Children with sex chromosome aneuploidies (SCAs) are often characterized in the literature by limitations and pathologies related to the genetic diagnosis. This study aimed to broaden the SCA phenotype by describing parent reported character and academic strengths. Parents of children with SCAs ages 3-21 (N=377) responded to an electronic survey asking them to describe their child’s strengths in academic settings. Responses were coded for strengths-based content and analyzed using a mixed-methods content analysis approach. We identified overarching qualitative themes of Social Strengths and Assets for Learning. Quantitative results showed a pattern of overlapping strengths among the trisomy SCAs (perseverance and love of learning), with some significant differences between children with supernumerary X chromosomes (strengths in kindness) and those with an additional Y chromosome (strengths in curiosity, humor, and teamwork). Suggestions for future strengths-based research and educational practices to address academic, developmental, and psychosocial risks are explored.
Anxiety disorders are prevalent among college students and contribute to problems in social and academic functioning. The primary focus in the anxiety literature has been on symptoms and deficits in functioning rather than psychological well-being. The present study investigated the extent to which high levels of anxiety co-occurred with self-reported psychological well-being using a dual-factor model of mental health approach. Participants (n = 100) were categorized into two groups (high anxiety crossed with low and high life satisfaction), and groups were compared on several psychological well-being indicators. Supporting a dual-factor approach, students reporting high levels of anxiety and life satisfaction reported higher levels of hope, grit, gratitude, self-focused positive rumination, and savoring of positive emotions than students reporting high levels of anxiety and low levels of life satisfaction. Groups did not differ in emotion-focused positive rumination or in dampening of positive emotion. These results highlight well-being heterogeneity within individuals reporting high levels of anxiety, with implications for treatment and prevention efforts.
Self Determination Theory proposes that psychological needs satisfaction is associated with high positive affect and low negative affect. The present study consolidated effect sizes from previous research on the relationship of satisfaction of autonomy, competence and relatedness needs with positive affect and negative affect, and identified moderators of the relationships. The basic need satisfaction and positive affect meta-analyses included 16 samples for autonomy, 16 for competence, and 16 for relatedness, with 7335, 6832, and 6710 participants, respectively. Across studies, higher positive affect was significantly associated with greater autonomy satisfaction (r=.39), competence satisfaction (r=.45), and relatedness satisfaction (r=.39). The basic need satisfaction and negative affect meta-analyses included 11 samples for autonomy, 13 for competence, and 11 for relatedness, with 5114 participants, 5481 participants, and 5114 participants, respectively. Across studies, lower negative affect was significantly associated with greater autonomy satisfaction (r=-.30), competence satisfaction (r=-.33), and relatedness satisfaction (r=-.30). Moderator analyses found that gender composition, sample type, and basic need satisfaction measure were related to the strength of associations.
In this mixed-methods research, we examined the practice of writing and delivering letters of gratitude (gratitude visits) and its impact on well-being, happiness, meaning and relationships for students in an online graduate program in psychology. Participants completed assessments and inventories relating to happiness, well-being and meaning in life, including the Satisfaction with Life Scale, Meaning in Life Questionnaire, Approaches to Happiness Questionnaire and open-ended qualitative questions before and after they wrote and delivered gratitude letters. Quantitative analyses found significant increases in meaning in life, satisfaction with life, and approaches to happiness after the gratitude visit intervention. Using a grounded theory qualitative analysis of the data, eight primary themes emerged related to the impact and meaning of gratitude letters on graduate students: (1) the impact on the relationship; (2) positive emotions experienced; (3) experiencing a reciprocal expression of gratitude from the receiver; (4) overcoming uncomfortable emotions; (5) relief, release or liberation after sharing; (6) impact on spiritual growth; (7) unexpected responses; and (8) greater reflection on the meaning of life and a changed perspective. Overall, providing graduate students with the opportunity to engage in gratitude visit interventions was related to greater meaning and well-being. This study suggests implications and recommendations related to the use of positive psychology interventions in educational settings.
