Online Positive Psychology Research Articles

The effects of an online positive psychology intervention on pre‐service teachers' efficacy, ability to cope and emotional regulation

AbstractPre‐service teachers have been identified as a risk group for developing burnout syndromes over the course of their careers due to increased perceived psychological distress and, in particular, if there is a lack of coping strategies. To provide pre‐service teachers with appropriate techniques and concepts that can be successfully applied in educational and work contexts, an online positive psychology intervention was designed to improve participants' resilience, in particular their self‐efficacy, emotion regulation and ability to cope. Linear mixed models that simultaneously analyse variability between subjects and over time revealed that pre‐service teachers who participated in the intervention benefited from the programme with respect to an increase of their emotion regulation strategies, self‐efficacy and ability to cope compared to the control group—although at baseline, they exhibited less beneficial emotion regulation, self‐efficacy and ability to cope. The findings suggest that such positive psychology interventions could help pre‐service teachers build their resilience.

Effects of two online positive psychology and meditation programs on persistent self-transcendence.

Effects of two online positive psychology and meditation programs on persistent self-transcendence.

Measuring the impact of a positive psychology course at a Thai university: Addressing student well‐being in challenging times

AbstractEven before the onset of the COVID‐19 pandemic, researchers had raised concerns about the mental health of youth worldwide. One response has been the development of positive psychology interventions (PPIs) designed to enhance well‐being. This study, conducted at a Thai university, investigated the impact of an online positive psychology course containing several PPIs on student well‐being as measured by the EPOCH Measure of Adolescent Well‐Being, the Satisfaction With Life Scale (SWLS), and Subjective Happiness Scale. The scores of the students in the positive psychology course (n = 84) increased in all areas measured, with statistically significant increases in the Perseverance, Optimism, and Happiness subscales of the EPOCH. Meanwhile, the scores of the control group (n = 105) decreased in all but two areas, with statistically significant decreases in the SWLS and Optimism. These findings suggest that teaching PPIs online can positively impact students' well‐being.

The Effects of an Online Positive Psychology Course on Happiness, Health, and Well-Being.

This study investigated the effects of an 8-week online positive psychology course on happiness, health, and well-being. There were 65 undergraduate students in the course and a comparison group of 63 undergraduates taking other online psychology courses. The participants were assessed on positive mental health (e.g., happiness, positive emotions), negative mental health (e.g., anxiety, depression), general health, and personal characteristics (e.g., hope, resilience) during the first and last week of the courses. The anxiety and depression measures had cut-offs for clinically significant symptoms. The hypotheses were that the positive psychology students would have significant improvements on all measures and a reduction in the percent anxious and depressed relative to the comparison group. The hypotheses were supported with large effect sizes for positive and negative mental health (mean ds = 0.907 and - 0.779, respectively) and medium-to-large effects for general health and personal characteristics (d = 0.674 and mean ds = 0.590, respectively). There was a reduction from 49.2 to 23.1% percent anxious and from 18.6 to 6.2% percent depressed with no change in the comparison group. In addition, improvements in the online positive psychology course were compared with a previous study of a similar face-to-face positive psychology course (Smith et al., 2021) showing the effect sizes for improvements relative to the comparison groups were larger in the online vs. face-to-face course (mean ds = 0.878. vs. 0.593). Possible explanations for these differences are discussed along with the implications for maximizing the benefits of positive psychology courses in the future.

The effect on mental well-being, life attitude and depression levels of positive psychology program applied to patients diagnosed with depression.

Positive psychology (PP) interventions are treatment methods or intentional activities aiming to develop positive feelings, behaviors or cognitions. This study was conducted to determine the effect on mental well-being, life attitude and depression levels of PP program applied to patients diagnosed with depression. The pre, post and follow-up test were conducted as a quasi-experimental study. Patients who diagnosis of depression for at least 6 months constituted the population of the study, and a total of 53 patients, 26 were in the experimental and 27 in the control group. Data were collected using Personal Information Form,Beck Depression Inventory,Warwick-Edinburgh Mental Well-Being Scale and Life Attitude Profile Scale. After the analysis,it has been determined that the online PP program is effective in reducing the level of depression, increasing mental well-being and developing a positive life attitude. It is recommended that the PP program be used by psychiatric nurses in the treatment of depression and the execution of studies comparing online positive psychology practices with face-to-face positive psychology practices are recommended.

