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Positive psychology interventions: A meta-analysis of randomized controlled studies
... A systematic review of randomised trials was planned to assess if positive psychology is more effective than other active psychological interventions for increasing the well-being of adults experiencing depression. Existing systematic reviews that relate to this topic have included studies using non-treatment or waitlist comparators (Bolier et al., 2013;Carr et al., 2020;Chakhssi et al., 2018;Hendriks et al., 2020;Sin & Lyubomirsky, 2009). In contrast, the present review only included trials that compared positive psychology interventions (PPI) to other active interventions. ...
... Sin and Lyubomirsky's (2009) lack of quality appraisal and their inclusion of quasiexperimental designs might have resulted in their effect sizes being overestimated due to lower study quality. Bolier et al. (2013) conducted a similar review but selected only randomised controlled trials (RCT). They also critically appraised their included studies to assess risk of bias. ...
... These were larger effects found for individualbased interventions and among participants with specific psychosocial problems. In addition, Bolier et al. (2013) found larger effects for longer duration interventions and for participants who were recruited through hospitals or healthcare professionals. Hendriks et al.'s (2020) systematic review, which focused on the effects of multicomponent PPI, also selected RCTs only. ...
This systematic review assesses if positive psychology interventions (PPI) are more effective than other active psychological interventions for increasing the well-being of depressed adults. A review of randomised trials that compared PPI to other active interventions was conducted. A systematic search was undertaken using PsycInfo, PubMed, EMBASE, Web of Science, Scopus, CINAHL, two trial registries, and a manual search. The outcomes were happiness and depression. Ten studies, totalling 1341 participants, were included in the review. The small effect sizes for depression (Hedge’s g = 0.15) and happiness (Hedge’s g = 0.20) favoured PPI but were not significant, indicating no difference between PPI and other active interventions for the outcomes. Heterogeneity was high mainly due to differences in trial implementation. Risks of bias ranged from moderate to high. The results should be interpreted with caution because of the small number of included studies, high heterogeneity, and presence of bias.
Protocol Registration Number PROSPERO CRD42019152513.
... while also reducing negative affect, including symptoms of depression (d = 0.22-0.65; Boiler et al., 2013;Sin & Lyubomirsky, 2009) and anxiety (g = 0.34; Brown et al., 2019). Furthermore, the effects appear to be maintained for at least 3 to 6 months (d = 0.22; Boiler et al., 2013). ...
... Boiler et al., 2013;Sin & Lyubomirsky, 2009) and anxiety (g = 0.34; Brown et al., 2019). Furthermore, the effects appear to be maintained for at least 3 to 6 months (d = 0.22; Boiler et al., 2013). Interestingly, individuals with depression show greater benefits from positive psychological interventions than those without depression (Sin & Lyubomirsky, 2009). ...
... individual d = .41; Boiler et al., 2013). A preliminary study also suggests that positive psychological interventions may even reduce loneliness during the COVID-19 pandemic (Parks & Boucher, 2020). ...
Meta-analyses indicate that positive psychological interventions are effective at increasing positive affect, as well as reducing anxiety and depression; however, it is unclear how well these effects generalize during periods of high stress. Therefore, the current study tested whether a 2-week online positive psychological intervention delivered during the COVID-19 pandemic, a naturalistic stressor, (1) increased positive affect; (2) improved psychological well-being, optimism, life satisfaction, perceived social support, and loneliness; (3) and reduced negative affect in college students, a group known to have high pandemic distress. Participants (N = 250; 76.9% female) ages 18-45 were recruited from the University of Pittsburgh undergraduate subject pool between September and November of 2020. Participants were randomized to the online positive psychological intervention or active control condition and stratified by trait positive affect, sex, and year in college. Participants in both conditions completed one writing activity every other day for two consecutive weeks. Control participants documented their activities for that day (e.g., meals, going to gym). Intervention participants chose from six positive psychology activities. All outcome variables were assessed pre- and post-intervention by validated questionnaires. Across both conditions, positive and negative affect decreased from pre- to post-intervention. No other psychological factor differed by condition, time, or their interaction. The current null findings are in line with a more recent meta-analysis indicating that positive psychological interventions may have smaller effects on psychological well-being and depressive symptoms than was reported pre-pandemic. Study findings may suggest reduced efficacy of virtual positive psychological interventions under highly stressful circumstances.
Supplementary information:
The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s42761-022-00148-z.
... In a similar vein, positive psychologist Martin Seligman [1] demands that 51% of the world population should be flourishing by 2051. His mission is supported by empirical evidence suggesting that it is possible for humans to become and remain lastingly happier [2], and a wealth of knowledge on how this can be achieved (e.g., [3][4][5]). ...
... Here, the term "activities" not only includes activities that are clearly manifested in behavior, but also mental activities, such as thought patterns or attitudes (e.g., being optimistic, savoring). Positive activities were first observed in exceptionally happy people [19] and were later on also empirically validated in so-called positive psychological intervention studies (e.g., [5,20]), in which people who are not exceptionally happy deliberately engage in certain activities known to increase wellbeing. Examples of positive activities include expressing gratitude, adopting a more optimistic perspective on life, strengthening personal relationships, savoring a positive life change and contributing to something greater than oneself [3,21,22]. ...
... Each discipline has significant contributions to make to design for sustained wellbeing but also has its own, specific focus. Positive psychology explores how individuals can become and stay lastingly happier [2][3][4][5]. Previous research suggests that this is not an easy undertaking but typically requires effort to initiate and maintain positive changes to one's daily routines and activities [2,4,45]. ...
In this paper, we introduce a framework that conceptualizes a multi-stage process through which technology can promote sustained wellbeing. Intentional wellbeing-enhancing activities form the centerpiece linking direct product interaction to, ultimately, wellbeing. The framework was developed following a bottom-up–top-down approach by integrating theoretical knowledge from positive psychology, behavioral science and human–computer interaction (HCI)/design with empirical insights. We outline (a) the framework, (b) its five main stages including their multidisciplinary theoretical foundations, (c) relations between these stages and (d) specific elements that further describe each stage. The paper illustrates how the framework was developed and elaborates three major areas of application: (design) research, design strategies and measurement approaches. With this work, we aim to provide actionable guidance for researchers and IT practitioners to understand and design technologies that foster sustained wellbeing.
... There is no consensus on the exact definition of PPI. In a narrow sense, PPI is defined as a program marked as a positive psychological intervention, which has been developed and evaluated since the establishment of positive psychology in 1998 [15]. On the contrary, the broad definition of inclusiveness regards PPI as an evidence-based intervention whose main purpose is to improve well-being (not just reduce symptoms). ...
... Meta-analysis shows that positive psychological intervention can effectively cultivate personality advantages, such as gratitude, kindness, humor, and hope [24], and enhance well-being outcomes [25]. They also reported the positive impact of these interventions on the reduction of depressive symptoms [15]. Therefore, PPI will also have a better effect on the prevention and intervention of depression at the collective level. ...
... One approach found to be effective for recruiting in primary care settings has been to involve the healthcare practitioner in the process and this has also been the case for PPIs studies [71]. However, none of the studies included in the current review employed any type of HCP as part of their recruitment process. ...
... Only one study was conducted as a face-to-face intervention (90 min group sessions once a week) [50], all others were administered online and completed without any facilitator support. An individual intervention has been recommended for community-based samples which are recruited via a healthcare practitioner and delivered on an individual basis [71]. Group interventions have been recognised as potential cost-effective approaches as they treat more than one person at a time [68]. ...
Community pharmacies are well‐placed to deliver well‐being interventions;however, to date, nothing has been produced specifically for this setting. The aim of this study was to develop a positive psychology intervention suitable for a community pharmacy setting with the goal of increasing the well‐being of community members. Methods: Intervention development consisted of three steps: Step 1—identify the evidence-base and well-being model to underpin the basis of the intervention (Version 1); Step 2—model the intervention and gather user feedback to produce Version 2, and Step 3—revisit the evidence-base and refine the intervention to produce Version 3. Results: Findings from nine studies (seven RCTs, one cross-sectional, one N-1 design plus user feedback were applied to model a 6-week ‘Prescribing Happiness (P-Hap)’ intervention, underpinned by the PERMA model plus four other components from the positive psychology literature (Three Good Things, Utilising Your Signature Strengths in New Ways, Best Possible Selves and Character Strengths). A PERMA-based diary was designed to be completed 3 days a week as part of the intervention. Conclusions: This work is an important development which will direct the future implementation of interventions to support well-being in this novel setting. The next stage is to gain the perspectives of external stakeholders on the feasibility of delivering the P-Hap for its adoption into community pharmacy services in the future.
... Additionally, PP constructs are significantly associated with both health behavior adherence and health outcomes, independent of negative psychological constructs [16,18,19]. Early research also demonstrates that interventions comprised of simple exercises to cultivate PP constructs show promise in their ability to improve well-being [17,20], reduce distress/depressive symptoms [17,20], promote health behaviors [21,22], and improve targeted health outcomes, such as pain [23]. Based on these findings, as well as an emerging literature suggesting that PP constructs may also be important in IBS symptom management [24], experts in the field of psychogastroenterology [25] have suggested ways in which PP interventions might be integrated into routine IBS clinical care [24,26]. ...
... Additionally, PP constructs are significantly associated with both health behavior adherence and health outcomes, independent of negative psychological constructs [16,18,19]. Early research also demonstrates that interventions comprised of simple exercises to cultivate PP constructs show promise in their ability to improve well-being [17,20], reduce distress/depressive symptoms [17,20], promote health behaviors [21,22], and improve targeted health outcomes, such as pain [23]. Based on these findings, as well as an emerging literature suggesting that PP constructs may also be important in IBS symptom management [24], experts in the field of psychogastroenterology [25] have suggested ways in which PP interventions might be integrated into routine IBS clinical care [24,26]. ...
Objective:
Psychological factors (e.g., depression, anxiety) are known to contribute to the development and maintenance of irritable bowel syndrome (IBS). Less is known, however, about the role of positive psychological well-being (PPWB) in IBS. Accordingly, we completed a systematic review of the literature examining relationships between PPWB and clinical characteristics in IBS.
Method:
A systematic review using search terms related to PPWB and IBS from inception through July 28, 2022, was completed. Quality was assessed with the NIH Quality Assessment Tool. A narrative synthesis of findings, rather than meta-analysis, was completed due to study heterogeneity.
Results:
22 articles with a total of 4285 participants with IBS met inclusion criteria. Individuals with IBS had lower levels of PPWB (e.g., resilience, positive affect, self-efficacy, emotion regulation) compared to healthy populations, which in turn was associated with reduced physical and mental health and health-related quality of life (HRQoL). Limited exploration of potential biological mechanisms underlying these relationships has been described.
Conclusions:
PPWB is diminished in individuals with IBS compared to other populations, and greater PPWB is linked to superior physical, psychological, and HRQoL outcomes. Interventions to increase PPWB may have the potential to improve IBS-related outcomes.
Registration:
Prospective Register of Systematic Reviews CRD42022304767.
... Il nucleo centrale di questo tipo d'interventi è quindi quello di sviluppare il benessere di tutti gli individui (bambini, giovani e adulti), non solo quelli in difficoltà. Recenti meta-analisi hanno mostrato effetti positivi dei programmi d'intervento di pp sul benessere dei partecipanti in età adulta (ad es., Bolier et al., 2013;Weiss et al., 2013) ma anche di bambini e giovani d'età compresa tra gliotto e diciotto anni (Bastounis et al., 2016;Brunwasser et al., 2009;Renshaw & Olinger Steeves, 2016). Questi studi hanno anche mostrato una riduzione dei sintomi di depressione, ansia e stress nel gruppo sperimentale rispetto al gruppo di controllo. ...
