Positive Psychology Interventions Research Articles

Inpatients' experiences of falls: A qualitative meta-synthesis.

Identify and synthesize published qualitative research reporting inpatient experiences of a fall to determine novel insights and understandings of this longstanding complex problem. Qualitative meta-synthesis. Online databases were searched to systematically identify published research reporting inpatient experiences of a fall. The included studies were inductively analysed and interpreted then reported as a meta-synthesis. Databases Ovid MEDLINE, Embase, Ovid Emcare, CINAHL Complete, Scopus and ProQuest Dissertations and Theses Global were searched on 3rd August, 2023. From 10 included publications, four new themes of inpatients' experiences of a fall were constructed. Themes one, two and three related to antecedents of patient falls, and theme four related to consequences. Theme one, 'My foot didn't come with me: Physiological and anatomical changes', encompassed patients' experiences of medical conditions, medication, and anatomical changes. These aspects contributed to alterations in balance and strength, and misconceptions of capability in activities of daily (inpatient) living. Theme two, 'I was in a hurry: Help-seeking', encompassed patients' experiences striving for independence while balancing power and control, minimizing their own needs over care of others', and unavailability of support. Theme three, 'I couldn't find the call light: Environment and equipment', encompassed patients' experiences of not being able to reach or use equipment, and environment changes. Theme four, 'It was my fault too: Blame and confidence', encompassed patients' expressions of blame after their fall, blame directed at both themselves and/or others, and impacts on confidence and fear in mobilizing. Inpatient falls are embedded in a complexity of individual, relational, and environmental factors, yet there are potential ways forward both informed and led by the patient's voice. Strength-based approaches to address the tenuous balance between independence and support may be one opportunity to explore as a next step in complementing the existing multifaceted interventions. Inpatient falls are a complex and costly health safety and quality problem. Despite global initiatives in the prevention of inpatient falls, they remain intractable. This meta-synthesis provides an in-depth exploration of extant qualitative data on patients' experiences of falls in hospitals. Four themes were constructed expressing the inpatients' experiences: physiological and anatomical changes, help-seeking, environment and equipment, and blame and confidence. Novel considerations for future investigation are offered, drawing from self-determination theory and positive psychological interventions. This meta-synthesis elicits new considerations for future interventions based on people's experiences of their fall in hospital, offering healthcare professionals novel directions in fall prevention. The review was reported according to the Enhancing transparency in reporting the synthesis of qualitative research statement (ENTREQ; Tong etal., 2012). No Patient or Public Contribution. PROSPERO CRD42023445279.

The dyadic associations among self-efficacy, dyadic coping, and health-related quality of life between high-risk pregnant women and spouses: a cross-sectional study.

Health-related quality of life(HRQoL) is essential for high-risk pregnant women and their spouses. This study aimed to explore the dyadic associations (including actor and partner effects) among self-efficacy, dyadic coping, and HRQoL of high-risk pregnant women and their spouses and examine the mediating effect of dyadic coping. This cross-sectional study recruited participants from two Grade A tertiary hospitals in China from October 2022 to September 2023. A questionnaire including the Chinese version of the General Self-Efficacy Scale, Dyadic Coping Inventory, and 12 Short Form Health Survey Scales was used for the survey. The actor-partner interdependence mediation model was constructed to test dyadic associations and mediating effects. In the actor effects, self-efficacy was positively associated with dyadic coping and HRQoL (P < 0.05). Regarding partner effects, pregnant women's self-efficacy was positively associated with spouses' dyadic coping and physical health (P < 0.05). Dyadic coping partially mediated the relationship between self-efficacy and HRQoL for both groups(P < 0.05). The HRQoL of high-risk pregnant women and their spouses requires urgent attention. Enhancing self-efficacy and dyadic coping in these couples is related to their improved physical and mental health. Healthcare professionals should consider interactions between couples and include them together in perinatal care. Intervention programs for couples or families based on existing positive psychology and dyadic interventions may work together to improve the HRQoL of couples.

Happy Click!: Investigating the Use of a Tangible Interface to Facilitate the Three Good Things Positive Psychology Intervention

Abstract The ‘Three Good Things’ (TGT), a structured journaling exercise, has shown great effect in helping improve mental well-being. However, the exercise could be quite tedious and difficult to carry out daily. To improve the user experience of the exercise, we developed ‘Happy Click’, a mobile application which makes use of a physically present smart button to enable users to record their daily TGT in a more engaging manner. Two preliminary exploratory studies were carried out to examine the feasibility of our approach where the effects of the TGT intervention designed around the mobile and tangible happy click concepts were examined. The findings suggested that participants had significantly less stress after carrying out the TGT using the tangible interface. Participants also reported better user experience and acceptance when carrying out the exercise using the tangible interface compared to the mobile and higher levels of attractiveness and stimulation with the mobile TGT compared to the traditional approach. While these promising results should be interpreted with caution due to the limited sample size, they also underscore the potential advantages of our ‘Happy click’ approach and highlight the need for further, larger-scale evaluations to be conducted to validate its efficacy and scalability.