Developing an online positive psychology application for people with bipolar disorder; ‘How expectations of consumers and professionals turned into an intervention.’

IntroductionIn Bipolar Disorder (BD), people report a lower quality of life and lower levels of well-being than the general population. Additionally, patients with bipolar disorder have unmet needs which are closely linked to elements of positive psychology.ObjectivesThe current study aimed to gain insight from patients with BD and care professionals about their thoughts of online Positive Psychology Interventions (PPI) to develop an app containing PPI’s for people with BD.MethodsThe study is conducted in accordance with the CeHRes roadmap principles. Data were collected by focus groups, questionnaires, rapid prototyping and online feedback from the participants. Three focus groups meetings (FGM) were held with consumers (8) and professionals (5).ResultsThe FGM reveals a need for positive psychology interventions to cover some of the unmet needs that can be applied in an app in addition to the guidelines-advised treatment. Patients and professionals expect that PPIs in the current treatment in BD can meet some of the needs that are currently still unmet, specifically offering hope, increasing self-esteem, expressing feelings, acceptation and preventing social isolation. The process of contextual inquiry and value specification is helpful to guide this process.ConclusionsThe consensus on the different topics about the use of positive psychology intervention shows that both consumers and professionals underline the importance of applying PPI’s in BD. The use during subsyndrome and mild depressive episodes seem the most beneficial periods for patients with BD. A more extended study has to be conducted to confirm if these findings are more generalizableDisclosureNo significant relationships.

Efficacy of positive psychological interventions in anxiety treatment

Psychiatry traditionally emphasizes psychopharmacology and psychotherapy as the primary modalities of treatment. Recently, however, positive psychological interventions are increasingly recognized as a treatment modality that aims to improve a patient's general wellness. Our goal is to review published data on the efficacy of positive psychological interventions (PPI) in the treatment of anxiety. A systematic literature search was conducted on PubMed, Web of Science, and PsycINFO. The keywords used were "positive psychology" and "treatment of anxiety." The search involved all articles published until 2019. To meet inclusion criteria, articles needed to report using positive psychological interventions with patients diagnosed with anxiety or suffering from anxiety symptoms. The main outcome measure was a change in anxiety levels post-intervention. Our initial literature search of 1010 articles was narrowed down to 6 papers that met the inclusion criteria. Interventions used were body-mind-spirit therapy, online positive psychology modules, self-help books, positive activity intervention, future-directed therapy, and mindfulness-based therapies. Pre- and post-treatment anxiety was measured using scales such as State Anxiety Inventory, Depression Anxiety Stress Scale-Short form, Overall Anxiety Severity, Impairment Scale, Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale, Liebowitz Social Anxiety Scale – Self-Report, Beck Anxiety Inventory, Social Interaction Anxiety Scale, Profile of Mood States, Brief Symptom Inventory, and Revised Children's Manifest Anxiety Scale. In all six included studies, PPI decreased anxiety symptoms with variable effect sizes. The review suggests that PPI offers therapeutic benefits to patients diagnosed with anxiety symptoms. Thus, more research is needed to examine the feasibility of incorporating PPI into the traditional mental health care.

Effectiveness of positive psychology intervention in promoting happiness and altering attributional style among emerging adults

Happiness has shown to be linked with good health, success, and other positive psychology concepts. However, there are fewer studies on happiness, unlike illness. This study measured the effect of Positive Psychology Intervention on happiness levels and attribution style in emerging adults. A sample of 61 participants took the survey initially in which sample n = 10 was considered for the intervention. Eight-session online positive psychology intervention was designed for the selected sample. The exercises used for the intervention were evidence-based. Subjective Happiness Scale (Lyubomirsky, 1999) was used to measure the happiness levels of the participants. Attributional Style Questionnaire (Peterson et al., 1982) was also used. Results were obtained using Wilcoxon Signed-rank test, Pearson's correlation, and thematic analysis. Happiness was positively related with attributional style and positive psychology intervention had an effect on happiness and attribution style. Results suggest that suitable implementation of intervention can serve as a primary prevention strategy.