Students’ experiences of boredom at school are receiving increased research attention. Most inquiries to date have focused on how often students experience boredom in classroom situations and in specific subject areas. Despite its frequency, limited research efforts have explored how students’ boredom experiences might inform positive education initiatives. This paper examines students’ school boredom experiences from a positive education lens through which school mental health professionals can evaluate students’ school boredom experiences systematically. We introduce the School Boredom Mindset (SBM) concept that identifies a subset of high-risk students expressing unfavorable school attitudes. A preliminary analysis of 2,331 California secondary (Grades 7-12) students’ responses on well-being indicators explored the SBM’s viability. The findings show that students with the strongest SBM reported substantially lower well-being than their peers. The discussion offers suggestions for future research needed to evaluate the SBM concept’s meaning and the value of its contribution to positive education. While this research moves forward, we provide practitioners with resources to better evaluate students’ boring feelings at school and consider its meaning within the broader effort of fostering thriving well-being
Coronavirus stress with the restrictions and unexpected life changes has affected individuals and their satisfaction with life. This study aimed to examine the mediating role of optimism and hope on the relationship between coronavirus stress and subjective wellbeing among young adults in Turkey. A sample of 331 (M= 20.86 and 64% females) college students participated in this study. The results demonstrated that coronavirus stress was negatively associated with the college students’ sense of hope and optimism. Moreover, coronavirus stress had an indirect effect on subjective well-being through optimism and hope. Optimism and hope mitigated the adverse impacts of stress on well-being during the pandemic. These results indicated that young adults with a high level of stress due to coronavirus have lower optimism and hope, which in turn have less subjective well-being. The study findings hence highlight that being hopeful and optimistic are the potential resources to explain how coronavirus stress is related to subjective well-being.
Meaning in life is a significant resource in the resilience process, supporting the use of adaptive behaviors and enhancing the feeling of wellbeing. As such, it could be critical for teachers who encounter many stressors threatening their life quality and work productivity. This study aimed to investigate how teachers' levels of meaning in life relate to their resilience. Data were collected from 299 teachers using the Meaning in Life Questionnaire (assessing presence of and search for meaning) and the Multidimensional Teacher Resilience Scale (assessing protective factors related to motivational and professional, social, and emotional resilience). As predicted, presence of meaning had medium-sized positive correlations with the resilience factors, whereas search for meaning had low correlations with social resilience and professional-motivational resilience and no correlation with emotional resilience. Using K-means cluster analysis, teachers were grouped into three clusters according to their scores in the two meaning dimensions. The cluster of teachers reporting both high presence of and high search for meaning showed the highest scores on the resilience factors, followed by the cluster including teachers with high presence and low search. In conclusion, our results emphasized the important role of presence of meaning in strengthening resilient responses; also, searching for meaning, when combined with a high sense of meaning, relates to better use of the resilience protective factors and resources. As to the study implications, a meaning-centered approach to building resilience in teachers is suggested and discussed.
The purpose of this study was to investigate the mediating role of social support and social connectedness between hope and resilience in adolescents. A total of 413 high school students (57.1% girls; M= 17.31, SD= 1.61) participated in the study. Participants completed the Children’s Hope Scale (CHS), Brief Resilience Scale (BRS), Brief Perceived Social Support Questionnaire (BPSSQ), and Social Connectedness Scale (SCS). The results showed that there was a positive significant correlation between social support, resilience, social connectedness, and hope. In addition, according to the gender variable, it is seen that the resilience and hope scores of the boys are significantly higher than the girls. On the other hand, no significant difference was found in social connectedness and social support in terms of gender. The results mediation analysis showed that hope significantly and positively predicted social connectedness, social support, and resilience. Also, social connectedness positively and significantly predicted social support, and social support was a significant predictor of resilience. Most importantly, social support and social connectedness acted as mediating roles in the relationship between hope and resilience. These results suggest that social connectedness and social support are two important sources in developing resilience. This has important implications for research and practice.