... Inoltre, Carr et al. (2020) hanno dimostrato che questi programmi hanno effetti maggiormente positivi sulla qualità della vita e sul benessere dei più giovani che in campioni di partecipanti più anziani. Altre meta-analisi hanno riportato che l'aumento del benessere rimane fino a un anno dopo l'intervento (Bolier et al. 2013;Brunwasser et al., 2009). Inoltre, altri programmi come ad esempio il Penn Resiliency Pro gram (prp) per bambini e adolescenti tra gli otto e i quindici anni (per un approfondimento sul tipo d'intervento cfr. ...
... IPPs têm demonstrado eficácia para melhora no bem-estar e indicadores de qualidade de vida tanto em casos de indivíduos com diagnóstico clínico quanto em casos não-clínicos (Bolier et al., 2013;Durgante & Dell'Aglio, 2019;Nikrahan et al., 2016), melhor resposta a tratamentos e reabilitação (Reppold et al., 2015), melhor recuperação de efeitos psicofisiológicos negativos como reatividade cardiovascular, processos inflamatórios e imunossupressão, os quais tendem a ser agravados em situações estressoras (Cohn & Fredrickson, 2010). ...
... Esses resultados seguem padrão já identificado em estudo de viabilidade na versão presencial do programa (Durgante et al., 2019b). Contudo, tendo em vista dados da literatura quanto ao tempo de duração de intervenções nestes moldes (Bolier et al., 2013;Durgante, 2017;Durgante et al., 2019a), em caráter psicoeducativo grupal, com abordagem da Terapia Cognitivo-Comportamental (Neufeld & Rangé, 2017), sugere-se o tempo máximo de duração das sessões de 2 horas, podendo o moderador dividir as atividades das sessões em duas (dois encontros com a mesma temática). Alternativamente, é possível reduzir o número de participantes nos grupos para que todos tenham tempo hábil de expor e compartilhar suas vivências, conforme sugestão de uma participante "sessões com mais tempo de duração ou grupo menor para possibilitar mais espaço de fala" (participante, 32 anos). ...
Este estudo descreve a adaptação online de uma intervenção em Psicologia Positiva para promoção de saúde. Como diretriz metodológica, utilizou-se o The Formative Method for Adapting Psychotherapy e o Consolidated Framework for Implementation Research, nos eixos: características da intervenção; dos indivíduos; contextos interno e externo; processo de implementação. A intervenção consistiu em 6 encontros grupais online, com 10 integrantes da equipe de gestão em saúde de uma associação de aposentados do RS, Brasil, média de idade 43,6 anos (DP = 15,86). Um questionário de avaliação foi preenchido ao final das atividades e estatísticas descritivas revelaram satisfação dos participantes com a intervenção e com o moderador, assim como generalização dos conteúdos. Foram sugeridas alterações, especialmente aumento da carga horária das sessões. Sugere-se a sistematização dos processos utilizados neste estudo para embasar pesquisas de implementação e adaptação de intervenções online para diferentes contextos e público-alvo.
... The ideal activities to engender positive emotions differ from person-to-person, so research suggests that the choice should be made by the individuals themselves [92]. Several studies have shown that prompting people to perform positive activities can induce positive emotions [17,92]. Fredrickson et al. [46] also showed that people who practice positive activities report having greater life satisfaction and improved relationships with their peers. ...
... Inspiration from [54] borrowed from literature on CBT with a specific focus on principles of gratitude, social connectedness, and positive activities [17,23,48,52,97]. We also turned to literature on positive psychology and clinical psychology [37,54,102,103,132], particularly on processes such as the identification of positive life elements and the planning of actions that could lead to positive outcomes and feelings. ...
One-way text messaging services have the potential to support psychological wellbeing at scale without conversational partners. However, there is limited understanding of what challenges are faced in mapping interactions typically done face-to-face or via online interactive resources into a text messaging medium. To explore this design space, we developed seven text messages inspired by cognitive behavioral therapy. We then conducted an open-ended survey with 788 undergraduate students and follow-up interviews with students and clinical psychologists to understand how people perceived these messages and the factors they anticipated would drive their engagement. We leveraged those insights to revise our messages, after which we deployed our messages via a technology probe to 11 students for two weeks. Through our mixed-methods approach, we highlight challenges and opportunities for future text messaging services, such as the importance of concrete suggestions and flexible pre-scheduled message timing.
... 37 Meta-analyses showed that positive psychological interventions for enhancement of optimism could be effective on depressive symptoms as well as psychological well-being. 38,39 Meanwhile, spirituality programs for empowering person have been tried in several populations exposed to stressful situations. 40,41 Especially, spirituality programs were significantly effective in persons under severe stressful situations such as terminally ill patients in hospice 42 and severe psychiatric patients. ...
Objective:
Optimism, social support, and spirituality can be important factors related to coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19) stress. However, studies investigating the influence and interplay of optimism, social support, and spirituality on COVID-19 simultaneously are still few. This study is aimed to explore the influence of optimism, social support, and spirituality on COVID-19 stress in the Christian church community.
Methods:
A total 350 participants were included in this study. This study was cross-sectionally conducted by using an online survey on optimism, social support, spirituality, and COVID-19 stress that were measured by the Life Orientation Test-Revised (LOT-R), Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support Scale (MSPSS), Spiritual Well-Being Scale (SWBS), and COVID-19 Stress Scale for Korean People (CSSK). The prediction models for COVID-19 stress were analyzed by using univariate and multiple linear regression.
Results:
Based on the results of univariate linear regression, subjective feelings on income (p<0.001) and health status (p<0.001), LOTR (p<0.001), MSPSS (p=0.025), and SWBS (p<0.001) scores were significantly associated with COVID-19 stress. The multiple linear regression model with subjective feelings on income and health status and SWSB score was significant (p<0.001) and explained 17.7% of the variance (R2=0.177).
Conclusion:
This study showed that subjective feeling on low income, those who had poor health status, lower optimism, lower perceived social support, and lower spirituality were significantly affected with COVID-19 stress. Especially, the model with subjective feelings on income and health status, and spirituality showed highly significant effects, despite the interaction with associated factors. To cope with unpredictable stressful situations like the COVID-19 pandemic, integrated interventions on psycho-socio-spiritual aspect are warranted.
... mindfulness training, gratitude interventions), while the latter does so more indirectly (e.g. physical activity interventions, stimulating social engagement) (Windle et al., 2010;Bolier et al., 2013;Ronzi et al., 2018). ...
Happiness represents an important driving force for individuals at any life stage and continues to be so in midlife and older age. While ageing is usually associated with experiencing less happiness, research findings show that people tend to be happier as they grow older (i.e. the positivity effect). In this chapter, I will examine happiness in midlife and older age, including attempts to explain the age-related positivity effect. In this sense, I will describe how happiness is defined in midlife and older age and what factors can influence it. Additionally, I will examine how happiness can be measured objectively by using various scales and how middle-aged and older individuals describe happiness from their point of view. Next, I will consider the existing links between happiness and personal growth in all life domains (i.e. cognitive, emotional, social, personality, physical). Starting from the existing evidence-base and theoretical models concerning happiness in midlife and older age, I will then go on to examine how can positive psychology principles and developmental assets be applied to design interventions to promote happiness among middle-aged and older adults.
... Positive psychology takes an empirical approach to evidence, using traditional methodologies of psychometric measurement, and evaluation of the impact of interventions in longitudinal research and randomised controlled outcome studies (Seligman, 2007). In a meta-analytic review, Bolier et al. (2013) investigated the impact of positive psychology interventions with the general public (though seven out of the 39 included studies targeted individuals with psychosocial issues, such as depression and anxiety). The analysis indicated that positive psychology interventions were effective overall, with a small effect size on subjective wellbeing and psychological wellbeing sustained at follow up points from three to six months in duration. ...
This thesis presents a programme of research designed to examine the impact of Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) informed performance and development coaching. A preliminary repeated measures study tested the impact of a brief ACT-informed coaching intervention on coachee general mental health, generalised self-efficacy, life satisfaction, intrinsic motivation, goal-directed thinking, goal attainment, and psychological flexibility with 53 UK adults. Data were collected at four time points over 5 weeks. Analyses revealed significant increases in general mental health, life satisfaction, goal-directed thinking, and goal attainment.
A randomised controlled trial (RCT) study tested the impact of a more substantial ACT-informed coaching intervention on coachee work performance, general mental health, generalised self-efficacy, job satisfaction, job motivation, goal- directed thinking, goal attainment, and psychological flexibility with 126 senior managers in the UK Civil Service. Participants were randomly allocated to either an ACT-informed coaching intervention (n = 65) or a waitlist control condition (n = 61). Data were collected at four time points over 13 weeks. Analyses showed significant increases in general mental health, generalised self-efficacy, goal-directed thinking, goal attainment, and psychological flexibility in the ACT group compared to the control condition. Consistent with ACT theory, analyses indicated that increases in psychological flexibility mediated improvements in general mental health, generalised self-efficacy, goal-directed thinking, and goal attainment.
A final parallel mediation study compared the effects of psychological flexibility and working alliance (a plausible alternative mediator) using data from the coaching arm of the RCT study. These analyses revealed that significant increases in psychological flexibility mediated increases in generalised self-efficacy, goal-directed thinking, and goal attainment. Despite significant increases in working alliance over time, no mediation effects for increases in study variables were found. Overall, findings suggest that ACT-informed coaching is an effective approach to performance and development coaching, and psychological flexibility mediates the beneficial impact of the ACT coaching intervention.
... Teaching a person to pay attention to these issues can also improve their resilience so that they can self-manage at times of stress and decrease the risk that they may become unwell [9-23]. (Table 1) There is evidence for assessment tools such as K10 and DASS and for psychotherapies such as Motivational Interviewing, Cognitive Behavioural Therapy and Mindfulness [24,25] however even GPs who are trained in these skills, often struggle to find the time to use them. Most clinicians agree medication should not be used alone but in conjunction with psychotherapy [26,27]. ...
Background: Mental health disorders are common throughout the world and are responsible for a large proportion of the burden of morbidity, mortality and health expenditure. General Practitioners are the most likely first 'port of call' but may not have enough time, training or resources to properly assess, manage, monitor or prevent mental health problems.
... In practice, watching this movie and discussing on it could be used in psychological counseling process with older people. In addition, considering the impacts of self-help strategies (e.g., Cuijpers et al. 2010, Bolier et al. 2013 this movie could be recommended to people in pre-retirement and retirement process. Moreover, this movie could be used in the training of professionals who provide psychological and social support to older people in order to help them understand developmental characteristics and needs of older people. ...
This study examines the movie "The Intern" in terms of changing life roles of older people. Document analysis, one of qualitative research techniques, was used in the study. The analysis included two categories; developmental factors based on Super's lifespan life-space approach and the factors related to retirement satisfaction. At developmental factors, two sub categories, life stages and theaters-life roles were obtained. Firstly, under life stages, some examples related to disengagement stage and to mini cycle which experienced in this stage were observed in the film. Besides, theaters and life roles pointed work, home, and leisurite roles, mostly. The factors related to retirement satisfaction were grouped under four sub-categories; individual, job, socioeconomic and family factors. When the findings were reviewed context to the literature, it was observed that the findings supported the literature regarding career development of older people and they can be used as a source to provide psychological support services to older adults as well as in counseling education. Öz Bu çalışmada, "Stajyer" filmi, ileri yaştaki bireylerin yaşam rollerindeki değişiklikler açısından incelenmiştir. Çalışmada nitel araştırma tekniklerinden doküman analizi kullanılmıştır. Bulgular, Super'ın Yaşam Boyu Yaşam Alanı Yaklaşımına dayanan gelişimsel faktörler ve emeklilikte doyumu etkileyen faktörler olmak üzere iki kategori altında incelenmiştir. Gelişimsel faktör-ler olarak yaşam dönemi ve yaşam alanı-rolleri alt kategorileri elde edildi. Yaşam dönemine ilişkin geri çekilme dönemine ve bu dönem içinde yaşanılan mini döngüye örnekler gözlenmiştir. Bununla birlikte, yaşam alanı ve rolleri olarak; emekli, çalışan ve serbest zaman rolleri öne çıkmıştır. Emeklilikte doyumu etkileyen unsurlar ise; bireysel, işle ilgili, sosyoekonomik ve ailesel faktörler alt kategorileri altında toplanmıştır. Bu bulgular ilgili alan yazın kapsamında değerlendirildiğinde, bulguların ileri yaştaki bireylerin kariyer gelişiminin devam ettiğini desteklediği ve yaşlılara sunulacak psikolojik danışma hizmetleri ve psikolojik danışmanların eğitimleri için bir kaynak oluşturabileceği söylenebilir. Anahtar sözcükler: Yaşam rolleri, ileri yaş, emeklilikte doyum
... Given the preliminary extent of these ndings, more ne-grained and varied assessments of lifestyle factors need to be studied in relation to age-gaps. In particular, it will be useful to look into the well-being and psychological-related factors, since these are largely amendable to a vast range of psychosocial and psychoeducational interventions 13 . ...