Effectiveness of an online positive psychology intervention among Tunisian healthcare students on mental health and study engagement during the Covid-19 pandemic.

AbstractResearch indicates that university students present higher levels of psychological distress compared with non‐student age‐matched youth. These levels are higher among healthcare students, and even higher during the Covid‐19 pandemic. Therefore, cost‐effective large‐scale interventions are needed in order to prevent further development of psychological distress during this period, and more generally. The aim of the current study was to assess the effectiveness of an 8‐week Internet‐based positive psychology intervention for healthcare students in Tunisia. A two‐armed randomized controlled trial was conducted among a sample of 366 health care students (183 in the experimental group and 183 in the control group), with a majority of women (94%). The average age was 20.74 years (±1.64). The participants completed the following online questionnaires at three time‐points (before the program, immediately after, and three months later): stress, anxiety, depression, emotional regulation, optimism, hope, study engagement, and well‐being. Repeated‐measures ANOVAs revealed significant positive effects of the intervention on all the measured variables for the experimental group. The results showed a significant improvement immediately after the intervention compared to the control group, which was maintained three months later. This program may thus be considered as a promising means of improving students' mental health and study engagement.

Effectiveness of online, school-based Positive Psychology Interventions to improve mental health and wellbeing: A systematic review

Online positive psychology interventions provide a more equitable method for young people to access wellbeing education at school than more traditional face to face programs. This systematic review aimed to examine the effectiveness of universal, online, school-based, positive psychology interventions using recommendations by the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic reviews and Meta-analyses - protocols (PRISMA-P). Nine articles were identified for the review and were deductively, thematically analyzed using an enhanced RE-AIM framework which adopts a wider systems perspective including evaluation of socio-ecological readiness system wide buy-in and consideration of micro (individual) to macro (governing bodies) levels of influence, on both reach and adoption. Effectiveness assessment identified common factors for success related primarily to implementation (e.g., readiness, reach, outcomes, adoption, implementation, and maintenance). For example, buy-in from stakeholders was found to be highest when PPIs are age appropriate, engaging and helpful. Also brief, more frequent sessions, may be more effective than less frequent longer sessions and multi-level stakeholder buy-in may result in higher completion rates leading to better overall program effectiveness.

‘Stay Safe-Feel Positive’ on the frontline: An online positive psychology intervention for police officers during the COVID-19 pandemic

ABSTRACT The current study investigated the effectiveness of an online Positive Psychology group intervention for police officers intending to mitigate the psychological impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and to enhance their personal strengths and resilience. Participants were 95 Greek police officers, assigned to the intervention (n = 49) and the control (n = 45) group. All participants completed an online questionnaire at four time-points. The results indicated a significant increase in the intervention group’s empathy, resilience, and positive emotions, as well as a significant decrease in fear of the coronavirus, negative emotions, loneliness, depressive symptoms and anxiety emotions compared to the control group. Changes remained significant in the long-term. The intervention assisted police officers in developing their personal strengths in a difficult period, indicating that personal growth can be triggered even in adverse situations.

