Developing Hopeful Minds: Can Teaching Hope Improve Well-being and Protective Factors in Children?

Abstract

The present study examined the efficacy of Hopeful Minds, a 12 week hope based school intervention programme in a sample of 153 pre-and early-adolescent secondary school children (11-14 years) in the North West of Ireland. This study used a one-group, pretest-posttest design to determine whether participants experienced changes regarding their hope, well-being, and a range of known protective factors. Results from a Wilcoxin Signed Ranks test showed significant increases in children's hope scores post intervention. Resilience and adaptive coping skills of stoicism and social support seeking were also significantly improved. Although pre-post intervention improvements in well-being or emotional regulation/arousal scores were observed, results were non-significant. However, further analysis examined associations between hope and a range of well-being and protective factors using linear regression. Hope was found to be significantly associated with improvements in each of the wellbeing scores of anxiety, depression, resilience, positive emotion, reduced negative emotion, emotional control, stoicism, social support seeking and self-care. No associations were found between hope and rumination. This study builds upon the extant evidence for the implementation of the Hopeful Minds school based intervention. Further, the study demonstrates that teaching and thereby increasing hope has a significant positive impact on child and adolescent well-being and a range of protective factors; factors known to buffer against mental ill health and suicide. possible ways and planning routes to reach these goals and (c) agency thinking; the propensity to develop and sustain motivation to attain goals.Research suggests that people with higher levels of hope are able to cope better with stressful

Can an apophatic meditation promote long‐term adjustment in hope? A time‐series model of centering meditation

“…The findings of this study hold several implications for the field of counseling, particularly in relation to the effectiveness of centering meditation as a therapeutic intervention, particularly. First, the current study provides empirical support for the argument that centering meditation may contribute to the cultivation of hope, which is a buffer against a range of mental health concerns (Gutierrez, 2019;Gutierrez et al, 2020;Kirby et al, 2022;Lopez et al, 2015Lopez et al, , 2017Luo et al, 2016;Munoz et al, 2018;Rasmussen et al, 2018;Seligman, 2011;Yoon et al, 2015). As hope has been identified as a significant protective factor in various health conditions, including psychological well-being, incorporating centering meditation techniques into counseling interventions could potentially enhance treatment outcomes.…”

“…Hope has been identified as a vital mechanism for a number of positive clinical outcomes. In counseling and psychology literature, hope has been linked to improvements in well‐being, resilience, academic engagement, human flourishing, reduced depression, mindfulness, anxiety, suicidality, and posttraumatic stress (Dorais & Gutierrez, 2021a, 2021b; Dorais et al., 2022; Kirby et al., 2022; Lopez et al., 2015, 2017; Luo et al., 2016; Rasmussen et al., 2018; Seligman, 2011; Yoon et al., 2015). One of the identified interventions that counselors can utilize for increasing hope is meditation, and recent research suggests it is through the mediating effects of hope that meditation confers its many health‐related outcomes (Munoz et al., 2018; Sears & Kraus, 2009; Sedlmeier, 2012; Strohmaier et al., 2022; Walsh & Shapiro, 2006).…”

A Simulation Training to Prepare Camp Counselors for Working With Children at Camp HOPE America

“…Because the camp setting provides opportunities for campers to try new skills that present a certain amount of positive stress, camp may be a safe setting in which to nurture hope. Research on hope suggests that hopeful thinking improves well-being and is a protective factor for all children (Kirby et al, 2021). Further, this study contributes to the existing literature that reports that hope can be enhanced by focused intention on hopeful thinking (Feldman & Dreher, 2012;Marques et al, 2011) Camp HOPE provides a unique camp experience for children and youth who are likely to have skills such as compassion, a sense of humor, and the ability to be a positive role model (Halsall et al, 2016).…”

Nurturing Sustainable Development: The Interplay of Parenting Styles and SDGs in Children’s Development

“…Democratic parenting encourages children to express and regulate their emotions in a supportive environment. When children learn to understand and manage their emotions effectively, they are better equipped to cope with stress and adversity, leading to improved mental well-being and overall health outcomes [ 30 ]. This aligns with SDG 3’s objective of promoting emotional well-being as a crucial component of healthy lives.…”