Background: We can study how fast our biological aging clocks tick by calculating the difference (i.e., age-gaps) between machine learning estimations of biological age and chronological age. While this approach has been increasingly used to study various aspects of aging, few had applied this approach to study cognitive and physical age-gaps; not much is known about the behavioral and neurocognitive factors associated with these age-gaps. In the present study, we examined these age-gaps in relation to behavioral phenotypes and mild cognitive impairment (MCI) among community-dwelling older adults.
Methods: Participants (N=822, Agemean=67.6) were partitioned into equally-sized training and testing samples. Cognitive and physical age-prediction models were fitted using nine cognitive and eight physical fitness test scores, respectively, within the training samples, and subsequently used to estimate cognitive and physical age-gaps for each subject in the testing sample. These age-gaps were then compared among those with and without MCI, and correlated with 17 behavioral phenotypes in the domains of lifestyle, well-being, and attitudes.
Results: Across 5,000 random train-test split iterations, we showed that older cognitive and physical age-gaps were significantly associated with MCI (versus cognitively normal) and worse outcomes across several well-being and attitude-related measures. Both age-gaps were also significantly correlated with each other.
Conclusions: These results suggest accelerated cognitive and physical aging were linked to worse well-being and more negative attitudes about the self and others, and reinforce the link between cognitive and physical aging. Importantly, we have also validated the use of cognitive age-gaps in the diagnosis of MCI.
... Taking a class to learn a new professional skill or taking skills-based examinations to advance one's career brings that healthy sense of accomplishment when achieving one's goals. Such positive activities can have short and long-term positive effects on well-being and happiness [49][50][51]. Practicing core healthy lifestyle modifications with positive activities is key to medical practitioners' well-being, enable modeling of positive health for patients, coworkers, and students. ...
Positive psychology in combination with a healthy lifestyle has the potential to enhance health and well-being at a level beyond that achieved by healthy lifestyle habits alone—a state of health termed positive health by Martin Seligman, the founder of the positive psychology field. This chapter covers how positive psychology interventions and positive emotions with healthy physical habits play a vital role in health. The mechanism is twofold: 1. positive emotions as powerful drivers of behavior change and 2. direct physiologic benefits of positive emotions. Health professionals need to consider how to integrate this science and practice of positive psychology into their patient assessments and recommendations. An overview will be provided about the scientific studies that show the reinforcing, reciprocal relationship between positive psychology activities and physical healthy lifestyles. Strategies to apply in clinical practices outside of behavioral health and research recommendations are reviewed. Future research is needed to transform these research-informed approaches into evidence-based practice and address a major research gap on how different cultures and populations form positive psychology interventions.
... 월성을 비롯한 여섯 가지 덕목과 각 덕목에 포 함된 스물네 가지 성격 강점을 정의하고 측정 도구를 개발하였으며, 각 요소를 증진하도록 하는 중재를 개발하기 위한 연구를 수행했다 (Gable & Haidt, 2005). 이 에 코칭 (Seligman, 2007), 교육 (Seligman et al., 2009), 재활 (Evans, 2011) (Bolier et al., 2013;Jankowski et al., 2020). ...
(ENG) Positive psychology was pioneered by Seligman in 1998 and has greatly advanced the psychological study of human positive strengths and virtues over the past 24 years. However, studies on positive psychological art therapy in Korea have been conducted sporadically and have not been systematically reviewed. This study therefore conducted a literature review to examine how positive psychology has been applied in domestic art therapy research. To this end, 27 articles published in Korean journals were collected, and the data were coded focusing on publication information, participants, research design, and characteristics and techniques of positive psychological art therapy, frequency analysis was then performed. Since the first articles were published in The Korean Journal of Art Therapy in 2013, a total of 27 articles were published in 12 journals by 2021, and almost all the articles were case and experimental studies. The review showed that existing studies focused on adults, children and adolescents, and women, showing that there are an insufficient number of studies on the elderly and men. Further, the review revealed that the pre-post experimental design method, including a comparison group, was mainly used, and only one qualitative study was published. Finally, the review confirmed that positive psychology art therapy is an approach that emphasizes support for clients to live a flourishing life through positive psychology. The significance and limitations of this study were also discussed.
(KOR)긍정심리학은 1998년에 셀리그만(Seligaman)에 의해 개척된 심리학 분파로 지난 24년 간 인간의 긍정적인 강점과 덕목에 관한 심리학 연구를 크게 발전시켜 왔다. 그러나 국내에서는 긍정심리학적 미술치료에 대한 연구가 산발적으로 이루어져 체계적으로 검토되지 못했다. 이에 본 연구는 긍정심리학이 국내 미술치료 연구에 어떻게 적용되어 왔는지 알아보기 위해 문헌 고찰을 하였다. 연구를 위하여 국내 학술지에서 출판된 논문 27편을 수집하고 출판 동향, 연구 참여자, 연구 설계, 미술치료 특징과 기법을 중심으로 자료를 코딩한 뒤 빈도분석을 실시하였다. 출판 동향을 살펴본 결과, 2013년에 처음으로「미술치료연구」에 논문이 게재된 이래로 2021년까지 총 27편의 논문이 12개의 학술지에 게재된 것으로 나타났으며 거의 모든 연구가 사례 및 실험 연구에 해당하는 것으로 조사되었다. 연구 참여자의 배경을 조사한 결과 성인, 아동 및 청소년, 여성에 집중되어 노인과 남성을 대상으로 한 연구는 미흡한 것으로 나타났다. 연구 설계를 분석한 결과, 비교 집단을 포함한 사전-사후 실험설계 방법이 주로 활용되었으며 질적 연구는 단 한 편만 발표된 것으로 조사되었다. 미술치료의 특징과 기법을 정리한 결과, 내담자가 긍정심리학에서 지향하는 플로리시한(flourish) 삶을 살아가도록 지원하는 것을 강조하고 있는 것을 확인하였다. 이러한 연구 결과를 바탕으로 본 연구의 의의와 제한점에 대하여 논의하였다.
... (1) Develop positive psychological intervention programs: the intervention plan was designed by our Informed consent X team based on the positive psychology intervention program by Seligman [22] and also based on a review of literature and expert consultation [27][28][29]. Related literature reported that the period of positive psychological intervention is generally more than 8 weeks [30]. Lan [19] conducted a 10-week intervention on type 2 diabetes patients, and their depression and anxiety psychology was also effectively improved, and their self-care ability was improved too. ...
Background
Unhealthy behaviors of coronary heart disease (CHD) patients are closely related to the occurrence of major heart events, which increases the readmission rate and brings a heavy economic burden to families and society. Therefore, it is necessary for health care workers to take active preventive and therapeutic measures to keep or establish healthy behaviors of patients. Positive psychological intervention has been proved to be effective, but it has not been reported in the field of CHD in China. The purpose of this study is to explore the effects of positive event recording based on positive psychology on the healthy behaviors, readmission rate, and anxiety of patients with CHD, in order to provide new ideas for the development of secondary prevention strategies for CHD.
Methods
This is a prospective, single-center, randomized controlled trial (RCT). The subjects will be enrolled from the Department of Cardiology, the First Affiliated Hospital of Soochow University. There are 80 cases in total; according to the random number table, the subjects are randomly divided into the intervention group (n = 40) and the control group (n = 40). The patients in the intervention group will receive the intervention of recording positive events once a week for 3 months, while the patients in the control group receive conventional nursing. The primary outcomes will include healthy behaviors, readmission rate, and anxiety, and the secondary outcomes will include psychological capital, subjective well-being, and corresponding clinical laboratory indicators. The protocol was approved by the Medical Ethics Committee of Soochow University (approval no. SUDA20200604H01) and is performed in strict accordance with the Declaration of Helsinki formulated by the World Medical Association. All participants provide written informed consent.
Discussion
This study will verify whether positive event recording based on positive psychology can make patients maintain healthy behaviors, reduce readmission rate, and improve anxiety after PCI. Then, this study will provide new ideas and references for the development of secondary prevention strategies for patients with CHD.
Trial registration
Chinese Clinical Trials Registry 2000034538. Registered on 10 July 2020.
... Positive Psychology techniques focus on fostering wellbeing and positive affect as opposed to decreasing negative symptomatology. 35 The absence of this in our coding might help explain why SP1 is reported as including the smallest number of BCTs in their design. 'Increase positive emotions' has been suggested as a BCT for inclusion in future versions of the taxonomy 8 ; based on our findings we would recommend inclusion to ensure BCT coding captures all active ingredients of any intervention. ...
Background:
NHS England commissioned four independent service providers to pilot low-calorie diet programmes to drive weight loss, improve glycaemia and potentially achieve remission of Type 2 Diabetes across 10 localities. Intervention fidelity might contribute to programme success. Previous research has illustrated a drift in fidelity in the design and delivery of other national diabetes programmes.
Aims:
1) To describe and compare the programme designs across the four service providers; 2) To assess the fidelity of programme designs to the NHS England service specification.
Methods:
The NHS England service specification documents and each provider's programme design documents were double coded for key intervention content using the Template for Intervention Description and Replication Framework and the Behaviour Change Technique (BCT) Taxonomy.
Results:
The four providers demonstrated fidelity to most but not all the service parameters stipulated in the NHS England service specification. Providers included between 74% and 87% of the 23 BCTs identified in the NHS specification. Twelve of these BCTs were included by all four providers; two BCTs were consistently absent. An additional seven to 24 BCTs were included across providers.
Conclusions:
A loss of fidelity for some service parameters and BCTs was identified across the provider's designs; this may have important consequences for programme delivery and thus programme outcomes. Furthermore, there was a large degree of variation between providers in the presence and dosage of additional BCTs. How these findings relate to the fidelity of programme delivery and variation in programme outcomes and experiences across providers will be examined.
... A meta-analysis assessed the impact of different types of positive interventions and found that mindfulness-based and multi-component positive psychological interventions had the greatest benefit to both clinical and non-clinical populations (van Agteren et al., 2021). Meta-analyses have shown that positive psychology interventions can be effective in reducing depressive symptoms, whilst also enhancing subjective and psychological well-being in an individual (Bolier et al., 2013). ...
Parenting is a challenge role, and it is an even more challenging experience when you have a child with a life-altering diagnosis (LAD). In this investigation, the character strengths of parents of healthy children and parents of children with LADs were measured, as well as their sense of meaning and well-being. We hypothesized that parents of children with LADs might have a different profile of top strengths than parents of healthy children. However, the results revealed no significant differences in character strengths between the two groups of parents, except for the character strength of love of learning. There were significant differences in well-being, but not meaning, between parents of healthy children and parents of children with LADs. The results suggest that character strengths may not be being leveraged, or at least have not altered significantly, in parents with children with LADs. Given that character strengths are linked to subjective well-being, and well-being among parents of children with LADs was low, this may present an opportunity to leverage interventions that promote well-being and flourishing through the use of character strengths in service to parental well-being.