A Combined Interventional Approach to Train Interview Skills in Autistic Transition-Age Youth.

The job interview can be challenging for autistic adolescents considering the required social communication skills. Further, having decreased awareness of personal strengths may make it difficult to advocate for oneself to a future employer. The purpose of the current pilot randomized controlled trial (RCT) is to examine the preliminary efficacy and feasibility of a combined interventional approach using: the Virtual Interview Tool for Autistic Transition-Age Youth (VIT-TAY) and Kessler Foundation Strength Identification and Expression (KF-STRIDE). Twenty autistic transition-age youth (TAY) were randomly assigned to two groups: an intervention group (n = 10) that received 9h of VIT-TAY (interviewing practice with a virtual human), and three lessons of KF-STRIDE (positive psychology intervention to learn and discuss one's personal character strengths) and a services-as-usual (SAU) group (n = 10). The primary outcome was measured using a video-recorded mock job interview performed at pre- and post-test, which was rated by blinded assessors. Secondary outcomes included self-reports of job interview skill, interview anxiety, work readiness and recent job search behavior. Paired samples t-tests revealed significant differences between pre- and post-test in the intervention group (but not the control group) on the mock interview total score (p = 0.02, d = 0.76) and self-reported job interview skills total score (p = 0.02, d = 0.75). The intervention group (but not the control group) had improvements in work-readiness (p = 0.06, d = 0.53) and job search behavior (p = 0.07, d = 0.52) that were characterized by medium effect sizes. This pilot study suggests that combining VIT-TAY with KF-STRIDE leads to improvements in performance-based and self-reported job interview skills.

Promoting a thriving school community: Investigating the effectiveness of positive psychology interventions for improved teacher-student and staff relationships: A critical review

Promoting a thriving school community: Investigating the effectiveness of positive psychology interventions for improved teacher-student and staff relationships: A critical review

Promoting a thriving school community: Investigating the effectiveness of positive psychology interventions for improved teacher-student and staff relationships: A critical review

Promoting a thriving school community: Investigating the effectiveness of positive psychology interventions for improved teacher-student and staff relationships: A critical review

Predicting which intervention works better for whom: Moderators of treatment effect of Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy and Positive Psychology Intervention in patients with bipolar disorder

BackgroundThis study aimed to identify moderators of treatment effect (i.e. depressive symptoms and well-being) of Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy (MBCT) and Positive Psychology Intervention (PPI) in patients with bipolar disorder. MethodsData were drawn from two multicenter randomized controlled trials investigating effectiveness of MBCT vs treatment as usual (TAU; n = 144) and PPI vs TAU (n = 97) in bipolar disorder. Outcomes were assessed at baseline, posttreatment, and 12 months after baseline. Data were analyzed using separate linear regression models, comparing the pooled MBCT or PPI outcomes to TAU, and comparing MBCT to PPI. ResultsThe exploratory analyses not corrected for multiple comparisons showed a number of variables that were associated with stronger response to the interventions, including higher baseline anxiety, lower well-being, and lower levels of self-focused positive rumination, well-being, and self-compassion, and variables associated with a stronger response to either MBCT (higher levels of depression and anxiety and being married) or PPI (being male). After correcting for multiple testing, depressive symptoms appeared to be the most robust variable associated with better response to MBCT than PPI. LimitationsThe RCTs handled slightly different enrollment criteria and outcome measures. ConclusionsThe most robust finding is that patients with more severe symptomatology seem to benefit more from MBCT than PPI. Clinical implicationsThis is a first step to improve personalized assignment of third-wave CBT interventions for patients with bipolar disorder. However, before definite treatment assignment criteria can be formulated and implemented in clinical practice, these findings should be replicated.

Proposal to apply a "Positive Emotion, Engagement, Relationships, Meaning, and Accomplishment (PERMA)" based approach to manage the COVID-19-related mental health problems in the era of long COVID.

