Gratitude in Sport: Positive Psychology for Athletes and Implications for Mental Health, Well-Being, and Performance

2019 ◽  
pp. 345-370
Author(s):  
Nicole T. Gabana
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Positive Psychology ◽  
Well Being ◽  
And Performance

A positive psychology study and intervention on the well-being of French PhD students in biology

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gabriel Marais ◽  
Rebecca Shankland ◽  
Pascale Haag ◽  
Robin Fiault ◽  
Bridget Juniper
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Positive Psychology ◽  
Large Fraction ◽  
Reference Sample ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Attrition Rates ◽  
Human Costs ◽  
The Uk ◽  
And Control ◽  
Health And Well Being

In France, little data are available on mental health and well-being in academia, and nothing has been published about PhD students. From studies abroad, we know that doing a PhD is a difficult experience resulting in high attrition rates with significant financial and human costs. Here we focused on PhD students in biology at university Lyon 1. A first study aimed at measuring the mental health and well-being of PhD students using several generalist and PhD-specific tools. Our results on 136 participants showed that a large fraction of the PhD students experience abnormal levels of stress, depression and anxiety, and their mean well-being score is significantly lower than that of a British reference sample. French PhD student well-being is specifically affected by career uncertainty, perceived lack of progress in the PhD and perceived lack of competence, which points towards possible cultural differences of experiencing a PhD in France and the UK. In a second study, we carried out a positive psychology intervention. Comparing the scores of the test and control groups showed a clear effect of the intervention on reducing anxiety. We discuss our results and the possible future steps to improve French PhD students’ well-being.

scholarly journals Positive Psychology: A Personal History

2019 ◽  
Vol 15 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-23 ◽  
Author(s):  
Martin E.P. Seligman
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Positive Psychology ◽  
American Psychological Association ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Personal History ◽  
Positive Education ◽  
Physical And Mental Health ◽  
American Psychological ◽  
Politics And Religion

As president of the American Psychological Association in 1998, I organized researchers and practitioners to work on building well-being, not just on the traditional task of reducing ill-being. Substantial research then found that well-being causes many external benefits, including better physical and mental health. Among the applications of Positive Psychology are national psychological accounts of well-being, Positive Psychotherapy, the classification of strengths and virtues, Comprehensive Soldier Fitness, and Positive Education. Positive Psychology has spread beyond psychology into neuroscience, health, psychiatry, theology, and even to the humanities. Positive Psychology has many critics, and I comment on the strongest criticisms. I conclude with the hope that the building of well-being will become a cornerstone of morality, politics, and religion.

scholarly journals Forgiveness Viewed from Positive Psychology and Islam

2020 ◽  
Vol 3 (2) ◽  
pp. 108-121
Author(s):  
Idi Warsah
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Positive Psychology ◽  
Physical Health ◽  
Role Model ◽  
Human Life ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Human Beings ◽  
Library Research

Conflicts are unavoidable in human life. Thus, for human beings, the attitude of forgiveness is of importance to be well-embedded and sustainably constructed. Resting upon the aforesaid premises, the present study conducted a library research to reveal how forgiveness is viewed from the perspectives of positive psychology and Islam. 102 scientific works reviewed, 58 works were finally selected to be scrutinized in depth. This study revealed that the discourses in the field of positive psychology imply that forgiveness attitude is of importance to be embedded in human beings and continuously constructed by virtue of its positive natural impacts on mental health, good relationships, physical health, and positive well-being. Furthermore, as informed by Islamic teachings, the attitude of forgiveness is also suggested to be well and continuously embedded. As the best Islamic role model for the end-time people, the Prophet Muhammad PBUH already exemplified that humans are indeed to always be forgiving and even to pray for others for the sake of good things that Allah SWT will bestow to. It is worth noting that both positive psychology and Islam encourage humans to be forgiving individuals.

