PSYC20037 Introduction To Positive Psychology Essay Sample

PSYC20037 Introduction To Positive Psychology

Task Description:

The overall aim of this assessment task is to explore the alignment between wellbeing theory, research, and practices, and the implications for the ways we can foster/enhance wellbeing in a specific setting/context.

Please note, this assessment task must be completed individually – it is an independent assessment piece, meaning that you cannot work with other students to complete it. For Assessment 2, you will write a 2100-word essay using a theory of wellbeing to explore wellbeing issues faced in an applied setting/context (e.g., workplace, school), and then evaluate strategies that can be used to improve and build wellbeing in that setting.

The essay should focus on integrating wellbeing theory and research from the published academic literature and how this could be usefully applied in a practical context/setting to generate strategies to increase/build/improve wellbeing.

You will:

• Choose one specific applied setting (e.g., a workplace; school; residential aged care; hospital; etc). Alternatively, you may choose one specific population group or context (e.g., new parents; people with a particular chronic illness; teenagers; etc). Ensuring you keep this specific will help give focus to your essay.

• Research and then summarise the wellbeing considerations/issues/challenges faced in the chosen context/setting (e.g., what are the wellbeing issues or challenges faced by people living in a residential aged-care setting? e.g., meaninglessness, loneliness, depression, etc). This summary should be based on reputable academic evidence, and should cite at least one published systematic review journal article about the chosen setting.

• Apply one positive psychology theoretical framework for wellbeing that can help explain the wellbeing issues identified in your chosen applied context/setting. You will choose one theoretical framework from the list below and demonstrate how it provides an appropriate framework for understanding the wellbeing considerations commonly experienced in the chosen setting (e.g., if ‘meaninglessness’ is a concern in aged-care settings, is there a positive psychology theoretical perspective that discusses the importance of ‘meaning’ to an individual’s wellbeing?) As part of this section, you will produce a visual diagram (e.g., a mind-map, concept-map) outlining the wellbeing issues you discovered in your setting, and how these issues connect to the components within your chosen wellbeing theoretical framework. Your visual diagram needs to be original and have clear relevance to the content of your essay; i.e., no google images or generic diagrams permitted.

• Examine how empirical research studies have previously attempted to influence (i.e., increase, improve, build, enhance) wellbeing in the chosen context/setting. In this section, you will summarise and critique at least two published peer-reviewed empirical research studies evaluating intervention/prevention strategies, including what was done in each study (i.e., what the interventions entailed), the procedures used to assess/measure changes in wellbeing in each study, and the results found in each study. You will then evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of the intervention/prevention attempts investigated in these research studies.

• Your essay will conclude with a summary and evaluation of potential implications and recommendations for future work that is needed in the chosen context/setting.

Solution

Introduction

An essay is offered, as a case for taking into account wellbeing issues within the school setting, especially with teenagers. It touches on the difficult situations many teenagers deal with in school, among other things like academic stress, social pressures, mental health issues, and identity formation. This report is based on a positive psychology theoretical framework that will be used to investigate the modern problems of well-being more thoroughly. Moreover, it will also examine the existing research that has attempted to develop the well-being of teenagers in schools by employing preventive mechanisms and interventions. The essay will end with a summarization of key findings, education for the guided research, and recommendations that may help improve teenage well-being inside the schools. Consequently, the objective of the study is to come up with clues which may work towards favourable outcomes for children in a classroom set-up (Aldridge et al., 2019).
Wellbeing Issues for Teenagers in School

1. Academic Stress

The life of a school student involves so many academic assignments that stress factors contribute to dance as one of them. The difficult academic workload is on top of the requirement for schooling services to achieve desirable marks in exams and assignments. Consequently, the level of stress and anxiety among students is increased (Aldridge et al., 2019). Nonstop desire to excel in studies with increased scrutiny and preset standards of teachers, parents along peer pressure mostly ends up with feelings of incompetency and performance expectations. For example, the ISC world is full of stressful expectations of top grades for the sake of socio-familial norms and pressure that already raises the stress levels in students’ minds. Students can be pushed and shaped by this academic pressure and it can be felt in their mental and emotional health (Aldridge et al., 2019).

2. Social Pressures

Social pressure is another problem that fascinates teenagers between school. Peer pressure is very common, as teenagers most often need to follow each other, to the point of conforming to societal norms and suffering from social status within their peer group. As a student in high school, there is faced with immense peer pressure that may force them to undertake behaviours that do not align with their true selves or beliefs which may consequently lead to high levels of stress and anxiety (Bond et al., 2021).

3. Mental Health Concerns

The worrying increase in anxiety and depression among high school students has attracted attention as emerging mental health problems. These themes arise from academic factors such as school pressure social factors like peers' influence, and individual crises. However, there is an absence of understanding or stigma on the part of mental health issues among teenagers, thus many of them fail to receive the needed help that they may be experiencing. As a result of not talking to others about their mental health issues, even though they know or feel they might be mentally weakened, the conditions become untreated, and that might even worsen their emotional distress (Bond et al., 2021).