Supplemental Material for Effects of Two Online Positive Psychology and Meditation Programs on Persistent Self-Transcendence

Supplemental Material for Effects of Two Online Positive Psychology and Meditation Programs on Persistent Self-Transcendence

Effectiveness of Online Positive Psychology Intervention on Psychological Well-Being Among Undergraduate Students

Positive psychology intervention is mediation that aims to promote quality of life and well-being. Current research integrating positive psychology with the Internet is called online positive psychology (OPP) which promotes and prevents mental health problems, improves well-being, and reduces depression. This experimental research aimed 1) to compare the psychological well-being of the experimental group that received online positive psychology intervention in the phase of pre-test, post-test, and follow up and 2) to compare the psychological well-being between the experimental group and the controlled group. The subjects were 24 undergraduate students from Mahasarakham University, Thailand, selected by purposive sampling. Thereafter, the subjects were equally divided into experimental and controlled groups. Measures used in this study were as follows: 1) the online positive psychology intervention to improve psychological well-being and 2) the scale of psychological well-being based on Ryff’s psychological well-being. The statistics used in the data analysis were the Friedman Test, Wilcoxon signed-rank test, and the Mann Whitney U Test. The results of the pre-test and the post-test showed that the mean scores of psychological well-being of the experimental group were significantly different at 0.05 levels. Additionally, the mean scores of psychological well-being between the experimental group and the controlled group in the phases of post-test and follow-up were significantly different at 0.05 levels. The online positive psychology intervention was effective in increasing the psychological well-being of undergraduate students.

"Staying Home - Feeling Positive": Effectiveness of an on-line positive psychology group intervention during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The current study investigated the effectiveness of a group on-line positive psychology intervention (OPPI) designed to mitigate the psychological impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and the subsequent measures to control it. Study participants (N = 82, Mage = 33.07, SD = 9.55) were all Greek adults divided into an intervention (n = 44) and a control group (n = 38). The intervention group attended a voluntary, online, two-week, six-session (each 50 min), group intervention. The intervention aimed at enhancing participants’ personal strengths and resilience in order to cope more effectively with the psychological impact of social distancing (e.g., feelings of anxiety, sadness, fear, and/or loneliness). All participants completed an online questionnaire one week before the intervention’s implementation, which included scales measuring their: demographic characteristics, empathy, resilience, affectivity, feelings of loneliness, depression and anxiety levels, and feelings of fear regarding the outbreak. Participants in both the intervention and control group completed the same measures the week following the intervention’s termination to examine its effects, and two weeks later to examine its long-term effectiveness. The intervention was found to be effective in alleviating the impact of the pandemic and in strengthening participants’ resilience. More specifically, the results showed significant decreases for the intervention group in all measures of psychosocial distress (anxiety, depression, loneliness and fear) and significant increases in empathy, resilience, and experience of positive emotions. The study’s implications for the development and implementation of online psychological interventions during a crisis are discussed.

The Effectiveness of an Online Positive Psychology Intervention among Healthcare Professionals with Depression, Anxiety or Stress Symptoms and Burnout

This study aimed to test the effectiveness of an online positive psychology intervention among Greek healthcare professionals with depression, anxiety and/or stress symptoms and increased levels of burnout. The sample was consisted of 38 participants with mild, severe, or extremely severe symptoms of depression, anxiety and stress, and moderate or high levels of burnout, who were randomly assigned either to the intervention (N = 19) or the active control group (N = 19). Participants in the intervention group were introduced weekly to three positive psychology activities, whilst participants in the control group were given three placebo activities. All participants completed self-report questionnaires (Depression, Anxiety and Stress Scale, Maslach Burnout Inventory, Satisfaction with Life Scale, Positive and Negative Affect Scale) at the beginning and at the end of the three-week online intervention. The results indicated that the intervention group experienced statistically significant decreases in depression, anxiety, stress, and emotional exhaustion scores, as well as increases in satisfaction with life, compared to the control group which reported no changes. These findings suggest that such a positive psychology intervention could help healthcare professionals to manage their difficulties more effectively. Other clinical implications and recommendations for future research are also considered.

Translating online positive psychology interventions to sexual and gender minorities: A systematic review.

Translating online positive psychology interventions to sexual and gender minorities: A systematic review.

Examining Emotional Literacy Development Using a Brief On-Line Positive Psychology Intervention with Primary School Children.