Long COVID (LC)-related health problems are highly concerned. Many patients seem to have "recovered" from an acute SARS-CoV-2 infection, however, they might experience various symptoms, almost involving all organs and systems. Of those, neuropsychiatric symptoms like depression, anxiety, and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) are not rare. These problems significantly impact the quality of life (QOL) of patients, family, and caregivers, even lead a tragic suicide outcome. Other than the conventional psychological and medical approaches, here, we proposal a positive emotion, engagement, relationships, meaning, and accomplishment (PERMA)-based approach to fight against these COVID-19-related mental health problems (CRMHPs). This approach is characterized by positive psychological interventions and self-achievements, which has been proved to be a powerful tool against mood disorders in common people. Nowadays, abolishment of certain prophylactic measures (such as isolation, lockdown, compulsorily wearing a mask and maintaining social distance, measures to avoid crowding) enables us to have more opportunities to contact patients and implement the PERMA-based approach to the patients with CRMHPs. We believe that application of PERMA-based approach is conducive to alleviate the influence of the CRMHPs and improve their QOL.

The Impact of Forgiveness in Emotional Regulation and Resilience in The Face of Adversity Among Young Adults

This research paper investigates the relationship between forgiveness, emotional regulation, and resilience in young adults facing adversity. Forgiveness is conceptualized as a deliberate and voluntary process of freeing oneself from negative emotions towards the person who has caused harm. Emotional regulation refers to the ability to manage and regulate one's emotions effectively, while resilience is defined as the ability to overcome adversity and maintain psychological well-being in challenging circumstances. The study employs a correlational research design and utilizes three main tools: the Emotion Regulation Questionnaire (ERQ), the Nicholson McBride Resilience Questionnaire (NMRQ), and the Heartland Forgiveness Scale (HFS). A sample of 100 young adults aged 18 to 25 years is randomly selected to ensure representation across diverse demographics. The results indicate a significant moderate positive relationship between forgiveness and resilience, supporting the hypothesis that forgiveness contributes to resilience in young adults. However, the correlation between forgiveness and emotional regulation is found to be non-significant, suggesting that forgiveness may directly enhance resilience independent of its effects on emotional regulation. Emotional regulation emerges as a significant factor contributing to resilience, highlighting its importance in fostering psychological adaptation and coping mechanisms in the face of adversity among young adults. These findings contribute to the growing body of knowledge in positive psychology and inform interventions aimed at promoting forgiveness and resilience in individuals and communities facing adversity.

The Impact of Positive Psychological Intervention on English Teaching

This study aims to explore the application of positive psychological intervention in English teaching and its impact on students’ learning. Through literature review, empirical research, and case analysis, this paper deeply analyzes the positive effect of positive psychological intervention on students’ learning motivation, attitude, and performance, and puts forward specific suggestions for the implementation of positive psychological intervention in teaching practice.

Spiralling Engagement Experiences of Creativity (SEEC): A process of research-led arts creation for facilitating experiences of flourishing in participants’ lives

Research in the area of Positive Psychology typically investigates positive psychological interventions and their impact on the lives of participants, positive psychology as an approach to enhance the lives of participants, or investigations of particular populations in search of evidence of flourishing. This paper presents a research process of embodied, creative engagement to facilitate the exploration of research phenomena within community contexts. Entitled Spiralling Engagement Experiences of Creativity (SEEC), the process adapts concepts from Poetic Inquiry as the basis for exploring a phenomenon and extending participants’ engagement with that phenomenon through the facilitation of creative activities. This pilot study focused on the phenomenon of flourishing, using preliminary participant conversations to generate poetry/lyrics that tell individual, personal stories. Participants repeatedly engaged with their own positive personal stories to create an artwork that they could use to remind themselves of ways to interpret their lives. The benefit of this research process is that it prioritises participants making sense of their own lives in creative ways while exploring a phenomenon of interest. The SEEC process has the potential for use in varied contexts where the intersection of a deliberate research and arts-making framework would be helpful for exploring a phenomenon of inquiry.

The effectiveness of a positive psychological intervention for promoting preschool teachers' well-being and professional competence: EASP intervention program.

The present study investigated the effectiveness of the Early Advancement in Social-Emotional Health and Positivity (EASP) program, a positive psychological intervention promoting preschool teachers' well-being and the motivational aspect of professional competence. Participants were 273 in-service preschool teachers (Mage = 34.56 years, SD = 9.52, range = 22-58; female = 98.90%) who participated in a 2-month randomized controlled trial. Participants were randomly assigned to the intervention group (n = 143) receiving 1) four online workshops, 2) a smartphone app, and 3) an online activity, or to the wait-list control group (n = 130), which received the intervention materials after all the data collection. Participants reported their well-being dimensions, teaching self-efficacy, and autonomous motivation for teaching before and after the intervention. Results from a path analytic model exhibited excellent fit with the data, χ2 = 37.62, df = 33, CFI = .99, TLI = .98, RMSEA = .02 [90% CI = 0.00, 0.05], SRMR = .02. The intervention had direct effects on changes in well-being dimensions, including positivity, outcome, strength, engagement, and resilience (β = .14 to .26, ps = .00 to .04), and indirect intervention effects on changes in teaching self-efficacy and autonomous motivation for teaching (β = .14 to .15, ps = .00 to .01). These findings highlighted the potential value of implementing positive psychological interventions in educational settings to promote the well-being and professional competence among preschool teachers.

