Although a plenty of instruments for quality of life in mental illnesses was developed, both general and specific instruments could be biased if the process of well-being appraisal is different in different illnesses.

We consider personal appraisal of quality of life as a result of the decision making process, which could have different subjective criteria in mental illnesses.

The aim was to compare the contribution of the quality of life domains to the appraisals of general life satisfaction in mental illnesses.

Three groups of males 17–28 years old (74 with non-psychotic depression, 90 developing recovery after the first psychotic episode and 185 healthy controls) filled quality of life and enjoyment questionnaire (version for mental illnesses) and Happiness Scale.

Moderation analysis reveals that in non-psychotic depression health, emotional sphere and functioning during the day are more important predictors of general well-being than in the two other groups. Patients developing recovery after psychotic episode are less oriented to the emotional and social domains and financial well-being when appraising their life satisfaction than other participants.

Results demonstrate the importance of identifying and working with subjective criteria and process of appraisal of general well-being in patients with mental illnesses. Direct comparisons of quality of life in different clinical groups are biased by different subjective criteria that are important for patients.

Research supported by the grant of president of the Russian federation for the state support for young Russian scientists, project MK2193.2017.6.