... Based upon the literature review, the design team concluded that brief positive psychology interventions can enhance subjective wellbeing; however, most effects last only a short time and most studies had small sample sizes. [38][39][40][41] The need to invest in student wellbeing has been assimilated, over the past decade, by the health sciences; most investments are brief or positioned outside the core curricula. [19,27] Providing an effective learning environment for the improvement of subjective wellbeing asks for transformative educational approaches. ...
Background
Many medical students suffer from psychosocial distress and mental health problems, raising concerns about their sustainable employability and subjective wellbeing. Therefore, our faculty decided to design a wellbeing program building on the paradigm that in order to sustainably take care of others and deliver high-quality and safe patient care, (future) health professionals should take care of their own wellbeing first. The aim of our research was to design a theory-informed program on student wellbeing allowing students to acquire skills in this regard. In this paper, we describe the iterative design process and the results of our longitudinal proactive wellbeing program.
Methods
We conducted an educational design approach in four phases to construct the program in order to simultaneously gain new insights and develop practical solutions. We implemented the phases of educational design research over the course of two academic years. Phase 1 consisted of a review of the literature and a context and needs analysis in order to draft design principles and requirements. Phase 2 consisted of the cyclical and iterative process of design, construction and interim evaluation and adjustments of the wellbeing program (WB-program). In phase 3, evaluation and reflection, the program was implemented and evaluated. Phase 4 consisted of ongoing maturation and theoretical understanding of the program.
Results
With our educational design-based approach to construct a WB-program, we were able to design, construct and evaluate an evidence-informed longitudinal proactive wellbeing program for all bachelor of medicine students at our faculty. The most noteworthy result thus far is that students who are exposed to a longitudinal program with recurring attention on improving and maintaining wellbeing learn to value the importance of self-care and wellbeing and develop skills in this regard.
Conclusion
Taken together, our study suggests that it is possible to integrate wellbeing in a core undergraduate curriculum on a large scale. We therefore consider the results of this educational design-based development of our WB-program as a proof of concept for a longitudinal integrated program to support student wellbeing.
... Positive psychological interventions are methods designed to foster positive emotions, positive behaviors, or positive cognitions (Sin & Lyubomirsky, 2009). Positive psychological interventions are effective in increasing subjective wellbeing and helping to reduce depressive symptoms (Bolier et al., 2013;Wang et al., 2016). Positive psychologists believe that the goal of positive psychology is to motivate individuals. ...
To explore the effects of social support and positive psychological intervention on subjective well-being and depression of left-behind children. 70 left-behind children with depression tendency participated in this study and were divided into experimental and control groups. The experimental group received a two-year-long psychological intervention of social support in 269 social support activities about 8 themes and positive psychological quality cultivation group counseling with a total of 128h for 64 frequencies. We found that after a consecutive positive psychology intervention and group counseling, the level of subjective well-being of left-behind children significantly improved, and the level of depression decreased significantly. These results showed that both sufficient and diversified social support approaches and the cultivation of positive psychological qualities may significantly improve the subjective well-being of left-behind children and relieve or eliminate their depressive symptoms.
... Knowing the sustainable effect of a public health intervention is of great importance [65]. If the effect wanes Recruitment, choice of outcomes and improvements in retention are three other priorities when considering the appropriate methodology of clinical trials research [72]. PPIs identified from this review were delivered effectively using a diverse range of methods such as online, in a group or on an individual basis with a facilitator [47,73]. ...
Background: Community pharmacies are well-placed to deliver well-being interventions; however, to date, nothing has been produced specifically for this setting. The aim of this study was to develop a positive psychology intervention suitable for a community pharmacy setting with the goal of increasing the well-being of community members. Methods: Intervention development consisted of three steps: Step 1- identify the evidence-base and well-being model to underpin the basis of the intervention (Version 1); Step 2 - model the intervention and gather user feedback to produce Version 2, and Step 3 - revisit the evidence-base and refine the intervention to produce Version 3. Results: Findings from nine studies (seven RCTs, one cross-sectional, one N-1 design plus user feedback were applied to model a 6-week ‘Prescribing Happiness (P-Hap)’ intervention, underpinned by the PERMA model plus four other components from the positive psychology literature (Three Good Things, Utilising Your Signature Strengths in New Ways, Best Possible Selves and Character Strengths). A PERMA-based diary was designed to be completed 3-days a week as part of the intervention. Conclusions: This work is an important development which will direct the future implementation of interventions to support well-being in this novel setting. The next stage is to gain the perspectives of external stakeholders on the feasibility of delivering the P-Hap for its adoption into community pharmacy services in the future.
... 41,42 Positive psychology interventions (eg, identifying and using personal strengths, performing acts of kindness) that aim to promote optimism, gratitude, and positive affect also have demonstrated efficacy in improving psychological well-being in populations with CVD or at risk for CVD. [43][44][45][46] The current findings need to be considered in the context of the study's limitations. Notably, some measures were self-reports and thus are subject to potential biases (eg, recall, social desirability). ...
Background
Although the effects of psychological health and optimism have been extensively investigated, data from community‐based cohorts assessing the association between psychological health and cardiovascular disease risk factors are sparse, and the concurrent relationship between subjective well‐being and cardiovascular health has not been studied.
Methods and Results
The current cross‐sectional study examined the association between well‐being and cardiovascular risk factors among 719 individuals living in a middle‐ to low‐income neighborhood. After adjusting for age, sex, race, body mass index, education, smoking status, and exercise status, we found that higher levels of well‐being were significantly associated with lower odds of dyslipidemia (odds ratio [OR], 0.7 [95% CI, 0.55–0.85]) and hypertension (OR, 0.8 [95% CI, 0.63–0.92]). Greater well‐being was also significantly associated with lower triglyceride levels (mean difference [M diff ], 7.6 [−14.31 to −0.78]), very low‐density lipoprotein (M diff , 0.9 [−1.71 to −0.16]), total cholesterol to high‐density lipoprotein ratio (M diff , 3.9 [−6.07 to −1.73]), higher high‐density lipoprotein levels (M diff , 1.6 [0.46–2.75]), and lower Framingham Risk Scores (M diff , −7.1% [−10.84% to −3.16%]). Well‐being also moderated the association between age and arterial stiffness. The strongest association between arterial stiffness and age was found for those with the lowest well‐being scores; there was no association between age and arterial stiffness at high levels of well‐being.
Conclusions
In a community‐based cohort, individuals reporting higher levels of well‐being have lower odds of hypertension and dyslipidemia as well as lower rates of age‐dependent increase in vascular stiffness.
Registration
URL: https://www.clinicaltrials.gov ; Unique identifier: NCT03670524.
... The European Commission and the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) guidelines are commonly adopted to define SWB, which encompasses three fundamental components: life evaluation, eudaimonic wellbeing (i.e., a sense of purpose and meaning in life), and affect (positive and negative) [2]. SWB has long been considered critical to positively affect several health outcomes including decreased mortality, decreased cardiovascular disease risks, fewer chronic illnesses and functional impairments, and improved health behavior [3,4]. Extending the examination of well-being from pregnancy to postpartum years is crucial to maximizing wellness of maternal and child health [5]. ...
Background: Although maternal mental illnesses have been found to influence child health and development, little is known about the impact of maternal positive well-being on child health and development. Therefore, this longitudinal study investigated the effects of prenatal subjective well-being on birth outcomes and child development by considering the potential modifier effect of parity.
Methods. Pregnant women in early stages of pregnancy were recruited at five selected hospitals in Taipei, Taiwan, during their prenatal appointments since 2011. Self-reported evaluations were
conducted at seven time points up to 2 years postpartum. Linear regression and generalized estimating equation models were used for examination.
Results. Higher prenatal eudaimonic well-being was associated with longer gestational length (adjusted beta [aβ] = 0.36, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 0.03, 0.68) and higher birth weight (aβ
= 124.71, 95% CI = 35.75, 213.66). Higher positive and negative affect were associated with longer gestational length (aβ = 0.38, 95% CI = 0.06, 0.70) and smaller birth weight (aβ =�93.51,
95% CI = �178.35, �8.67), respectively. For child’s outcomes, we found an association between
higher prenatal eudaimonic well-being and decreased risks of suspected developmental delay, particularly for children of multiparous mothers (adjusted odds ratio = 0.18, 95% CI = 0.05,
0.70). Higher levels of prenatal depression and anxiety were significantly associated with increased risks of suspected developmental delay for children of primiparous mothers.
Conclusions. Positive prenatal maternal mental health may benefit birth outcomes and child development, particularly for children of multiparous mothers. Interventions for improving prenatal mental health may be beneficial for child development.
... In particular, many positive psychology constructs have proven to be effective in improving well-being and relieving the symptoms of depression and anxiety (Avey et al., 2011 ;Bolier et al., 2013 ;Sin & Lyubomirsky, 2009). A recent study evaluated mental resilience during the Covid-19 pandemic and found that good stress response recovery and positive appraisal were the strongest protective factors (Veer et al., 2021). ...
L'objectif de ce travail était d'étudier le rôle des ressources psychologiques et de la construction du soi dans l'expérience du bien-être et de la résilience en temps de crise, particulièrement pendant le premier confinement français lié à la crise du coronavirus. Cette thèse sur articles se divise en quatre parties. La Partie I fait un état de l’art à propos des notions de bien-être, de résilience et de ressources psychologiques, et développe la problématique et les hypothèses de recherche de la thèse. La Partie II présente deux études longitudinales en panel qui ont été lancées durant le premier confinement français et qui évaluent le rôle des ressources psychologiques dans la protection du bien-être (Chapitre 4, N = 470) et le maintien de la résilience psychologique (Chapitre 5, N = 1144). Ensemble, les résultats de ces deux études montrent que la majorité des individus ont été résilients face à l’expérience du confinement et que leurs ressources psychologiques ont effectivement protégé leur bien-être et favorisé leur résilience. De plus, la flexibilité psychologique a été identifiée comme potentiel médiateur de ces effets. La Partie III présente deux études du rôle de l’expérience du soi décentré dans l’expérience momentanée du bonheur dans la vie quotidienne à l’aide de la méthode d’échantillonnage des expériences. L’étude présentée au Chapitre 6 (N = 67) a montré que l’expérience d’un soi décentré était relié à l’expérience du bonheur, et que cet effet peut s’expliquer par le sentiment d’être en harmonie. L’étude présentée au Chapitre 7 (N = 74) a confirmé leur lien aux niveaux intra- et inter-individus. De plus, cette étude a montré que l’expérience du soi comme décentré était relié à une stabilisation du bien-être. La Partie IV discute les résultats des études précédentes et conclut sur l’apport de ce travail et les perspectives en termes de recherche et d’application sur le terrain.
... This has included exploring personality traits such as optimism, hope, creativity as well as increasing therapies that harness personal strengths and deploy techniques such as practicing kindness, goal setting, and gratitude. A meta-analysis has demonstrated significant beneficial effects of positive psychology interventions (those aimed at raising positive behaviour and feelings as opposed to reducing negative behaviour or symptoms) on mental health outcomes (standardised mean difference compared to control groups was 0.34 for subjective well-being, 0.20 for psychological wellbeing and 0.23 for depression) (132). However, the quality of studies varied significantly and the high level of heterogeneity limits the conclusions. ...
