The Effects of a Character Strength Focused Positive Psychology Course on Undergraduate Happiness and Well-Being

Smith, Bruce W.; Ford, C. Graham; Erickson, Kelly; Guzman, Anne

doi:10.1007/s10902-020-00233-9

Cited by 49 publications

(66 citation statements)

References 33 publications

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“…Recent research has demonstrated how each of the PERMA domains can be incorporated into teaching practices successfully, incorporating an innovative approach to supporting student wellbeing (Matthewman et al, 2018). Moreover, introducing a positive psychology course to students can improve the PERMA domains in turn, as compared to regular psychology students (Smith et al, 2020). The potential that the PERMA model holds in underpinning student wellbeing and subsequent services provided has yet to be fully realized given its' relative infancy within the student domain.…”

Section: Student Wellbeing: Before Covid-19mentioning

confidence: 99%

Assessing the Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Student Wellbeing at Universities in the United Kingdom: A Conceptual Analysis

2020

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Transitioning into the university environment can be both exciting and stressful for new and returning students alike. The pressure to perform well academically in an increasingly competitive environment, coupled with a vast array of lifestyle changes, can contribute to suboptimal wellbeing. Over recent years, uptake to wellbeing services within universities in the United Kingdom has grown given the concurrent rise in mental health difficulties reported. Higher education students now have to contend with a drastically altered learning landscape, owing to the discovery of novel coronavirus, Sars-Cov-2, otherwise referred to as COVID-19. In the United Kingdom, universities have moved to close their campuses to both students and non-essential staff in an effort to protect them from contracting the virus. The repercussions of these decisions have been monumental for the delivery of teaching, relationships and, importantly, the provision of student services. Ambiguity remains as to how teaching will be delivered for the forthcoming academic year. The uncertainty caused by the pandemic has yet to be considered in terms of student wellbeing and the new, mostly online, environments that students will be expected to navigate without their typical support networks. For the purpose of this paper, the concept of student wellbeing, a populationlevel term concerned with positive emotions rather than diagnosed mental health conditions, will be considered in relation to the COVID-19 outbreak. The current paper performs a conceptual analysis on student wellbeing in United Kingdom universities with a specific lens on the psychosocial impact of the global COVID-19 outbreak. Given the unprecedented world that students now learn in, considering the impact of the pandemic on psychosocial outcomes delineates the novel challenges that researchers and practitioners must consider when implementing student wellbeing initiatives moving forward.

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Section: Student Wellbeing: Before Covid-19mentioning

confidence: 99%

Assessing the Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Student Wellbeing at Universities in the United Kingdom: A Conceptual Analysis

2020

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“…Studies on student wellbeing commonly utilized a variety of wellbeing or health measures both singularly and in combination. Wellbeing measures have included various World Health Organization (WHO) measures (Helou et al, 2019;Philippe et al, 2019), the Warwick and Edinburgh Mental Wellbeing Scale (WEMWBS; Harding et al, 2019;Kidger et al, 2019), the Positive emotion, Engagement, Relationship, Meaning and Accomplishment (PERMA) profiler (Ascenso et al, 2017;Smith et al, 2020), the Satisfaction with Life scale (Samaranayake and Fernando, 2011;Moate et al, 2019) and various versions of Ryff 's Psychological Wellbeing Scale (PWB;Chraif and Dumitru, 2015;De Clercq et al, 2019). Unidimensional mental health measures have included the Beck depression and anxiety inventories (Yazici et al, 2016;Yüksel and Bahadir-Yilmaz, 2019), the Depression Anxiety Stress scale (Koops and Kuebel, 2019), and the Kessler scale of psychological distress (K10; Brewer et al, 2019).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Health and Wellbeing in Higher Education: A Comparison of Music and Sport Students Through the Framework of Self Determination Theory

