. Alcohol abuse followed a somewhat different pattern than other measures of adaptation. (Author/JAC)