Social prescribing involves the referral of individuals to community activities, often to support their mental health and well-being. There is growing evidence on the efficacy of social prescribing to improve mental health, however less is known about how these groups bring about beneficial effects, or about barriers or enablers facing referrers. I addressed three distinct but complementary objectives. In Study 1 I conducted a review of ‘mechanisms of action’ underlying the impact of leisure activities on health, producing a multi-level ‘theory of change’ framework. I found leisure activities act through biological, psychological, social and behavioural mechanisms, to produce mental and physical health benefits. In Study 2, I used ethnographic methods to explore how four social prescribing community groups produced mental health benefits for individuals, often with severe mental health problems. Shared active ingredients included excellent facilitator inter-personal skills, high regularity of activities, creation of a safe space, high affordability/accessibility, and shared lived experience of mental health problems. Shared mechanisms were increased purpose/meaning, experience of pleasure/joy, increased social support, increased structure/routine, formation of friendships and reduced loneliness, and enhanced sense of community and belonging. Study 3 used qualitative interviews to explore barriers and enablers for GPs in engaging with social prescribing for individuals with mental health problems, mapping them onto the Capability, Opportunity, Motivation-Behaviour (COM-B) change model. My findings highlighted the need for increased formal GP training on how to engage with social prescribing effectively, and the benefits of active inter-organisational partnerships and hand-holding opportunities to accompany individuals to initial sessions. My findings support the conceptualisation of social prescribing as a complex intervention. Social prescribing however is not a single, clearly defined intervention and different community groups/activities will involve different mechanisms and active ingredients. In its broadest sense social prescribing reflects a more salutogenic, personalised, biopsychosocial and less individualised approach towards mental health.
... Furthermore, substantial portions of variance in the SWB components, particularly PA and NA, were unexplained by the higher-order (between-level) and daily (within-level) latent SWB factors. The implications of such results for understanding daily SWB as an experience that is trait-like and varying between individuals, and yet also state-like and varying within individuals over time are in need of further clarification, including with respect to intervention efforts aimed at boosting individuals' SWB (e.g., Bolier et al., 2013;Heintzelman et al., 2020). ...
We address the long-standing confusion concerning the conceptualization and structure of subjective well-being (SWB) by examining daily variation in life satisfaction (LS), positive affect (PA), and negative affect (NA). A total of 911 participants provided daily ratings of LS, PA, and NA over 14 days. Between- and within-individual variations in daily SWB were simultaneously modeled using dynamic structural equation modeling and random intercept cross-lagged panel modeling. Parameter estimates were highly consistent across approaches. Strong loadings from LS, PA, and NA were observed on latent SWB factors, both between and within individuals; cross-lagged predictive effects among SWB components were small and inconsistent across adjacent days within individuals. Findings provide compelling new evidence supporting a hierarchical conceptualization of SWB as an underlying (latent) sense of well-being reflected in daily experiences of LS, PA, and NA. Implications for studying stable (traitlike) and dynamic (time-varying) aspects of other multidimensional constructs in social and personality psychology are discussed.
... However, they acknowledge that the theoretical basis does not find a place in the practice of consultants because more direct practical guidance on the use of these methods is lacking. Despite empirical studies of considerable empirical basis, the impact of positive psychology methods and positive psychotherapeutic interventions on the school counselling profession has been relatively small (Bolier et al., 2013). Reiner et al. (2013) propose to develop a specific professional identity of a school career counsellor that would be different from the vocation of a psychologist. ...
The present work deals with career counselling for people with special needs based on the paradigm of positive psychology, which is becoming increasingly relevant in counselling and therapeutic processes. It is an approach to counselling and working with clients based on the strengths of the individual and represents a paradigm shift – a departure from the approach based on deficits and weaknesses. The empirical study established the prevalence of this approach in Slovenian elementary and secondary school counsellors. The results show that this way of counselling is a new strategy for mobilising various internal sources of strength and a supportive environment, which improves the individual’s ability to achieve the best possible self-sufficient education and integration into professional and social life. However, in the case of counselling for persons with special needs, a balance needs to be achieved between a strength approach and others that focus on personal problems and weaknesses.
... Meta-analyses of positive psychology interventions: the effects are much smaller than previously reported 2 previous meta-analyses Sin and Lyubomirsky (2009) and Bolier et al. (2013) When small sample size bias was taken into account, PPIs were effective with small effects for well-being (r ¼ 0.10), with variable mixed effectiveness for depression. ...
Positive psychology is “a science of positive subjective experience, positive individual traits, and positive institutions that promises to improve quality of life and prevent the pathologies that arise when life is barren and meaningless” (Seligman and Csikszentmihalyi, 2000, p. 5). More than two decades of peer-reviewed science on positive psychology topics supports a thriving evidence-based practice to assess, develop, and manage the building blocks of well-being and positive functioning. There is now sound experimental evidence showing that positive psychology interventions (PPIs) are efficacious on average, and work well under specific conditions. The next generation of PPIs are being designed to reach beyond western, educated, industrialized, rich, and democratic countries (WEIRD countries), and to focus more on enhancing diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) and to reach more marginalized and underserved populations. The science and practice of positive psychology is being taught to undergraduates, graduate students, and professionals across the globe.
... Historically, emotional psychological interventions have been focused on regulating negative and unpleasant emotions such as depressive and anxious symptoms. However, health and positive psychology have promoted an alternative approach that places positive emotions as the axis of change in these interventions [17]. Related to that, some studies have pointed to an association between positive well-being (i.e., positive affect) and a lower risk of a CVD event [18,19]. ...
The emotional impact that a cardiovascular disease may have on a person’s life can affect the prognosis and comorbidity of the disease. Therefore, emotion regulation is most important for the management of the disease. The aim of this study was to analyze the effectiveness of a brief mHealth psychological intervention in emotion regulation to promote positive subjective well-being in cardiovascular disease patients. The study sample (N = 69, 63.7 ± 11.5 years) was allocated to either the experimental group (n = 34) or control group (n = 35). The intervention consisted of a psychoeducational session in emotion regulation and an mHealth-based intervention for 2 weeks. Positive subjective well-being as a primary outcome and self-efficacy to manage the disease as a secondary outcome were assessed at five time points evaluated over a period of 6 weeks. The experimental group showed higher improvement in positive subjective well-being and self-efficacy for managing the disease compared to the control group over time. The experimental group also improved after the intervention on all outcome measures. Brief mHealth interventions in emotion regulation might be effective for improving positive subjective well-being and self-efficacy to manage the disease in cardiovascular patients.
... The current intervention materials were developed based on the PROSPER framework (Noble & McGrath, 2015), previous positive psychology interventions (Bolier et al., 2013;Koydemir et al., 2020;Sin & Lyubomirsky, 2009), and a pilot study conducted by our research team (Lee et al., 2021). The pilot study was conducted by a team of experts, including four academic staff members in early childhood education (e.g., professor, associate professor) and an educational psychologist who had extensive experience (i.e., more than 10 years) in teaching positive psychology/education, mental health courses in universities, and preschools. ...
The growing concerns regarding the risks of transmitting the COVID-19 virus has intensified the job-related stressors commonly encountered by teachers in various cultural contexts. Evidence shows how the COVID-19 crisis has negatively impacted teachers' mental health outcomes such as stress, depression, and quality of life, which highlights the significance of designing psychological programs to boost teachers' well-being. This study examined the effects of a well-being intervention based on the Positivity, Relationship, Outcomes, Strength, Purpose, Engagement, and Resilience (PROSPER) framework on well-being outcomes among 76 in-service teachers (Mage = 26.05 years, SD = 4.71, range = 20–45; female = 93.4%) in Hong Kong. Participants completed survey measures associated with the seven PROSPER outcomes at baseline and 2-month follow-up. Multivariate regression analysis indicated that there were statistically significant multivariate effects for intervention conditions, Wilks' Lambda F(7, 58) = 4.50, p = .01. Results demonstrated that teachers who were assigned to the intervention condition (n = 36) had significantly higher scores than those in the control condition (n = 40) on positivity (b = 0.41, 95% CI [0.16, 0.65], p = .01), strength (b = 0.62, 95% CI [0.23, 1.01], p = .01), purpose (b = 0.61, 95% CI [0.18, 1.04], p = .01), and resilience (b = 0.57, 95% CI [0.07, 1.07], p = .04). Our findings provide evidence on the mental health benefits of the PROSPER-based psychological intervention program for preschool teachers.
... These results follow a pattern already identified in a feasibility study in the face-to-face version of the program (Durgante et al., 2019b). However, given the literature on the duration of interventions along these lines (Bolier et al., 2013;Durgante, 2017;Durgante et al., 2019a), in a group psychoeducational approach, with Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy (Neufeld & Rangé, 2017) approach, a maximum duration of 2 hours is suggested, and the moderator could divide the activities of the sessions into two (two meetings with the same theme). Alternatively, it is possible to reduce the number of participants in the groups so that all can present and share their experiences, as suggested by one participant... "sessions with a longer duration or smaller group to allow more space for speech" (participant, 32 years old). ...
This study describes the online adaptation of a Positive Psychology intervention for health promotion. The methodological guidelines used were The Formative Method for Adapting Psychotherapy and the Consolidated Framework for Implementation, based on: characteristics of the intervention; of the individuals; internal and external contexts; implementation process. The intervention consisted of 6 online group sessions, with 10 staff members from the health management team of a retiree association in RS/Brazil, mean age 43.6 years (SD = 15.86). An evaluation questionnaire was completed at the end of the activities and descriptive statistics revealed participants' satisfaction with the intervention and with the moderator, as well as generalization of the contents. Changes were suggested specially to increase the duration of the sessions. We suggest the systematization the processes used in this study to support research on the implementation and adaptation of online interventions for different contexts and populations. Resumo Este estudo descreve a adaptação online de uma intervenção em Psicologia Positiva para promoção de saúde. Como diretriz metodológica, utilizou-se o The Formative Method for Adapting Psychotherapy e o Consolidated Framework for Implementation Research, nos eixos: características da intervenção; dos indivíduos; contextos interno e externo; processo de implementação. A intervenção consistiu em 6 encontros grupais online, com 10 integrantes da equipe de gestão em saúde de uma associação de aposentados do RS, Brasil, média de idade 43,6 anos (DP = 15,86). Um questionário de avaliação foi preenchido ao final das atividades e estatísticas descritivas revelaram satisfação dos participantes com a intervenção e com o moderador, assim como generalização dos conteúdos. Foram sugeridas alterações, especialmente aumento da carga horária das sessões. Sugere-se a sistematização dos processos utilizados neste estudo para embasar pesquisas de implementação e adaptação de intervenções online para diferentes contextos e público-alvo. Palavras-chave:psicologia positiva; promoção de saúde; adaptação online Resumen Este estudio describe la adaptación online de una intervención en Psicología Positiva para la promoción de la salud. Como guía metodológico se utilizó el The Formative Method for Adapting Psychotherapy y Consolidated Framework for Implementation Research en:
... Optimism, positive affect, and purpose in life have each been shown to predict improved long-term recovery in non-CA populations (e.g., a faster rate of return to normal life, reduced mortality), independently of negative psychological factors, such as depressive symptoms [77][78][79]. These positive factors show evidence of being modifiable [80,81]. Despite optimism being conceptualized typically as a stable dispositional factor, interventions targeting this factor have increased it reliably with small-to-moderate effects (g = 0.41; 95% CI: 0.29-0.53; ...
Purpose of Review
To summarize the prevalence, correlates, and health consequences of poor mental health in the increasingly sizable population of survivors of Sudden cardiac arrest (CA) and to describe current intervention research in this area.
Recent Findings
After CA many patients report high psychological distress, including depression, generalized anxiety, and posttraumatic stress. Emerging evidence suggests that distressed patients’ attention may narrow such that anxious awareness of afferent cardiac signals e.g., changes in heart rate or blood pressure, becomes predominant and a cause for concerned, constant monitoring. This cardiac-specific anxiety followed by behavioral avoidance and physiological hyperreactivity may increase patients’ already high risk of secondary cardiovascular disease and undermine their health-related quality of life (HRQoL).