Positive Psychology Interventions for Hospitality Management: A Future Research Agenda

ABSTRACT This paper proposes a research agenda in hospitality management, utilizing positive psychology interventions to improve the wellbeing of customers and employees. A systematic literature review was conducted to identify, evaluate, and synthesize existing research. A conceptual model is proposed for integrating these interventions into hospitality management, aiming to foster both hedonic and eudaimonic wellbeing. The model informs future research and practical application, extending beyond traditional social psychology theories. Industry recommendations include the application of generosity strategies, the incorporation of wellbeing models in marketing, and a collective wellbeing management philosophy.

From virtual assistant to writing mentor: Exploring the impact of a ChatGPT-based writing instruction protocol on EFL teachers’ self-efficacy and learners’ writing skill

Language teaching is a highly emotional profession that can affect the teachers’ well-being and learners’ achievement. However, studies have yet to explore the potential of positive psychology interventions and artificial intelligence (AI) tools to promote the psycho-emotional aspects of second language (L2) teachers and learners. Further, studies regarding the effectiveness of AI in promoting the learners’ language skills could have been expansive. Responding to these gaps, researchers chose ChatGPT, an AI-powered chatbot capable of generating natural and coherent texts, as a potential tool to foster positive emotions and interactions between Iranian English language teachers ( n = 12) and learners ( n = 48) in the L2 writing context. We operationalized ChatGPT in a three-phased writing instruction protocol (CGWIP): (1) a planning phase, where teachers used ChatGPT to brainstorm ideas and generate outlines for each session; (2) an instruction phase, where teachers used ChatGPT to engage the learners in writing process, analyse and reflect on their drafts, and (3) an assessment phase, where teachers used ChatGPT to simulate IELTS writing exam and provided detailed and constructive feedback to the learners. We further tested the effectiveness of CGWIP on teachers’ self-efficacy and learners’ writing skills before and after a 10-week instruction program. The Independent Samples t-test results showed that CGWIP significantly enhanced teachers’ self-efficacy compared to the control group. Also, the results of One Way ANCOVA revealed that CGWIP significantly improved learners’ writing skills and that these effects persisted over time. The study implied that the protocol can nurture teachers’ efficiency by helping them in various aspects of L2 writing instruction, including brainstorming, revising, providing feedback, and assessment, which in turn, improves learners’ writing skills.

The Effectiveness of Positive Psychological Interventions on Social Isolation of Girl Students During the COVID-19 Pandemic

Background: Past studies have revealed that positive psychological intervention has a positive impact on social isolation. Objectives: The purpose of this investigation was to examine the effect of positive psychological interventions on students' social isolation during the COVID-19 pandemic. Methods: The research design of the study was quasi-experimental, comprising post-test and pre-test types with experimental and control groups. The population of this study included all female students of the 10th grade at Isfahan Conservatory during the academic year 2022 - 2023. The sample size consisted of 30 female students who were selected through convenience sampling and randomly assigned to two groups: The control group (15 students) and the experimental group (15 students). Eight sessions of positive psychological intervention were conducted with the experimental group, while the control group did not receive any intervention. Results: The results of Fisher’s Exact test and chi-square test did not reveal any significant difference between the two groups of fathers in terms of education level (P = 0.169), and there was also no significant difference between the two groups of mothers in terms of education level (P = 0.715). The mean scores of social isolation (control: 50.00 ± 7.44, intervention: 30.00 ± 7.60) significantly decreased in the intervention group (P = 0.0001), but there was no significant decrease in the control group (P = 0.45). Accordingly, the pre-test mean scores of social isolation (P = 0.143) did not show significant between-group differences, and the post-test mean scores of social isolation (P = 0.001) in the intervention group were significantly lower than in the control group. Conclusions: The positive psychological intervention had a significant effect on the students' social isolation in the experimental group during the COVID-19 pandemic, indicating that this intervention can be used to reduce the social isolation of students.

Activating values intervention: an integrative pathway to well-being.