4. Identity Development

Adolescence is the key period of forming one’s identity, during which teens encounter the problems of self-acceptance and self-discovery. School environment is usually related to the whole process may experiencing difficulties in establishing their self in a way that makes them happy, taking into account the influence of the society around them (Flores-Verduzco, Fraijo-Sing, & Tapia-Fonllem, 2020). Social media, peer-to-peer relations and social factors can all form opinions of teenagers on how they feel and their position within the world. The various exiles from the film, for example, carefully illustrate one youth's identity development experiencing immigration as either empowering or difficult in their self-esteem and emotional resilience (Bond et al., 2021).

Application of Positive Psychology Framework (PERMA Model)

Figure 1- PERMA Model
Source- Self-Created

1. Positive Emotions

Averting academic tension and peer dilemmas is critical whereby parenting kids' performance is highly improved. Schools could help to develop positive emotions through the initiation of happy feelings, thankfulness and light-mindedness. Such as by introducing during lessons breathing exercises or gratefulness techniques could make it easier for students' emotional strength to grow and thus make them better prepared to deal with academic difficulties. Schools can succeed in this by emphasizing the notion of a positive environment, which will bring students more support and joy (Flores-Verduzco, Fraijo-Sing, & Tapia-Fonllem, 2020).

2. Engagement (Flow)

Facilitating participation in activities, which will make sense to them and won’t feel stressed has a huge impact on the vulnerability of their moods, which in turn reduces their stress levels. Through extra-curricular activities, schools can ask students to do the stuff that they like to and are good at. Taking part in the processes that lead to a "flow state" probably will be able to bring about a sense of meaning and satisfaction, which might turn out to be consequently favourable to overall well-being. In this manner, schools can build up a thriving relationship with the students that are rich in various activities they can bond with, helping them to maintain a balance between academics and personal interests (Flores-Verduzco, Fraijo-Sing, & Tapia-Fonllem, 2020).

3. Relationships

Developing friendly and supportive interrelationships with fellow students, educators, as well as family members is paramount concerning protecting teens against peer pressures and allowing them to experience a feeling of being included. The schools can promote relationship-building by giving many chances to do co-curricular activities, do projects, and communicate with the help of several channels. If peer support programs and mentorship activities are adopted, students’ social ties and emotional support nets can be strengthened thereby helping them form a sense of communal belonging and soaring their sense of belonging (Ortuño-Sierra, Lucas-Molina, Inchausti, & Fonseca-Pedrero, 2021).

4. Meaning

Being able to challenge teenagers to have open conversations about their personal values, goals, aspirations, etc. is of great importance for this purpose. Schools can embed the activities that facilitate self-realization and goal-setting into their academic curriculum. Through creating a connection between school work and life, students learn to find meaning in academic activities and social interactions. The schools will achieve this by improving the overall well-being and resilience of teenagers (Ortuño-Sierra, Lucas-Molina, Inchausti, & Fonseca-Pedrero, 2021).

5. Accomplishment

Appropriately acknowledging and celebrating both academic and personal achievements is key to improving self-esteem and motivation in the long run. The institutions of education develop such a culture that recognizes work effort and growth by marking the student's achievements both large and small. Achieving success goals and offering a kind of success are likely to that, teenagers build a sense of confidence. While instilling a culture that promotes trophy-winning and encourages the students to succeed, schools get the students to be the best they can be and boost their self-esteem (Korkiamäki, 2019).

Interventions to Improve Teenage Wellbeing in Schools

Research Study 1: Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) Program

Figure 2- Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) Program
Source- (Petko, 2019)

1. Intervention Description

The study was conducted on a mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR) program for high school students which was designed and implemented in their residences. The program encompassed different mindfulness techniques, yoga sessions tailored to teenagers and stress management produced with youthful brains in mind. Participants took part in the weekly sessions where they were helped by the trained instructors who tried their utmost best to harmonize mindfulness practices at home (Korkiamäki, 2019).

2. Results

After the completion of the given MBSR program, the stress levels of the participants were found to have significantly reduced compared to before they were part of this program. Furthermore, it has been reported that a positive effect has been observed along with a decrease in negative effects through the PANAS scale. This shows that MBSR programs are the way to go to improve emotional and mental health and stress management among high school students (Ortuño-Sierra, Lucas-Molina, Inchausti, & Fonseca-Pedrero, 2021).

3. Strengths

In the trial, the MBSR program employed valid assessment methods like the Perceived Stress Scale (PSS) and the Positive and Negative Affect Schedule (PANAS) to statistically analyse the well-being improvements. Reliability, this was a way to check on the results of the intervention's efficacy. With that in, it also couldn't fail to use recognized protocols of mindfulness, which have already been considered to define credibility and the possibility of replication. The 8-week structured format enables us to equip the participants with different aspects of the mindfulness techniques, therefore, enhancing interest and finally, retention of the participants’ involvement throughout the research (Ortuño-Sierra, Lucas-Molina, Inchausti, & Fonseca-Pedrero, 2021).