Summary
Unlike other cardiovascular diseases, no clinical practice guidelines exist for assessing or treating psychological sequelae of CA. Future research should identify modifiable psychological targets to reduce secondary cardiovascular disease risk and improve HRQoL.
... These results support that internal strengths are promising treatment targets among PWH and that addressing one internal strengths attribute could likely generalize to other internal strengths. The developing literature on single (target one component of well-being) [52,53] and multi-component positive psychology interventions (PPI; target at least two components of well-being) [54] have demonstrated efficacy for enhancing well-being and/or reducing psychological distress (i.e., depression, anxiety, stress) with small to moderate effects. Through this work, important theoretical frameworks on these mechanisms have been proposed. ...
Positive psychological attributes are associated with better health outcomes, yet few studies have identified their underlying constructs and none have examined their temporal trajectories in clinical vs. non-clinical samples. From data collected over 4 years from people with HIV (PWH) and HIV-uninfected (HIV−) participants, we identified two latent factors (internal strengths; socioemotional support) based on responses to seven positive psychological attributes. Internal strengths increased over 4 years for PWH, but not for HIV− comparisons. Socioemotional support did not change significantly in either group. Lower internal strengths and worse socioemotional support were related to greater depressive symptoms. We speculate that improvement in internal strengths in PWH could reflect their being in care, but this requires further study to include PWH not in care. Given the apparent malleability of internal strengths and their association with improved health outcomes, these attributes can serve as promising intervention targets for PWH.
... Aunque los sistemas biológicos relacionados con el bienestar y el malestar podrían compartir mecanismos fisiológicos, interactuar entre sí y ser influidos por las relaciones con otros 35 , es relevante comprender que el bienestar integralmente comprendido involucraría la incorporación de conceptos como el bienestar hedónico, eudaimónico, las fortalezas, la gratitud, el optimismo, el crecimiento postraumático, entre otros, como potenciales focos de evaluación e intervención 36 . Desde esta mirada, se han realizado intervenciones y estudios que han demostrado su utilidad para la reducción de psicopatología, aumento del bienestar [37][38][39] , mejores resultados en salud física 40 y en productividad 41 . ...
The transition to and through college can affect the mental health of college students. The situation in medical students is particularly worrisome, considering that they have high rates of psychopathology. These mental health problems can be associated with worse academic and professional outcomes and worse patient care. In this scenario, it is relevant to look at how this problem can be addressed considering variables of both mental health and educational systems in medicine. Therefore, initiatives to promote well-being during the career are proposed. The importance of well-being at an institutional level should be defined. Also, the foundations of learning neurosciences from the point of view of well-being should be incorporated. Considering that well-being goes beyond the absence of discomfort, the role of educational environment both in learning and in mental health should be recognized. Proven effective interventions should be incorporated. It must be considered that not every initiative linked to well-being is necessarily positive and that discomfort to a certain extent can be exploited educatively as well. The well-being of medical students is a complex, dynamic and multidimensional issue. These principles are orientations for different actors of the educational process, to define how they will approach this problem in their contexts.
Soft skills have become important in complementing the technical skills of students in higher education. They can improve interactions, performance, and career development. This thesis aims to design and evaluate the possible effects of an online soft skills program with higher education students, divided into six studies: 1) understand the concept of soft skills from the perspective of Positive Cognitive-Behavioral Theory and indicate possible gaps in the literature; 2) analyze the psychometric properties of the Transversal and Professional Skills Self-Efficacy Scale (TPS-SE); 3) develop and evaluate the effects of the pilot program; 4) evaluate the effects of the intervention in a quasi-experimental study; 5) describe in detail the intervention for replication (TIDieR); 6) present the students' perceptions concerning the intervention. All students at the University of Algarve were invited to participate in the Soft Skills for Life program (SSL), which took place between 2018 and 2021. SSL is a web-based intervention that was streamlined by Electronic Tutoring (Moodle). For this, the intervention was divided into three different years, consisting of 12 modules in total, each relating to a set of skills that are deemed important to be developed in a university student. The program is composed of asynchronous sessions consisting of videos that seek to teach participants how to develop the skills with exercises that they should apply and practice in their daily lives. The results evaluated pre-intervention, post-intervention, and a three-month follow-up indicated that there was a statistically significant difference in the following variables: soft skills (interpersonal, complex personal, and technical professional), positive psychological aspects (spirituality, optimism, life satisfaction, satisfaction with social support, and gratitude), and emotional aspects (emotional regulation, anxiety, depression, and stress). It is recommended that future studies could evaluate the maintenance of the development of soft skills in the long term and use a randomized sample.
The current research aims to provide a theoretical presentation of positive psychology interventions, including the definition of them, which are psychological interventions that focus mainly on provoking positive emotions, positive thoughts, and positive behavior, as well as going into details of the types of positive psychology interventions, which are taste/enjoyment, gratitude interventions, and reinforcers. Empathy, empathy interventions, Optimism interventions, strength-building interventions, meaning-oriented interventions, as well as the effectiveness of these interventions and what are the appropriate positive psychology interventions that counselors can use in schools. Finally, delve into the role of positive psychology in psychological counseling.
Objectives:
Treatments that target the biological causes of dementia remain limited, making prevention critically important. Well-being- defined broadly as living in accordance with one's potential and experiencing one's life as enjoyable and satisfying - is a promising avenue for prevention. It can be targeted by large-scale, non-invasive interventions and has been linked with better cognitive health and lower dementia risk. In the current review, we begin by summarizing empirical evidence linking well-being to cognitive functioning, cognitive decline, dementia diagnosis, and dementia-related neuropathology. Then, we highlight three key areas for future research.
Results:
The research reviewed here provides consistent evidence for associations of well-being with cognitive decline, dementia risk, and cognitive resilience to neuropathology. However, several open questions remain regarding (1) causality and mechanism(s), (2) specificity versus generalizability of associations, and (3) timing.
Discussion:
To inform potential intervention efforts, the field must address complex open questions about whether, how, when, and for whom well-being influences dementia risk. The majority of existing research on well-being and cognitive health is correlational, and few studies have tested potential mechanisms that may explain those associations. Further, relatively little is known about the generalizability of associations across different aspects of well-being and for different sociocultural groups. Finally, we don't yet understand when in the lifespan and on what timescale well-being might influence cognitive health. We discuss challenges and opportunities for addressing each of these open questions, including concrete recommendations for research designs and use of open science practices.
University students are particularly vulnerable to stress due to the demands of higher education and the developmental transition from adolescence to adulthood. The adverse effects of prolonged stress responses highlight the importance of the development of coping skills. Relaxation appears as a tool capable of restoring the resources depleted by stress and increasing positive emotions, cultivating also self-compassion. This study aimed (1) evaluate the effectiveness of a relaxation training program in university students, using a randomized controlled trial comparing an active control group (exposed to listening to relaxing music) and a passive control groups (without any intervention), considering the changes over time in depression, anxiety and stress; (2) to examine how self-compassion and subjective happiness contributed to depression, anxiety and stress in the full sample; (3) and to examine the moderating role of self-compassion in the association between happiness anddepression, anxiety and stress. Anxiety and stress increased for participants in the relaxation trainingprogram, alluding to the possible side effects of the initial practice. Higher levels of self-compassionand subjective happiness were both associated with lower levels of depression, anxiety and stress.Programs aimed at increasing self-compassion and subjective happiness seem to be relevant to promote students’ mental health.
Developing a resilient mindset for dental professionals means fostering thinking patterns that allow them to adapt and weather stress or challenges at work. This type of mindset also allows them to grow through obstacles and thrive. This chapter delves into the ‘R’ of the PERLE Resilience Model, spotlighting how dental professionals can apply the interesting insights from the psychology of mindset to work. It refers to three types of mindset that are beneficial for dental professionals: optimistic, compassionate, and growth. The chapter explores the psychology of thinking and recognising dental professionals own thinking traps. Thinking traps, otherwise known as cognitive distortions, are unhelpful patterns of thinking that are often inaccurate and negatively biased. Self‐awareness of dental professionals' triggers for specific thinking traps is essential in regulating their emotions. Contrary to popular belief, cognitive‐behavioural therapy can be used for both mental illness and to enhance resilience and well‐being.
One-way text messaging services have the potential to support psychological wellbeing at scale without conversational partners. However, there is limited understanding of what challenges are faced in mapping interactions typically done face-to-face or via online interactive resources into a text messaging medium. To explore this design space, we developed seven text messages inspired by cognitive behavioral therapy. We then conducted an open-ended survey with 788 undergraduate students and follow-up interviews with students and clinical psychologists to understand how people perceived these messages and the factors they anticipated would drive their engagement. We leveraged those insights to revise our messages, after which we deployed our messages via a technology probe to 11 students for two weeks. Through our mixed-methods approach, we highlight challenges and opportunities for future text messaging services, such as the importance of concrete suggestions and flexible pre-scheduled message timing.
The objective of this paper is to advocate the practice of mental hygiene as an occupational health and safety solution to safeguard mental health and enhance psychological resilience of the workforce in the oil and gas industry.
The oil and gas industry is a highly-demanding industry with its inherent environmental and psychological challenges posing a certain risk to employees' mental health. In addition, varied responses to psychological factors of the workforce may also increase the risk to mental health. A comparative study has shown that anxiety and depression is more prevalent among workers in the oil and gas industry in comparison to the general population(1). The reason behind this is particular pressure to avoid mistakes in the industry. There are serious consequences of mistakes in this industry including loss of lives and harm to the environment. In addition, offshore workers also experience isolation, loneliness, frustration and dissatisfaction stemming from working remotely, away from family. Unum Group conducted a claim analysis in the oil & gas extraction industry that showed that 26 percent of incapacity claims between 2014 and 2018 are caused by mental and psychological issues(2).
The growing acknowledgment of the role of stressors in the workplace on mental health accentuates the importance of preventive psychological strategies. Mental hygiene is a preventive measure for sustaining good emotional health by developing and maintaining certain behavioral, social, and emotional skills. This paper highlights some of the mental hygiene practices considering the pertinence and aptness to the unique work environment of the oil and gas industry.
Positive Interventionen im Arbeitskontext zielen darauf ab, positives Erleben und Wohlbefinden von Beschäftigten durch ressourcenorientierte Übungen zu fördern. Dieses Kapitel fokussiert auf vier Typen positiver Interventionen: positives Denken, positive kognitive Umbewertung, Genießen und Dankbarkeit. Konkrete Beispiele der Interventionen werden vorgestellt und deren Wirksamkeit wird anhand von Evaluationsstudien diskutiert.
The purpose of the current review study is to provide representative evidence regarding the effectiveness of mindfulness training strategies on the development of metacognitive skills for people with special education needs. In addition, we explore the role of virtual reality in the efficacy of mindfulness interventions among people with learning disabilities, neurodevelopmental disorders, intellectual disabilities, and behavioral disorders. In addition, we present innovative mindfulness training strategies, appropriate for metacognitive skills training in special education. Finally, we seek the features that possibly make virtual reality a fertile ground for the implementation of mindfulness training. The results showed that mindfulness training improves the metacognitive skills needed for the inclusion of people with disabilities. Virtual reality constitutes an effective assistive technology that can facilitate mindfulness training in various contexts, accelerating positive outcomes in mental and physical health, academic performance, and well-being.
In meta-analysis format the effectiveness of Beck's cognitive therapy for depression was reviewed. Twenty-eight studies were identified that used a common outcome measure of depression, and comparisons of cognitive therapy with other therapeutic modalities were made. The results document a greater degree of change for cognitive therapy compared with a waiting list or no-treatment control, pharmacotherapy, behavior therapy, and other psychotherapies. The degree of change associated with cognitive therapy was not significantly related to the length of therapy or the proportion of women in the studies, and although it was related to the age of the clientele, a lack of adequate representativeness of various age groups renders these results equivocal. Implications for further outcome and process studies in cognitive therapy are discussed.