The present study expands the existing knowledge base regarding positive psychology interventions (PPIs), by employing an integrative approach to explore the potential benefits of translating values into action. Participants (n = 476) were randomly assigned to the Activating Values intervention, the affirmation-only, or the control (no treatment) group. The intervention involved participants choosing a life area they valued, affirming its importance, identifying a specific action related to that valued area, and then planning and carrying out that chosen action within the following week. Data was collected at baseline and three follow-up points: one, two, and three weeks after the intervention. Results suggest that the intervention contributes to the participants' well-being, including increased self-insight, sense of coherence, and prioritizing meaning, and decreased symptoms of psychopathology. Exploratory content analyses provide a deeper understanding of the content and frequency of activities chosen and the enabling conditions. The discussion explores the findings within this intersection as well as ramifications for brief, scalable interventions to support and promote well-being.

Positive Psychology Interventions Reduce Anti-Rich Mentality: An Exploration of the Contribution of Appreciative Joy

Positive Psychology Interventions Reduce Anti-Rich Mentality: An Exploration of the Contribution of Appreciative Joy

“It’s a Right Pain in the Pelvis!”: Post-Traumatic Stress and Post-Traumatic Growth in a Sample of Females Experiencing Chronic Pelvic Pain

Chronic pelvic pain affects 38 per 1,000 women yearly (Daniels & Khan, 2010; Zondervan et al., 1999), accompanied by various psychological sequelae. Positive psychology may offer new approaches to pelvic pain that complement existing interventions; these include post-traumatic growth (PTG), optimism, resilience, and models of recovery. In a sample of 132 females (aged 16 to 45+), cross-sectional research revealed that participants with pelvic pain of unknown cause had the highest levels of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms. A regression analysis revealed that intrusive rumination, avoidant coping, and resilience were significant predictors of PTSD symptoms, and resilience and social support were predictors of PTG. Understanding the elements of positive psychology could help create positive psychology interventions focusing on chronic pelvic pain’s impact on mental health.

A Survey and Analysis of Assessment Literacy among College Foreign Language Teachers in China: A Positive Psychology Perspective

In the current realm of college foreign language education, the diversification of students’ learning needs underscores the necessity of effectively implementing 'assessment for learning' via assessment practices, thereby presenting fresh demands for the enhancement of assessment literacy among college foreign language instructors. Based on positive psychology, this study took some college foreign language teachers from Henan Province of China as the research subjects, explored the current status and existing problems of their assessment literacy through questionnaires and interviews, and analyzed the constraints hindering the enhancement of their assessment literacy. Additionally, to further investigate the effectiveness of positive psychology interventions in enhancing their assessment literacy, the researcher conducted two rounds of classroom observations involving a comparative analysis of pre- and post-intervention assessments to investigate the impact of post-intervention assessments on various aspects such as teaching quality, students’ learning outcomes, as well as their personality traits. The results revealed that positive assessment and feedback from college foreign language teachers can contribute to shaping students’ positive personality traits, igniting their motivation and potential for learning, and ultimately enhancing teaching effectiveness. Through assessment practices, genuine efforts can be made to implement assessment for learning, ultimately promoting students’ comprehensive development.

The Hummingbird Project year 2: decreasing distress and fostering flourishing in a pragmatic pre-post study.

Multi-component Positive Psychology Interventions (mPPIs) in secondary schools have been shown to improve mental health outcomes for young people. The Hummingbird Project mPPI is a six-week program of workshops designed to introduce a variety of positive psychology (PP) concepts to secondary school-aged children in schools to improve well-being, resilience, and hope. The effects on mental distress, however, were not explored. The current study, therefore, was designed to replicate the effects of the Hummingbird Project mPPI on positive mental health and to also explore the effects on symptoms of mental distress. Secondary school-aged children (N = 614; mean age = 11.46 years) from a sample of secondary schools located across the North West of England (N = 7) participated in the study; the majority of children were in Year 7 (94%). The PP concepts explored included happiness, hope, resilience, mindfulness, character strengths, growth mindset, and gratitude. The results showed significant improvements associated with the mPPI in well-being (as measured by the World Health Organization Well-Being Index; WHO-5), hope (as measured by the Children's Hope Scale; CHS), and symptoms of mental distress (as measured by the Young Person's Clinical Outcomes in Routine Evaluation; YP-CORE) from pre- to post-intervention. While acknowledging the limits due to pragmatic concerns regarding the implementation of a control group, the effectiveness of the Hummingbird Project mPPI on well-being was replicated alongside reducing the symptoms of mental distress. Future evaluation, however, will need to implement more robust designs and consider follow-up duration to assess the longer-term effects of the Hummingbird Project mPPI.