2020

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Students in Higher Education report high levels of mental health issues and psychological distress. Paradoxical findings on performance-orientated students, such as athletes and musicians, suggest that the demands of highly skilled vocations may enhance wellbeing while being detrimental to physical and mental health. To provide timely and appropriate help, institutions need to understand what areas of health and wellbeing are compromised in different student groups. In this study, we compared performance-orientated (music and sport) students to other students and the general population on a selection of wellbeing (WHO5, PWS, and WEMWBS), mental and physical health (K10, SF12, and PHQ9), and trait measures (TIPI, LOT-R, and PCS). Through an online survey (N = 273), data were collected from bachelor and master students (n = 135 music, n = 67 sport, n = 71 controls). Students' scores were compared to the general population, where norm values were available, and analyzed within and between groups. Multiple regression was performed to investigate trait measures as predictors of wellbeing. All groups scored significantly below population norms for wellbeing and mental health. One third were classed as having moderate to severe depression. Musicians scored higher openness to experience than athletes. While sport students showed a highly homogenous within-group profile, music students' scores differed significantly across study courses (e.g., performance and composition). Predictors for wellbeing were: optimism and emotional stability (all students); additionally conscientiousness (sport and music); and perceived competence (music only). As expected, students reported more health and wellbeing issues than general population. Distinct profiles of wellbeing were apparent for performance-orientated students. Results are in line with Self Determination Theory and suggest the need for institutions to embed health and wellbeing into a 'living curriculum' to accommodate the needs of different student groups. The WHO5 emerged as a parsimonious yet sensitive measure for mental health and wellbeing in student populations.

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“…In samples of both college students (Allan 2015) and adults (Brdar and Kashdan 2010;Wagner et al 2018), all character strengths measured by the VIA-IS were shown to be positively related to the experience of meaning in life. Further, college students who participated in a positive psychology course that focused on character strengths, including a number of strengths-based assignments and in-class experiential activities (e.g., taking the VIA-IS, writing about their best possible life), reported increased meaning compared to students taking other psychology courses (Smith et al 2020). Additional studies in the work context also supports the positive association between strengths and meaning in life and work.…”

Section: Academic Meaningmentioning

confidence: 62%

Strengths Use, Environmental Factors, and Academic Outcomes in Newly Matriculated College Students

Owens

Allan

Maslowski

et al. 2021

Int J Appl Posit Psychol

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College presents a number of challenges to new students. Few studies have examined how students' strengths may positively impact their college experience and what factors may promote or impede their success. This study examined the relationship between strengths use and academic satisfaction, academic meaning, and leadership, as well as the influence of two environmental moderators-strengths barriers and environmental support. Participants included 371 newly matriculated undergraduate students at a large, public university in the United States. Results partially supported our hypotheses and revealed a number of important relations. Specifically, strengths use did not predict academic satisfaction; however, strengths barriers negatively predicted academic satisfaction and environmental support positively predicted academic satisfaction. Further, neither strengths barriers nor environmental support moderated the relationship between strengths use and academic satisfaction. Strengths use and environmental support positively predicted academic meaning, and strengths barriers negatively predicted academic meaning. Moreover, strengths barriers and environmental support did not moderate the relation between strengths use and academic meaning. Finally, strengths use positively predicted leadership, and strengths barriers negatively predicted leadership; however, environmental support did not significantly predict leadership. Strengths barriers, and not environmental support, moderated the relation between strengths use and leadership. Implications of these findings are discussed.

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The Effects of a Character Strength Focused Positive Psychology Course on Undergraduate Happiness and Well-Being

Cited by 49 publications

References 33 publications

Assessing the Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Student Wellbeing at Universities in the United Kingdom: A Conceptual Analysis

Assessing the Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Student Wellbeing at Universities in the United Kingdom: A Conceptual Analysis

Health and Wellbeing in Higher Education: A Comparison of Music and Sport Students Through the Framework of Self Determination Theory

Strengths Use, Environmental Factors, and Academic Outcomes in Newly Matriculated College Students

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