Wellbeing literacy (WL) may be the missing ingredient required to optimally enhance or enable positive psychology intervention (PPI) effectiveness. This study involved Victorian government funded primary schools, including two rural, two regional, and two city schools; participants included 20 classroom teachers and 131 grade five and six primary school students. A brief online PPI was implemented by teachers for 10–15 min, three times per week, for six weeks. This paper examines quantitative data collected pre and post the six week intervention, and qualitative data gathered in week one of the intervention regarding intervention effectiveness. The aim is to examine if a brief online PPI effectively builds intentional emotional vocabulary use, and to discuss how on-line PPIs can be used in public health to improve young people’s WL. Considering evaluations of process effectiveness and outcome measures related to student emotional vocabulary use, results tentatively suggest that online PPIs can positively impact emotional vocabulary capability and intentionality. Multimodal communication was exercised during the PPI, suggesting that the brief online PPI format may provide a valuable tool to promote student WL.

GET.HAPPY2 - User perspectives on an internet-based self-management positive psychology intervention among persons with and without depression: Results from a retrospective survey.

Previous research suggests that online positive psychology interventions (PPI) are frequently used by individuals with symptoms of depression. We aimed to investigate differences in the way depressed and nondepressed users react to the content of an existing online PPI, originally designed for the general public. In a retrospective online survey, we assessed discontinuation parameters, aspects of satisfaction with the program, and negative reactions among users of an online PPI. Bivariate and multivariate analyses showed that, overall, reactions between depressed and nondepressed individuals were similar. Differences were observed concerning reasons for using and for discontinuing the program, the perception of exercises, and negative reactions. Although satisfaction with the program was high, it did not seem to fully meet users' expectations and might be more difficult to complete during episodes of depression. Implications of this study for the adaptation of online PPIs addressing depressed individuals are discussed.

A three-factor model of personality predicts changes in depression and subjective well-being following positive psychology interventions

ABSTRACT The goal of this study was to determine a comprehensive model of personality that could be used to predict outcome (depression and subjective well-being) following online positive psychology interventions. Participants performed randomly assigned exercises over one week, with follow-up assessments over 6-months. Exploratory factor analysis was completed with half of the sample (n = 2188) with measures of the Big Five, neediness, self-criticism, efficacy, self-esteem, gratitude, self-compassion, and attachment styles. The resulting model was validated using confirmatory factor analysis (n = 2186). The best fitting model comprised three factors: Equanimity, Anxiety, and Agency, which were analyzed with latent growth curve models. Equanimity was associated with well-being at baseline, and no change in outcome following the exercises. Anxiety and Agency moderated the efficacy of the interventions, at post-test and over time. The results support the utility of a three-factor model of personality in the study of individual differences in positive psychology.

What might affect acceptability of online positive psychology interventions for depression: a qualitative study on patient expectations\u2019

BackgroundPositive psychology interventions are brief self-adminstered exercises designed to promote positive emotions, behaviours, or thoughts. They are potentially effective for reducing depression and are considered suitable for online dissemination to people with depression and related conditions, as they are assumed to be more acceptable than traditional symptom-focused approaches. However, there is little investigation into perceived acceptability and potential factors that might affect it. This might limit the development and evaluation of effective interventions.MethodsSemi-structured interviews with patients with depression and/or anxiety (n = 18) and professionals, including GPs and psychologists (n = 5) were conducted on their perceptions of a proposed online intervention using positive psychology. Thematic analysis, according to Braun and Clarke, was used to identify meaningful patterns in the data.ResultsFour key themes were identified. The fit between the positive psychological approach and the patient’s context, including their personality, symptoms and other treatments, was important in determining acceptability. Social aspects of interventions were thought to facilitate acceptability, as long as these were balanced. Support was identified as important in facilitating intervention suitability, although it was not without limitations. Finally, participants identified how design features can enhance acceptability.ConclusionsThe findings suggest that positive psychology interventions might not be acceptable to all and that specific exercises might be more or less appropriate to deliver online. Design aspects can help to facilitate acceptability, beyond the psychological content. These findings may inform the design of future online psychology interventions for people with depression and anxiety, which can then be evaluated in future research.