How to Increase Middle School Students Subjective Well-Being using a 10-Week Multitarget, Multicomponent Positive Psychology Intervention — ASN Events
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  3. How to Increase Middle School Students Subjective Well-Being using a 10-Week Multitarget, Multicomponent Positive Psychology Intervention

How to Increase Middle School Students Subjective Well-Being using a 10-Week Multitarget, Multicomponent Positive Psychology Intervention (#226)

Shannon Suldo 1 , Kristen Mahony 1 , Sarah Fefer 2 , Kai Zhuang Shum 1 , Bailey Braunstein 1
  1. University of South Florida, Tampa, FL, United States
  2. School Psychology Program, University of Massachusetts Amherst, Amherst, MA, United States of America

Background
Given academic, social, and health benefits associated with high subjective well-being (SWB; Suldo & Doll, 2021), comprehensive school-based mental health supports should include evidence-based positive psychology interventions (PPI) that foster SWB. The Well-Being Promotion Program (WBPP) is a fully developed PPI that is easily accessible through a leader manual (Suldo, 2016) and has empirical support for increasing SWB among middle school students in studies where researchers implemented the program (Roth et al., 2017; Suldo et al., 2014).   

Aims
Presenters will share how school mental health providers (school psychologists, counselors, and social workers) employed by public middle schools in Florida and Massachusetts used the WBPP to increase the SWB of students identified through school-wide screening, using positive activities that target gratitude, character strengths use, optimism, hope, and relationship enhancement. 

Method
One month into the 2022-23 school year, about 2500 students (grades 5 – 8) in five middle schools completed brief self-report measures of SWB. Students in the bottom quartile of life satisfaction scores were invited to participate in the WBPP during the school day. Across schools, 40-65% of students received signed parent permission to participate. Students are being served in small groups (6 – 12 students per group) led by school mental health providers with some support from local university researchers. Groups meet once per week for ten weeks (fall 2022, core WBPP), then once per month (spring 2023) for 3-4 follow-up/maintenance sessions to review and continue practicing the ten positive activities taught in core sessions.

Results
Presenters will share students, caregivers, and group leaders’ perceptions of the usefulness of the WBPP; student attendance; leader fidelity of implementation of manualized sessions; and change in student SWB at these five schools.

Conclusion
Attendees will learn how an evidence-based PPI- the WBPP- can be feasibly delivered to at-risk students in public middle schools. Presenters will share their first-hand experiences- and lessons learned- from initial screening through implementation and evaluating outcomes.

  1. Roth, R., & Suldo, S. M., & Ferron, J. (2017). Improving middle school students' subjective well-being: Efficacy of a multicomponent positive psychology intervention targeting small groups of youth. School Psychology Review, 46 (1), 21-41. doi: 10.17105/10.17105/SPR46-1.21-41
  2. Suldo, S. M. (2016). Promoting student happiness: Positive psychology interventions in schools. In the Guilford Practical Intervention in the Schools Series (published July 22, 2016; see: http://www.guilford.com/books/Promoting-Student-Happiness/Shannon-Suldo/9781462526802). New York: Guilford Press.
  3. Suldo, S. M., & Doll, B. (2021). Conceptualizing youth mental health through a dual-factor model. In P. J. Lazarus, S. M. Suldo, & B. Doll (Eds.), Fostering the emotional well-being of our youth (pp. 20–39). Oxford University Press.
  4. Suldo, S. M., Savage, J. A., & Mercer, S. (2014). Increasing middle school students' life satisfaction: Efficacy of a positive psychology group intervention. Journal of Happiness Studies, 15, 19 – 42. doi: 10.1007/s10902-013-9414-2
  5. Tejada-Gallardo, C., Blasco-Belled, A., Torrelles-Nadal, C., & Alsinet, C. (2020). Effects of school-based multicomponent positive psychology interventions on well-being and distress in adolescents: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 49, 1943–1960. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10964-020-01289-9
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