Background

The challenge with positive psychology interventions (PPIs) is that they are not sustainable over time. Individuals often practise once-off interventions or short- and medium-term programmes to boost their wellbeing. Practising the same interventions leads to boredom; hence programmes offering a variety of PPIs were created; however, as soon as participants complete them, their wellbeing starts to decline. The alumni of positive psychology programmes are individuals with more knowledge about positive psychology research and processes for enhancing wellbeing than the general public. Thus their use of positive psychology goes beyond the simple application of PPIs. Learning from their insights can provide a foundation for a new model of effectively tapping into positive psychological knowledge to sustain wellbeing.  

Aims

This research explored how alumni of positive psychology programmes use positive psychology in their daily lives to sustain wellbeing over time.

Method

The Mixed-method Grounded Theory (MM-GT) approach comprised an online survey with 142 alumni of positive psychology programmes, such as the Masters in Applied Positive Psychology and Coaching Psychology at the University of East London and in-depth interviews with 20 participants. MM-GT was qualitative-data driven. Interview data were analysed using the Grounded Theory approach. Survey data were analysed using Multiple Regression and Content Analysis. Finally, all data sets were integrated during the synthesis phase. SPSS (v. 28) was used for quantitative data analysis, and MAXQDA (v. 2022) was used for qualitative data analysis.

Results

The Sustained Wellbeing Model that emerged comprised three components: (1) initiation, describing the first stage of engaging with positive psychology and testing interventions; (2) adaptation, describing how individuals embrace and adapt their newly gained knowledge in their daily lives; and (3) assimilation, describing complete absorption of positive psychology knowledge and ability to transfer skills into various aspects of their lives to improve their and other people's wellbeing.

Conclusion

The Sustained Wellbeing Model offers a unique perspective for practising positive psychology beyond using Positive Psychology Interventions.