This study used a mixed-method design to examine the qualitative feasibility of a comprehensive positive psychology curriculum taught by an educator in a naturalistic high school classroom. Limited efficacy testing was also performed. Using a naturalistic quasi-experimental design, this study examined the qualitative impact and feasibility of a high school positive psychology course compared to a standard psychology course. Qualitative variables examined included student attrition, demand, implementation, and practicality as well as student feedback. Quantitative self-report measures of well-being were also included. Participants were 113 adolescents enrolled at a high school in the Mountain West United States. The course was found to have high demand and low rates of attrition. The educator noted that preparing the course was feasible and did not require external funding. Feedback from students was overwhelmingly positive with many of them noting the positive effect that it had on their well-being and ability to cope with challenges. Quantitative results were mixed. These results largely support previous research that has associated positive outcomes with the employment of positive psychology interventions in a classroom setting. Future research should focus on the quantitative effects of school-based positive psychology interventions in a larger scale, high-powered sample.
Loneliness is a serious risk factor for healthy development and flourishing. Although loneliness has been revealed to play an important role in psychological health and well-being, little is known about moderating and mitigating mechanisms underlying this association, especially during adverse experiences (e.g., COVID-19 pandemic). The current study purposed to explore whether subjective vitality mediated the association of loneliness with psychological adjustment and whether college belongingness moderated the mediating effect of subjective vitality on students’ adjustment in the context of loneliness. The study sample comprised 333 undergraduate students (69% female) from a public university in Turkey. They ranged in age between 19 and 41 years (M= 21.94, SD= 4.15). Findings from mediation analysis revealed that loneliness had a significant predictive effect on subjective vitality and psychological adjustment challenges. Subjective vitality also mediated the effect of loneliness on the psychological adjustment of college students. Further, college belongingness moderated the mediating effect of subjective vitality on adjustment and had a protective effect on the association between loneliness and subjective vitality in college students. These results indicate that subjective vitality and college belongingness are important mechanisms that may help develop prevention and intervention strategies to foster students’ psychological health and well-being in university settings.
Identifying factors that influence well-being are fruitful for improving the knowledge held about the correlates and predictors of well-being in both practice and theory. This research for the first time aimed to investigate whether irrational happiness beliefs, a newly presented construct, contribute to the affective components of subjective well-being over time. The sample included 103 undergraduate students (88 females and 15 males) whose ages varied from 18 to 29 years (M = 19.39 ±1.62). Participants completed measures of irrational happiness beliefs, positive affect, and negative affect both at Time 1 and Time 2 over three months apart. The findings showed that irrational happiness beliefs were significantly negatively related to positive affect only at Time 1. However, the research failed to provide evidence regarding the value of irrational happiness beliefs in predicting positive and negative affect over time. The results suggest that the impact of irrational happiness beliefs upon well-being may occur momentarily not over time. Implications and limitations of the findings are discussed and directions for future studies are provided.