This study compared the effects of problem-focused and solution-focused coaching questions on positive and negative affect, self-efficacy, goal approach, and action planning. A total of 225 participants were randomly assigned to either a problem-focused or solution-focused coaching condition. All participants described a real-life problem that they wanted to solve and set a goal to solve that problem. They then completed a set of measures that assessed levels of positive and negative affect, self-efficacy, and goal attainment. In the problem-focused coaching condition 108 participants then responded to a number of problem-focused coaching questions and then completed a second set of measures. The 117 participants in a solution-focused coaching session completed a mirror image of the problem-focused condition, responding to solution-focused questions including the “Miracle Question.” Both the problem-focused and the solution-focused coaching conditions were effective at enhancing goal approach. However, th...
The current work replicated a landmark study conducted by Seligman and colleagues (2005) that demonstrated the long-term benefits of positive psychology exercises (PPEs). In the original study, two exercises administered over 1 week ("Three Good Things" and "Using your Signature Strengths in a New Way") were found to have long-lasting effects on depression and happiness (Seligman, Steen, Park, & Peterson, 2005).
These exercises were tested here using the same methodology except for improvements to the control condition, and the addition of a second "positive placebo" to isolate the common factor of accessing positive, self-relevant constructs. This component control design was meant to assess the effect of expectancies for success (expectancy control), as well the cognitive access of positive information about the self (positive placebo).
Repeated measures analyses showed that the PPEs led to lasting increases in happiness, as did the positive placebo. The PPEs did not exceed the control condition in producing changes in depression over time.
Brief, positive psychology interventions may boost happiness through a common factor involving the activation of positive, self-relevant information rather than through other specific mechanisms. Finally, the effects of PPEs on depression may be more modest than previously assumed.
Mitchell, J., Vella-Broderick, D., & Klein, B. (2011). Positive psychology and the internet: A mental health opportunity. e-Journal of Applied Psychology, 6, 30-41
A 4-week-long experiment examined the effects of a positive activity intervention in which students wrote about their “best possible selves” (BPS) once a week. We manipulated two factors that might affect the success of the happiness-increasing activity—whether the positive activity was administered online versus in-person and whether the participant read a persuasive peer testimonial before completing the activity. Our results indicated that the BPS activity significantly boosted positive affect and flow and marginally increased feelings of relatedness. No differences were found between participants who completed the positive activity online versus in-person. However, students who read a testimonial extolling the virtues of the BPS activity showed larger gains in well-being than those who read neutral information or completed a control task. The results lend legitimacy to online self-administered happiness-increasing activities and highlight the importance of participants’ beliefs in the efficacy of such activities for optimum results.
Despite extensive research demonstrating relationships between hope and well being, little work addresses whether hope is malleable. We test a single-session, 90-min intervention to increase college students’ hopeful goal-directed thinking (as defined by Snyder et al. in, Pers Soc Psychol 60:570–585, 1991). To date, this study represents the only test of hope’s malleability in fewer than five sessions and contributes to the small but growing literature regarding positive-psychology interventions. This intervention is especially relevant to college students, given the increasing psychological distress and lack of perceived control noted among this population (Lewinsohn et al. in, J Abnorm Psychol 102:110–120, 1993; Twenge et al. in, Pers Soc Psychol Rev 8:308–319, 2004). Ninety-six participants were assigned to the hope intervention or one of two comparison/control conditions—progressive muscle relaxation or no intervention. Assessment occurred prior to intervention (pre-test), following intervention (post-test), and at one-month follow-up. Participants in the hope intervention showed increases in measures of hope, life purpose, and vocational calling from pre- to post-test relative to control participants. They also reported greater progress on a self-nominated goal at one-month follow-up. Counterintuitively, although hope predicted goal progress, hope did not mediate the relationship between intervention condition and goal progress. Implications of these findings and future directions are discussed.
The impact of nine strengths-based positive interventions on well-being and depression was examined in an Internet-based randomized placebo-controlled study. The aims of the study were to: (1) replicate findings on the effectiveness of the gratitude visit, three good things, and using character strengths interventions; (2) test variants of interventions (noting three good things for 2 weeks; combining the gratitude visit and three good things interventions; and noting three funny things for a week); and (3) test the effectiveness of the counting kindness, gift of time, and another door opens-interventions in an online setting. A total of 622 adults subjected themselves to one of the nine interventions or to a placebo control exercise (early memories) and thereafter estimated their degrees of happiness and depression at five times (pre- and post-test, 1-, 3-,
and 6 months follow-up). Eight of the nine interventions increased happiness; depression was decreased in all groups, including the placebo control group. We conclude that happiness can be enhanced through some “strengths-based” interventions. Possible mechanisms for the effectiveness of the interventions are discussed.
This paper details the design and evaluation of a positive psychology-based employee well-being program. The effect of the program on well-being was evaluated using a mixed method design comprising of an RCT to assess outcome effectiveness, and participant feedback and facilitator field notes to assess process and impact effectiveness. Fifty government employees were randomly allocated to either an intervention or a control group (reduced to n = 23 for complete case analysis). The intervention group participated in the 6-week Working for Wellness Program and completed measures of subjective, psychological, affective and work-related well-being (SWB, PWB, AWB and WWB) at pre-intervention, post-intervention, and three and 6 month follow-ups. The control group completed the questionnaires only. As predicted, mixed ANOVAs revealed improvements in SWB and PWB for intervention group participants over time relative to control participants but these effects had reduced by time 4. There was a main effect of group on AWB in the predicted direction but no effect on WWB. Participant feedback indicated that the focus on strengths and group delivery were the most effective components of the program. Key issues were sample attrition and a lack of on-the-job support for change. Findings suggest employees can learn effective strategies for sustainably increasing their subjective and psychological well-being.
Two exercises involving gratitude and uplifting music were tested for their ability to improve well-being in self-critical and needy individuals. In this study, 772 adults completed measures of depressive symptoms, physical symptoms, happiness, and self-esteem and then practiced the gratitude, music, or control exercise (recalling early childhood memories) for 1 week. Follow-up measures were administered after the intervention period, and 1, 3, and 6 months later. Participants in both the gratitude and the music condition reported greater increases in happiness over time than participants in the control condition. Self-critics were particularly responsive to the gratitude intervention, whereas needy individuals found the exercises ineffective and even detrimental to their self-esteem. These results highlight the importance of identifying individual differences in response to positive psychology exercises.
In a variation on Pennebaker's writing paradigm, a sample of 81 undergraduates wrote about one of four topics for 20 minutes each day for 4 consecutive days. Participants were randomly assigned to write about their most traumatic life event, their best possible future self, both of these topics, or a nonemotional con- trol topic. Mood was measured before and after writing and health center data for illness were obtained with participant con- sent. Three weeks later, measures of subjective well-being were obtained. Writing about life goals was significantly less upset- ting than writing about trauma and was associated with a sig- nificant increase in subjective well-being. Five months after writ- ing, a significant interaction emerged such that writing about trauma, one's best possible self, or both were associated with decreased illness compared with controls. Results indicate that writing about self-regulatory topics can be associated with the same health benefits as writing about trauma.
In a randomised controlled study, 41 executives in a public health agency received 360-degree feedback, a half-day leadership workshop, and four individual coaching sessions over 10 weeks. The coaching used a cognitive-behavioural solution-focused approach. Quantitative and qualitative measures were taken. This is the first published randomised controlled study in which coaching was conducted by professional executive coaches external to the organisation. Compared to controls, coaching enhanced goal attainment, increased resilience and workplace well-being and reduced depression and stress. Qualitative responses indicated participants found coaching helped increase self-confidence and personal insight, build management skills and helped participants deal with organisational change. Findings indicate that short-term coaching can be effective, and that evidence-based executive coaching can be valuable as an applied positive psychology in helping people deal with the uncertainly and challenges inherent in organisational change. Practical impactions are discussed and recommendations are made for the effective measurement of coaching outcomes.
Research is in its infancy in the newly emerging field of coaching psychology. This study examined the effects of a 10-week cognitive-behavioral, solution-focused life coaching group programme. Participants were randomly allocated to a life coaching group programme (n = 28) or a waitlist control group (n = 28). Participation in the life coaching group programme was associated with significant increases in goal striving, well-being and hope, with gains maintained up to 30 weeks later on some variables. Hope theory may explain such positive outcomes. Life coaching programmes that utilize evidence-based techniques may provide a framework for further research on psychological processes that occur in non-clinical populations who wish to make purposeful change and enhance their positive psychological functioning.
This study investigates whether using a selection method based on participant preference increased preference, adherence, or efficacy compared to an unmatched group. Undergraduate students (N = 127) participated in the study over a 4-week period. All participants randomly received, completed, and rated their preference for an initial positive psychology exercise. These data were used to select a second activity: participants in the matched group received a second exercise based on a previously defined matching rule, whereas a comparison group received a second exercise selected randomly from the set of unmatched exercises. Individuals preferred the matched exercise more significantly and although not statistically significant, reported slightly larger boosts in well-being than those who received an unmatched exercise. No significant differences were found between the groups for exercise adherence. Future efforts to construct treatment packages should follow this model of combining individually validated components using empirical data.
The effectiveness of two online exercises intended to help individuals experience (1) self-compassion (n = 63) and (2) optimism (n = 55) were compared to a control intervention where participants wrote about an early memory (n = 70). A battery of tests was completed at 1 week following the exercise period, and at 1-, 3-, and 6-month follow-ups. Both active interventions resulted in significant increases in happiness observable at 6 months and significant decreases in depression sustained up to 3 months. The interventions were examined in relationship to dependency and self-criticism, both related to vulnerability to depression. Individuals high in self-criticism became happier at 1 week and at 1 month in the optimism condition in the repeated measures analysis. A sensitivity test using multi-level modeling failed to replicate this effect. More mature levels of dependence (connectedness) were related to improvements in mood up to 6 months in the self-compassion condition. This study suggests that different personality orientations may show greater gains from particular types of positive psychology interventions.
This research synthesis integrates findings from 150 experimental, ambulatory and longitudinal studies that tested the impact of well-being on objective health outcomes. Results demonstrated that well-being positively impacts health outcomes (r=0.14). Well-being was found to be positively related to short-term health outcomes (r=0.15), long-term health outcomes (r=0.11), and disease or symptom control (r=0.13). Results from the experimental studies demonstrated that inductions of well-being lead to healthy functioning, and inductions of ill-being lead to compromised health at similar magnitudes. Thus, the effect of subjective well-being on health is not solely due to ill-being having a detrimental impact on health, but also to well-being having a salutary impact on health. Additionally, the impact of well-being on improving health was stronger for immune system response and pain tolerance, whereas well-being was not significantly related to increases in cardiovascular and physiological reactivity. These findings point to potential biological pathways, such that well-being can directly bolster immune functioning and buffer the impact of stress.
The ability to project oneself into the future has previously been found to be related to happiness and anxiety. The purpose of the present study was to investigate the causal effect of deliberate mental time travel (MTT) on happiness and anxiety. More specifically, we address whether purposely engaging in positive, negative, or neutral future MTT would lead to different levels of happiness and anxiety. Results show a significant increase of happiness for subjects in the positive condition after 2 weeks but no changes in the negative or neutral condition. Additionally, while positive or negative MTT had no effect on anxiety, engaging in neutral MTT seems to significantly reduce stress over 15 days. These findings suggest that positive future MTT is not just a consequence of happiness and might be related to well-being in a causal fashion and provide a new approach in happiness boosting and stress-reducing activities.