Juggling With Both Hands Tied Behind My Back: Teachers’ Views and Experiences of the Tensions Between Student Well-Being Concerns and Academic Performance Improvement Agendas

2019 ◽  
Vol 56 (6) ◽  
pp. 2644-2673 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alison Willis ◽  
Mervyn Hyde ◽  
Ali Black
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Performance Improvement ◽  
Secondary School Teachers ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Health Issues ◽  
Academic Improvement ◽  
Performance Targets ◽  
Australian State ◽  
And Performance ◽  
Primary And Secondary School

Youth mental health in Australia is concerning with 25% of young people reported as experiencing mental health issues in a 12-month period. Meanwhile, Australian schools march forward with academic improvement agendas. Survey research conducted among primary and secondary school teachers, most drawn from the Australian state of Queensland, revealed that although teachers value student well-being initiatives, they are experiencing very real tensions dealing with student mental health concerns and performance targets, which is complicated by a lack of confidence in the efficacy of well-being programs in schools. These findings raise concerns about the need for government authorities, school leaders, and teacher education providers to further investigate the need for balance between school performance improvement agendas and student well-being concerns.

scholarly journals Sports Psychiatry. Women’s mental health in elite sports – we are missing the complexity

2020 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Mental Disorders ◽  
Active Phase ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Diagnosis And Treatment ◽  
Competitive Sports ◽  
Psychological Well Being ◽  
And Performance ◽  
Health And Well Being ◽  
Elite Sports

In competitive sports, mental health and well-being is of great significance [1]. This applies to the active phase, as well as the time after the career. Mental disorders are common in competitive sports [2]. Physical and psychological well-being and performance in sports relate to each other [2]: Emotional strains and illnesses in sport may have an influence on the performance, may increase the risk for injuries and may lengthen rehabilitation. Injuries have an influence on the performance, too, and are strains and risks for mental health. The requirements in elite sports call for a safe and sound judgement and handling with strains and risks for mental health, as well as in diagnosis and treatment on illness [1].

scholarly journals A Self-Administered Multicomponent Web-Based Mental Health Intervention for the Mexican Population During the COVID-19 Pandemic: Protocol for a Randomized Controlled Trial (Preprint)

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alejandro Dominguez-Rodriguez ◽  
Anabel De La Rosa-Gómez ◽  
M Jesús Hernández Jiménez ◽  
Paulina Arenas-Landgrave ◽  
Sofía Cristina Martínez-Luna ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Positive Psychology ◽  
Behavioral Activation ◽  
Behavioral Therapy ◽  
Controlled Trial ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Web Based ◽  
Significance Level ◽  
Randomized Controlled

BACKGROUND The COVID-19 pandemic has become a public health emergency of international concern; it has not only threatened people's physical health but has also affected their mental health and psychological well-being. It is necessary to develop and offer strategies to reduce the psychological impact of the outbreak and promote adaptive coping. OBJECTIVE This study protocol aims to describe a self-administered web-based intervention (Mental Health COVID-19) based on the principles of positive psychology supported by elements of cognitive behavioral therapy and behavioral activation therapy to reduce the symptoms of anxiety and depression and increase positive emotions and sleep quality during and after the COVID-19 outbreak through a telepsychology system. METHODS A randomized controlled clinical superiority trial with two independent groups will be performed, with intrasubject measures at four evaluation periods: pretest, posttest, 3-month follow-up, and 6-month follow-up. Participants will be randomly assigned to one of two groups: self-administered intervention with assistance via chat or self-administered intervention without assistance via chat. The total required sample size will be 166 participants (83 per group). RESULTS The clinical trial is ongoing. This protocol was approved by the Research Ethics Board of the Free School of Psychology-University of Behavioral Sciences (Escuela libre de Psicología-Universidad de Ciencias del Comportamiento). The aim is to publish the preliminary results in December 2020. A conservative approach will be adopted, and the size effect will be estimated using the Cohen <i>d</i> index with a significance level (α) of .05 (95% reliability) and a conventional 80% power statistic. CONCLUSIONS The central mechanism of action will be to investigate the effectiveness of an intervention based on positive psychology through a web platform that can be delivered through computers and tablets, with content that has been rigorously contextualized to the Mexican culture to provide functional strategies to help the target users cope with the COVID-19 pandemic. CLINICALTRIAL ClinicalTrials.gov NCT04468893; https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT04468893 INTERNATIONAL REGISTERED REPORT DERR1-10.2196/23117