The purpose of the current study was to investigate the preliminary development and validation of the Subjective Academic Wellbeing Measure (SAWM), which is a six-item self-report rating measure intended for use as a screening tool to assess the positive academic functioning of young people within the elementary and high school context. Exploratory factor analysis was performed with Sample 1 (N= 161), indicating that the SAWM was characterized by a unidimensional measurement model and had strong factor loadings. Results from confirmatory factor analysis, which was carried out with Sample 2 (N= 199), confirmed the measurement model by yielding good data-model fit statistics that were characterized by strong latent construct and internal reliability estimates. Further analyses showed that the scale had good convergent validity considering scores from several self-reported scales of student mental health problems and positive school functioning. Further analyses also showed that configural, metric, and scalar measurement invariance were observed across gender groups. These results provide initial evidence suggesting that the SAWM is a reliable and valid measure that can be used to assess the positive academic functioning of students within the school context. Implications are discussed, and some suggestions are provided for future research and practice
The purpose of this study was to evaluate the factor structure, measurement invariance, criterion-related validity, and incremental validity of the Inflexibility of Happiness Scale (IHS) in a sample of 432 undergraduate students from Turkey. To test the factor structure, the sample was split into two subsamples. Exploratory factor analysis (EFA) was conducted in the first subsample and confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) was next conducted in the second subsample. The results of EFA and CFA yielded a single factor structure and measurement invariance across gender was successfully established. In terms of reliability, internal consistency reliability was satisfactory for the IHS. Evidence of criterion-related validity showed that the IHS was positively related to the externality of happiness and negative affect and was negatively related to personality traits and dimensions of psychological well-being. Concerning incremental validity, the results indicated that inflexibility of happiness accounted for a significant amount of variance in predicting domains of psychological wellbeing - purpose in life, personal growth and positive relations over and above the personality traits. Collectively, these results suggest that the IHS is a reliable and valid instrument to measure the inflexibility of happiness beliefs among undergraduate students from Turkey.
The ability of college students to cope effectively during the COVID-19 pandemic is an ongoing concern which could have implications for a generation of students’ health and well-being. Although adaptive coping styles have been explored with reference to other large-scale crises, little is known from an empirical standpoint about whether college students are engaging in such coping strategies during the pandemic. The current study focuses on meaningfocused coping, a coping style often seen in response to significant trauma or adversity, and in particular the process of benefit finding. Qualitative data were collected from a sample of 63 college students who were living under county-issued shelter-in-place orders for seven weeks during the pandemic in an academic semester. Benefit finding was a common strategy expressed by students during that time. They identified several self-related benefits including learning to be grateful, unexpected personal growth, and new clarity about the future. They also described various societal-related benefits of the pandemic, including people acting selflessly, focusing on what matters, developing creative solutions and teamwork, and also noted improvements in the natural environment. The selfrelated benefits had a particularly potent impact, as those who reported them were also less likely to express fear, anxiety, or stress. The results suggest that benefit finding is an important coping strategy during the pandemic; moreover, it seems helpful to continue exploring such positive models of adaptation as students navigate the pandemic over time.
The prevalence of depression in university students is greater than in the general population. Previous studies have demonstrated that high levels of neuroticism and low levels of extraversion are linked to depression in students, and that resilience buffers against depression, though theorists have debated conceptualizing resilience as a process or a trait. However, past research has not examined the interaction between personality and resilience on depressive symptoms, especially when controlling for stressful life events (SLEs). To investigate this, Irish university students completed online scales measuring resilience as a trait, resilience as a process, extraversion, neuroticism, recent SLEs, and depressive symptoms. Resilience, both when measured as a trait and as a process, acted as a mediator in the relationships between extraversion and depressive symptoms and between neuroticism and depressive symptoms. Participants scoring high in extraversion tended to score higher in resilience, which predicted lower depressive symptoms. Inversely, participants scoring high in neuroticism tended to have lower levels of resilience, which predicted greater depressive symptoms. Although there remained a direct effect of neuroticism on depressive symptoms, there was no longer a direct effect of extraversion on depressive symptoms after accounting for resilience. Stressful life events did not mediate the relationships between personality and depressive symptoms. These results suggest that counseling interventions promoting resilience would be more effective in people with low levels of extraversion than for individuals high in neuroticism.
Significant research has confirmed the necessity to better comprehend psychological constructs that are essential in predicting and influencing human performance, in particular, assessing expressive flexibility and resilience. However, limited research has investigated the relationships that exist between these two constructs that are critical protective factors in facilitating the mental health and the well-being of individuals. Through a number of structural equation modeling (SEM) techniques, the current endeavor evaluates this gap to assess the relationship between these two constructs. Utilizing a military student sample from a private U.S. military university (N = 107), participants completed the Resilience Scale for Adults (RSA) and the Flexible Regulation of Emotional Expression (FREE) scale. Correlations matrixes reported positive relationships between expressive flexibility and resilience. Confirmatory factor analyses (CFAs) revealed a bi-factor models of expressive flexibility and resilience. Additional CFAs revealed a two-factor model structure between expressive flexibility and resilience. Implications for future work are offered.
