The Hummingbird Project: A Positive Psychology Intervention for Secondary School Students

Abstract

Mental health in schools has attracted a lot of attention in recent years. Positive Psychology Interventions (PPIs) in secondary schools have been shown to improve mental health outcomes for students. Previous PPIs have tended to be delivered by trained Psychology specialists or have tended to focus on a single aspect of Positive Psychology such as Mindfulness. The current study involved 2 phases. Phase 1 was a pilot PPI, delivered by current university students in Psychology, which educated secondary school students (N = 90) in a variety of Positive Psychology concepts. Phase 2 involved delivering the PPI to secondary school students (N = 1,054). This PPI, the Hummingbird Project, led to improvements in student well-being, as measured by the World Health Organization Well-Being Index (WHO-5). The intervention also led to improvements in student resilience, as measured by the Bolton Uni-Stride Scale (BUSS), and hope, as measured by the Children's Hope Scale (CHS). Results are discussed in the context of their implications for the future of psychological intervention in secondary school settings.

Relevance of well-being, resilience, and health-related quality of life to mental health profiles of European adolescents: results from a cross-sectional analysis of the school-based multinational UPRIGHT project

“…Indirectly, it can also reduce the long-term symptoms of mental disorders [ 43 ]. A recent study of positive interventions in schools [ 44 ] has shown that these interventions are universally beneficial. They are particularly helpful among the adolescents described by their teachers as most in need of mental health care.…”

“…These interventions also reduce the sense of loneliness of students with mental health problems. Such students often feel alienated and stigmatized, prefer not to ask for help, and remain silent, not to be labeled as problematic [ 44 ]. In agreement with the previous reports [ 35 ], our study shows the importance of including positive mental health scales in school-based mental health assessment programs.…”

“…Including these data would have improved our understanding of the mental health profiles and helped in explaining the differences. Platt et al [ 44 ] have reported that teachers consider economic deprivation a major cause of poor mental health in adolescents. A study by Zilanawala et al [ 34 ] has shown that 6% of UK adolescents who matched their "poor health profile" had low cognitive skills and were more likely to acquire alcohol and tobacco use habits.…”

Editorial: Positive Psychology in Everyday Life

“…Despite, this growing concern, Positive Psychology has been extensively a target of research which has led, so far, to interesting results. From the benefits of positive psychology interventions in improving wellbeing and diminishing depression, anxiety or stress (Boiler et al, 2013 ; Carr et al, 2020 ), to contributing to employees' performance and productivity (Kour et al, 2019 ), to reducing distress in people diagnosed with clinical disorders (Chakhsii et al, 2018 ), or even promoting resilience and hope through specific interventions in schools settings (Platt et al, 2020 ). Positive psychology practices have constructive impacts on people's everyday lives such as reducing stress and anxiety, increasing resilience and promoting self-growth, wellbeing, and quality of life.…”

An international validation of the Bolton Unistride Scale (BUSS) of tenacity

“…Sample 1 was 1087 students from a university in the North West of England[25] Sample 2 was 933 adolescents from the North West of England[26]. Sample 3 was 331 students from a university in the North West of England[25].…”