The impact of a teacher-based positive education intervention on student wellbeing literacy

Over the past decade, research has consistently found that positive education interventions have a beneficial effect on mental health outcomes for students, such as improvements in life satisfaction and reduction of anxiety. While it is encouraging to see these changes in student mental health, the research has not yet adequately explored whether positive education interventions change a student’s understanding of wellbeing itself. Wellbeing literacy is a new construct within the field of positive education and is defined as the ability to understand the concept and language of wellbeing. This study examines whether student language and understanding of wellbeing changes following an intervention that trains teachers in the core principles of positive education. Students across grades five, six and seven (ages 11–13; n = 231) from three Australian schools provided brief written descriptions of their understanding of wellbeing before and after their teachers undertook an eight-month positive education intervention. Thematic analysis was used as the methodological tool to analyze student language and understanding of wellbeing. Inferential frequency-based statistical analyses were used to compare the pre-intervention and post-intervention responses. The results revealed that student understanding of wellbeing evolved in four key ways to become more: (1) detailed; (2) strength based; (3) expanded/multidimensional; and (4) relational. Post-intervention understanding of wellbeing was significantly more likely to include aspects of emotional management, strengths, coping, mindfulness and self-kindness. Implications, limitations and future directions are discussed.

An examination of phubbing and being phubbed behaviors among turkish teachers

In this study, it was aimed to examine teachers’ level of phubbing and being phubbed in terms of various variables. The study was designed as a survey research with a target population of teachers working in the Turkish public schools during the 2020-2021 academic years. The sample was formed using a convenience sampling method and made up of 307 (141 female, 166 male) teachers whose ages ranged from 23 to 64. Research data were collected through a questionnaire including “Personal Information Form”, “Generic Scale of Phubbing (GSP)” and “Generic Scale of Being Phubbed (GSBP)”. Descriptive statistics, correlation analyses and multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA) tests were conducted for the analysis of the collected data. As a result of the research, participating teachers’ level of phubbing and being phubbed were determined as moderate level. There was no significant difference in terms of gender, educational status and branch variables. Regarding marital status variable, nomophobia and self-isolation levels of single teachers were found to be higher than those of married ones. Age was found to be negatively and weakly correlated with the levels of self-isolation. In addition, the levels of phubbing were found to be positively and moderately associated with the levels of being phubbed.

Efficacy of eye movement desensitization and reprocessing (EMDR) therapy for children and adolescents with post-traumatic stress disorder

The purpose of the present study is to examine the efficacy of eye movement desensitization and reprocessing (EMDR) therapy for children and adolescents with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). For this purpose, a framework was determined by using findings of the research and explanations at the conceptual level. PTSD is a mental disorder that is experienced after traumatic events, affects individuals cognitively, emotionally, and behaviorally and threatens the integrity of an individual's life. EMDR therapy is a therapy that imaginatively reveals the past or traumatic experiences of the client through eye movements and other bilateral stimuli (two-way sound or tactile stimulus), facilitates information processing processes. Whereas EMDR was initially an approach developed for adults, it was later used for children and adolescents. The fact that it gives positive results in a short time and these positive results continue in follow-up studies has increased the interest in using EMDR for children and adolescents with PTSD. The use of EMDR for children and adolescents has allowed their problems to be resolved in a timely manner and reduced PTSD symptoms. This situation has drawn attention to the importance of using EMDR in the practice of psychological counselors working in school environments, leading places where they work with children and adolescents, and where the first preventive and interventional studies are carried out. Therefore, it is considered that the use of EMDR will be functional in overcoming these negative life experiences of many students who have been directly or indirectly exposed to traumatic experiences during the COVID-19 epidemic period.

Psychological well-being in college students: Psychometric properties of the Brief Inventory of Thriving (BIT) and the Comprehensive Inventory of Thriving (CIT)

The purpose of the present study is to investigate the psychometric properties of two integrative inventories of psychological well-being– the Brief Inventory of Thriving (BIT) and the Comprehensive Inventory of Thriving (CIT)– that could be widely used among Turkish young adults. This study also aimed to examine whether students with severe psychological health symptoms reported higher levels of loneliness, lack of control, and negative feelings, and fewer positive domains of the CIT (e.g., support, belonging, positive feelings, and self-efficacy). The participants of this study included 314 Turkish undergraduate students (76% female with an age range of 18–47 years [M = 22.83, SD = 4.09]) from a state university in Turkey. Confirmatory factor analyses showed good psychometric fit statistics of both the CIT and BIT, confirming the latent structure of inventories. Factor loadings of the CIT items were strong, with robust indicator reliabilities. With regard to the concurrent validity of the measures, the study results showed that the domains and the brief version of the measure had significant correlations with psychological health symptoms. Additionally, individuals with severe mental health symptoms reported fewer positive psychological domains of psychological well-being, whereas having higher negative domains of psychological well-being than those with mild symptoms. Specifically, Cohen's d effect sizes were large for some social resources and subjective well-being domains. Overall, these results provide evidence suggesting that both the CIT and BIT could be used to assess psychological well-being among Turkish young adults.

Positive education to promote flourishing in students returning to school after COVID-19 closure

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