This study tested whether a brief manipulation consisting of positive future thinking can temporarily increase optimism. Participants in the positive future thinking condition (n = 44) wrote about their best possible self (BPS) for 15 min, followed by 5 min of mental imagery. Participants in the control condition (n = 38) wrote about and imagined a typical day in their life. Positive and negative future expectancies and positive and negative affect were measured before and after each manipulation. Compared to the control manipulation, the positive future thinking manipulation led to significantly larger increase in positive affect and positive future expectancies. The increase in positive expectancies was not dependent on the mood effect. The results indicate that imagining a positive future can indeed increase expectancies for a positive future.
Positive psychologists have developed a variety of techniques to increase well-being. This study explored whether preferences for some interventions are linked to preferences for other interventions. A total of 792 participants received up to six positive psychology exercises. After each exercise, participants indicated their preference for each exercise and how often they engaged in it. A factor analysis of these scores revealed three groupings of subjective preferences: active-constructive responding and savoring; blessings and life summary; and gratitude visit and strengths. Individuals who had high preference for an exercise were more likely to complete the exercise. Implications for application of positive psychology exercises and future recommendations are discussed including the use of such a framework for tailoring custom programs of interventions.
W. Wilson's (1967) review of the area of subjective well-being (SWB) advanced several conclusions regarding those who report high levels of "happiness." A number of his conclusions have been overturned: youth and modest aspirations no longer are seen as prerequisites of SWB. E. Diener's (1984) review placed greater emphasis on theories that stressed psychological factors. In the current article, the authors review current evidence for Wilson's conclusions and discuss modern theories of SWB that stress dispositional influences, adaptation, goals, and coping strategies. The next steps in the evolution of the field are to comprehend the interaction of psychological factors with life circumstances in producing SWB, to understand the causal pathways leading to happiness, understand the processes underlying adaptation to events, and develop theories that explain why certain variables differentially influence the different components of SWB (life satisfaction, pleasant affect, and unpleasant affect). (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)
Few studies have investigated the impact of life coaching on self-regulated behavior and well-being. A limitation of past studies has been their reliance on peer rather than professional coaches. The present randomized controlled study compared peer with professional life coaching over a 10-week period with 63 participants. Results indicated that, compared to peer coachees and controls, coachees of professional coaches were more engaged in the coaching process, had greater goal commitment and progression, and greater well-being in terms of environmental mastery; other facets of well-being did not change. The results suggest that the presence of a supportive person may be a necessary but insufficient condition for enhancing goal striving and highlight the importance of expertise in coaching. Recommendations are made for future research and for using life coaching as a methodology for applied positive psychology.
The recent growth of positive psychology has led to a proliferation in exercises to increase positive thoughts, behaviors, and emotions. Preliminary evidence suggests that these exercises hold promise as an approach for reducing depressive symptoms. These exercises are typically researched in isolation as single exercises. The current study examined the acceptability of several multi-exercise packages using online dissemination.
The purpose of this study was to investigate methods of dissemination that could increase the acceptability and effectiveness of positive psychology exercises. To achieve this goal, we compared the use of positive psychology exercises when delivered in packages of 2, 4, or 6 exercises.
Self-help-seeking participants enrolled in this study by visiting an online research portal. Consenting participants were randomly assigned to receive 2, 4, or 6 positive psychology exercises (or assessments only) over a 6-week period. These exercises drew from the content of group positive psychotherapy. Participants visited an automated website that distributed exercise instructions, provided email reminders, and contained the baseline and follow-up assessments. Following each exercise, participants rated their enjoyment of the exercise, answered how often they had used each technique, and completed outcome measures.
In total, 1364 individuals consented to participate. Attrition rates across the 2-, 4-, and 6-exercise conditions were similar at 55.5% (181/326), 55.8% (203/364), and 52.7% (168/319) respectively but were significantly greater than the attrition rate of 42.5% (151/355) for the control condition (χ(2)(3) = 16.40, P < .001). Participants in the 6-exercise condition were significant more likely than participants in the 4-exercise condition to use both the third (F(1,312) = 5.61, P = .02) and fourth (F(1,313 )= 6.03, P = .02) exercises. For 5 of the 6 exercises, enjoyment was related to continued use of the exercise at 6-week follow-up (r's = .12 to .39). All conditions produced significant reductions in depressive symptoms (F(1,656) = 94.71, P < .001); however, a significant condition by time interaction (F(3,656) = 4.77, P = .003) indicated that this reduction was larger in the groups that received 2 or 4 exercises compared with the 6-exercise or control condition.
Increasing the number of exercises presented to participants increased the use of the techniques and did not increase dropout. Participants may be more likely to use these skills when presented with a variety of options. Increasing the number of exercises delivered to participants produced a curvilinear relationship with those in the 2- and 4-exercise conditions reporting larger decreases in depressive symptoms than participants in the 6-exercise or control conditions. Although research generally offers a single exercise to test isolate effects, this study supports that studying variability in dissemination can produce important findings.
Two studies were conducted to analyze how hope, resilience, optimism, and efficacy individually and as a composite higher-order factor predicted work performance and satisfaction. Results from Study 1 provided psychometric support for a new survey measure designed to assess each of these 4 facets, as well as a composite factor. Study 2 results indicated a significant positive relationship regarding the composite of these 4 facets with performance and satisfaction. Results from Study 2 also indicated that the composite factor may be a better predictor of performance and satisfaction than the 4 individual facets. Limitations and practical implications conclude the article.
The issue. Nineteenth century utilitarian philosophers considered happiness as the highest good (utility in their words) and claimed political priority for attempts to promote the greatest happiness for the greatest number. In reaction, many of their contemporaries cried out that happiness is not good at all, because it turns people into contented cows and undermines social bonds. Modern psychologists, however, tend to suggest positive effects: sharper awareness, more activity, better social functioning and better health.
Data. No empirical investigations have yet focussed on consequences of happiness. Nevertheless, indications can be found in various studies covering other matters. This paper gathers the available data. These data do not allow definite conclusions, but do suggest several small yet noteworthy effects. Enjoyment of life seems to broaden perception, to encourage active involvement and thereby to foster political participation. It facilitates social contacts: in particular contacts with spouse and children. Further, happiness buffers stress, thereby preserving health and lengthening life somewhat. There is no evidence of harmful effects. It is concluded that society is more likely to flourish with happy citizens than with unhappy ones.
The current study examined the effect of practicing compassion towards others over a 1week period. Participants (N=719) were recruited online, and were assigned to a compassionate action condition or a control condition which involved
writing about an early memory. Multilevel modeling revealed that those in the compassionate action condition showed sustained
gains in happiness (SHI; Seligman et al. in Am Psychol 60:410–421, 2005) and self-esteem (RSES; Rosenberg in Society and the adolescent self-image. Princeton University Press, Princeton, 1965) over 6months, relative to those in the control condition. Furthermore, a multiple regression indicated that anxiously attached
individuals (ECR; Brennan et al. 1998) in the compassionate action condition reported greater decreases in depressive symptoms following the exercise period. These
results suggest that practicing compassion can provide lasting improvements in happiness and selfesteem, and may be beneficial
for anxious individuals in the short run.
KeywordsCompassion–Compassionate action–Attachment–Happiness–Self-esteem
Background
Although there is substantial evidence for the efficacy of life review therapy as an early treatment of depression in later life, its effectiveness in natural settings has not been studied. The present study evaluates an intervention based on life review and narrative therapy in a large multi-site, pragmatic randomized controlled trial (RCT).
Method
Life review therapy was compared with care as usual. The primary outcome was depressive symptoms; secondary outcomes were anxiety symptoms, positive mental health, quality of life, and current major depressive episode (MDE). To identify groups for whom the intervention was particularly effective, moderator analyses were carried out (on sociodemographic variables, personality traits, reminiscence functions, clinically relevant depressive and anxiety symptoms, and past MDEs).
Results
Compared with care as usual ( n =102), life review therapy ( n =100) was effective in reducing depressive symptoms, at post-treatment ( d =0.60, B =−5.3, p <0.001), at 3-month follow-up ( d =0.50, B =−5.0, p <0.001) and for the intervention also at 9-month follow-up ( t =5.7, p <0.001). The likelihood of a clinically significant change in depressive symptoms was significantly higher [odds ratio (OR) 3.77, p <0.001 at post-treatment; OR 3.76, p <0.001 at the 3-month follow-up]. Small significant effects were found for symptoms of anxiety and positive mental health. Moderator analyses showed only two significant moderators, the personality trait of extraversion and the reminiscence function of boredom reduction.
Conclusions
This study shows the effectiveness of life review therapy as an early intervention for depression in an ecologically valid context, supporting its applicability to a broad target group. The intervention is also effective in reducing anxiety symptoms and strengthening positive mental health.
This meta-analysis synthesized studies on emotional well-being as predictor of the prognosis of physical illness, while in addition evaluating the impact of putative moderators, namely constructs of well-being, health-related outcome, year of publication, follow-up time and methodological quality of the included studies. The search in reference lists and electronic databases (Medline and PsycInfo) identified 17 eligible studies examining the impact of general well-being, positive affect and life satisfaction on recovery and survival in physically ill patients. Meta-analytically combining these studies revealed a Likelihood Ratio of 1.14, indicating a small but significant effect. Higher levels of emotional well-being are beneficial for recovery and survival in physically ill patients. The findings show that emotional well-being predicts long-term prognosis of physical illness. This suggests that enhancement of emotional well-being may improve the prognosis of physical illness, which should be investigated by future research.
The effect of a grateful outlook on psychological and physical well-being was examined. In Studies 1 and 2, participants were randomly assigned to 1 of 3 experimental conditions (hassles, gratitude listing, and either neutral life events or social comparison); they then kept weekly (Study 1) or daily (Study 2) records of their moods, coping behaviors, health behaviors, physical symptoms, and overall life appraisals. In a 3rd study, persons with neuromuscular disease were randomly assigned to either the gratitude condition or to a control condition. The gratitude-outlook groups exhibited heightened well-being across several, though not all, of the outcome measures across the 3 studies, relative to the comparison groups. The effect on positive affect appeared to be the most robust finding. Results suggest that a conscious focus on blessings may have emotional and interpersonal benefits.
Psychological capital with components of hope, self-efficacy, optimism, and resiliency has recently emerged as a core construct in taking positive psychology to the workplace. A distinguishing feature is that it is "state-like" and thus open to development. We analyze whether such psychological capital can be developed through a highly focused, 2-hour web-based training intervention. Using a pretest, posttest experimental design (n = 187 randomly assigned to the treatment group and n = 177 to the control group), we found support that psychological capital can be developed by such a training intervention.
IntroductionIndividual studiesThe summary effectHeterogeneity of effect sizesSummary points
In a randomised controlled trial, the internet-based ResilienceOnline (ROL) program was evaluated among sales managers from an Australian industrial organisation. This program is designed to enhance resilience by teaching seven skills to help improve ability to cope with challenges and setbacks and maximise potential achievements. Sales managers were allocated to complete the ROL program (n = 26) or to be in a waitlist-control condition (n = 27) and were compared on pre-and post-intervention measures of happiness, quality of life, depression, anxiety, stress and work performance. Sales managers found the resilience training very enjoyable and believed it would improve their work performance and life skills. However, a high proportion of sales managers did not complete the ROL program and it was not found to significantly reduce distress or improve quality of life or work performance.
Positive psychology has been increasingly moving towards testing interventions to increase positive outcomes and decrease
negative outcomes. One of these possible interventions involves increasing savoring the moment. During savoring the moment,
one focuses on positive events while they occur to increase, intensify, or prolong positive emotions in the present. This
study tested a group savoring the moment intervention to increase positive outcomes and decrease negative outcomes over 2 weeks.
The sample consisted of 193 undergraduate students who completed both sessions (94 intervention and 99 control condition).
The intervention group experienced significant decreases in self-reported depressive symptoms and negative affect when compared
to the control group. However, positive affect did not differ between the groups. Clinical and research implications are explored.