This study aimed to examine students' subjective experiences and insights in response to engaging in a positive psychology exercise focused on gratefulness that was part of a college course. We conducted a qualitative content analysis of 97 reflection assignments submitted as part of undergraduate and graduate level positive psychology courses at a large public university. A grounded theory approach to qualitative research guided the analytic process. Six major themes emerged, including students’ thoughts about the interventions and difficulties with the experience, how the gratitude visit impacted their interpersonal relationships, reflections on the construct of gratitude, the effect of the intervention on their mood and stress levels, and beliefs about how the experience had and would continue to affect their lives beyond the course. Our findings support prior research suggesting the beneficial impact of experiential learning and imply that such experiential exercises are feasible in multiple levels of psychology courses.
Life satisfaction is an important indicator of quality life of students. The aim of this study is to examine the mediation effect of positive and negative affect on the link between hope and life satisfaction in elementary school students. The sample consisted of 436 (204 female and 232 male) Turkish early adolescents recruited from among elementary school students in Turkey. Students were between 12 and 15 years (M = 13, SD = .84). Data were collected using the Children’s Hope Scale, Positive and Negative Experience Scale, and Satisfaction with Life Scale. The results indicated that hope positively predicted positive affect and satisfaction with life and negatively predicted negative affect. The structural equation model results showed that positive and negative affect partially mediated the relationship between hope and satisfaction with life. The study results showed that hope and positive emotions are an important factor for the life satisfaction of Turkish elementary school students. The practical implications and limitations of the present study are discussed.
Social support has been linked to numerous adaptive psychosocial health outcomes. The Brief Perceived Social Support Questionnaire (BPSSQ) is a newly developed measure of general social support. This study aimed to test the psychometric properties and dimensionality of the BPSSQ in Turkish language and tested the mediating effect of resilience in the relationship between social support and satisfaction with life. Participants included 202 college students (69.3% females), with a mean age of 22.58 years (SD=1.26) who completed online measures of social support, resilience, and satisfaction with life. As expected, the BPSSQ provided a one-factor structure with a satisfactory internal consistency. Social support significantly predicted resilience and satisfaction with life. Resilience also predicted satisfaction with life. Furthermore, the results supported the hypothesis of mediating role of resilience in the relationship between social support and satisfaction with life. These results are important in terms of providing evidence of the underlying mechanism between social support and satisfaction with life. Future intervention efforts aimed at increasing social support and satisfaction with life may benefit from resilience.
Well-being is a multi-faceted construct that encompasses all aspects of healthy and successful human functioning across multiple domains. The purpose of the present study was to investigate the predictive power of student subjective wellbeing on several specific adolescent school and psychological adjustment indicators: school achievement, academic satisfaction, prosocial behavior, and internalizing and externalizing problems. Participants included 223 adolescents, comprising of 54.9% girls, ranging in age from 13 to 18 years (M= 15.67, SD= 1.21). Findings from the LVPA indicated that student subjective wellbeing was significantly associated with youth school functioning and adjustment outcomes, ranging from small-to-large effect size (R2 range = .05 to .42). Student subjective wellbeing had the strongest predictive effect on prosocial behavior, followed by academic satisfaction, psychological health problems, and school achievement. With regard to the first-order models, school connectedness and joy of learning significantly predicted student academic satisfaction, prosocial behavior, and psychological adjustment problems. However, the predictive effect of these variables on student school achievement was non–significant. Educational purpose and academic efficacy were significant predictors of all adolescent outcomes. Taken together, these results suggest that student subjective wellbeing is an essential resource for improving youth academic functioning and psychological health.