Mindful Masculinity: Positive Psychology, McMindfulness and Gender

2019 ◽  
Vol 122 (1) ◽  
pp. 134-150
Author(s):  
Dave Smallen
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Positive Psychology ◽  
Hegemonic Masculinity ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Status Quo ◽  
Theoretical Argument ◽  
The Status ◽  
Mindfulness Practices ◽  
Management Techniques ◽  
And Gender

In recent years, positive psychology and mindfulness practices have increasingly been integrated in neo-liberal organisations to promote individuals’ well-being. Critics have argued that these practices actually function as management techniques, encouraging individuals’ self-governance and acceptance of the status quo despite adverse contexts. This article extends this argument by unpacking ways in which such ‘well-being’ programmes are also gendered, having been formulated around neo-liberal hegemonic masculine values of rationality, individualism and competition, and further masculinised through integration into gendered organisations. The argument is presented that this process produces a neo-liberal version of hegemonic masculinity that the author calls ‘mindful masculinity’. This theoretical argument is illustrated through examples of specific ways in which ‘well-being’ practices have been reworked in strongly masculine settings to promote neo-liberal hegemonic masculine goals under a symbolic veneer of spirituality and mental health.

scholarly journals Positive Psychology of Malaysian University Students: Impacts of Engagement, Motivation, Self-Compassion, and Well-being on Mental Health

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yasuhiro Kotera ◽  
Su-Hie Ting
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Positive Psychology ◽  
Help Seeking ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Asia Pacific ◽  
Psychological Constructs ◽  
Mediation Analyses ◽  
Self Compassion ◽  
Scholarly Output ◽  
Malaysian Students

AbstractMalaysia plays a key role in education of the Asia Pacific, expanding its scholarly output rapidly. However, mental health of Malaysian students is challenging, and their help-seeking is low because of stigma. This study explored the relationships between mental health and positive psychological constructs (academic engagement, motivation, self-compassion, and well-being), and evaluated the relative contribution of each positive psychological construct to mental health in Malaysian students. An opportunity sample of 153 students completed the measures regarding these constructs. Correlation, regression, and mediation analyses were conducted. Engagement, amotivation, self-compassion, and well-being were associated with, and predicted large variance in mental health. Self-compassion was the strongest independent predictor of mental health among all the positive psychological constructs. Findings can imply the strong links between mental health and positive psychology, especially self-compassion. Moreover, intervention studies to examine the effects of self-compassion training on mental health of Malaysian students appear to be warranted.

scholarly journals A Novel Heart-Centered, Gratitude-Meditation Intervention to Increase Well-Being among Adolescents

2017 ◽  
Vol 2017 ◽  
pp. 1-12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lunthita M. Duthely ◽  
Sandra G. Nunn ◽  
John T. Avella
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Life Satisfaction ◽  
Positive Psychology ◽  
Positive Emotions ◽  
Well Being ◽  
School Satisfaction ◽  
Control Group ◽  
Satisfaction Scale ◽  
Quasi Experimental ◽  
Experimental Group

Population studies paint a dismal picture of the mental health status of adolescents, in the US and worldwide. Positive psychology, which takes a preventative approach to keeping individuals in higher states of well-being, is being implemented increasingly among youth, with the goal of avoiding future mental health and psychological problems. In this study, a novel intervention, which fused the practice of meditation with gratitude visualizations, was tested among adolescents. The purpose of this quasi-experimental study was to determine the extent to which the intervention affected life satisfaction, school satisfaction, and measured gratitude, among a culturally diverse cohort of adolescents. Instrumentation consisted of three positive psychology measures—theStudent Life Satisfaction Scale, theSchool Satisfaction Subscale, and theGratitude Questionnaire-Six-Item Form.Participants were randomly assigned either to the delayed-intervention, no-treatment control group or to the experimental group. The four-week intervention was manualized primarily from the heart-centered gratitude visualizations outlined in a happiness and positive emotions handbook,The Jewels of Happiness: Inspiration and Wisdom to Guide Your Life-Journey. The intervention significantly affected life satisfaction, school satisfaction, and gratitude of the experimental group, when compared to the control group. Medium to large effect sizes were detected using the ANCOVA statistical test.

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