4. Weaknesses

The MBSR study for MBA assignment expert had one important shortcoming, which was the fact that it relied on self-report measures (PSS-14 and PANAS), which is not very efficient. Therefore, this technology serves as an invaluable tool providing knowledge on an individual´s mental state, although it is subject to the bias of response and may not capture the real difference in stress and emotions of a particular individual (Phillips-Howard et al., 2019). The non-inclusion of long-term follow-up assessments was also a shortcoming, as this would have enabled us to assess the sustainability of intervention outcomes in the long run apart from the immediate post-intervention impact. Future researchers probably would be successful if they added more objective outcome measures and findings from longer-term testing to their studies to show how mindfulness-based interventions over a long-term period help adolescent well-being (Phillips-Howard et al., 2019).

Research Study 2: Peer Mentoring Program

1. Intervention Description

Researchers implemented a peer mentoring structure in a high school, matching older students (mentors) with younger students (mentees) to provide moral and academic help. Sessions of the mentoring program were intended to cover different areas of concern like building positive relationships, dealing with academic problems, and integrating into the student community (Phillips-Howard et al., 2019).

2. Results

Individuals who joined the peer mentoring initiative indicated that there is no doubt that their peer relationships as well as their participation in school activities dramatically improved. Moreover, a positive trend was evidenced among students assigned mentors in their self-esteem indices and this may point to an improvement in their well-being also (Sarwar, Islam, Mohiuddin, Tareq, & Siddika, 2022).

3. Strengths

The strategy was used for Peer mentoring; it tried to evaluate the effectiveness of the intervention by using both qualitative and quantitative measures. The dialogue allowed us to get a picture of how the community developed among peers, how the self-esteem of the participants changed through the program, and the importance of consistent school presence, collecting in-depth information on the program's success. Furthermore, those interventions were focused on vital social factors, which are also significant in adolescents' well-being, with special attention to peer support and social integration within the school setting. Emphasizing these factors, the program is considered a comprehensive part of a student's development adding more to their academic success (Sarwar, Islam, Mohiuddin, Tareq, & Siddika, 2022).

4. Weaknesses

An interesting limitation of the peer mentoring study is that there is no control group to use as a comparison. Without a control group, it is difficult to pinpoint the peer mentoring intervention as the sole reason for the well-being improvements, as there might be external factors that might have caused those observable changes. As such, the scaling and sustainability of peer mentoring programs in larger school systems pose a certain question of realism. The implication of the investigation may not be completely applicable to other communities as well as a learning environment, thereby making it from a perspective of validity and generalization (Stasulane, 2019).

Evaluation of Intervention Strategies

The analysis of approaches used in the research points out several important matters most of which are associated with increasing high school students’ wellbeing. The mindful-based stress reduction (MBSR) program as well as the peer mentoring intervention, observed that there was a scale of positive outcomes in the selected domains of adolescent well-being (Tobia, Greco, Steca, & Marzocchi, 2019). Nevertheless, a two-way street entails knowing the advantages and disadvantages of both paths. The MBSR course proved to be an effective tool to reduce the stress perceived and raise the levels of feelings of well-being through summary tests. However, the study still has limited capability to evaluate meaningful long-term effects using self-report surveys only and without assessments done at later stages. The results of the peer mentoring program suggest an increase in the well-being of students at school and better peer relationships (Stasulane, 2019).

Conclusion

Improving the conditions of the mental health of teenagers in a school setting that considers the components that go with the positive psychology is what School Intervention Requires The principles of frameworks, for example, PERMA, could provide the basis for comprehensive policy options designed to improve various dimensions of adolescent wellness, including positive moods, engagement, relationship and accomplishment. Efficient empirical research, for example, the mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR) programs and peer mentoring initiatives, are successfully applied during the intervention process to check their efficiency. However, both programs appeared to result in good outcomes from the viewpoint of certain indicators, nonetheless, the strengths and drawbacks of the interventions should not be forgotten as well. The successive simulations taking into account the rigorous assessment methods and scalability and sustainability are essential steps for the application of those approaches in the real-world educational scenes.

References

Aldridge, J. M., Fraser, B. J., Fozdar, F., Ala’i, K., Earnest, J., & Afari, E. (2019). Students’ perceptions of school climate as determinants of well-being, resilience and identity. Improving Schools, 19(1), 5–26. https://doi.org/10.1177/1365480215612616

Bond, L., Butler, H., Thomas, L., Carlin, J., Glover, S., Bowes, G., & Patton, G. (2021). Social and School Connectedness in Early Secondary School as Predictors of Late Teenage Substance Use, Mental Health, and Academic Outcomes. Journal of Adolescent Health, 40(4), 357.e9–357.e18. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jadohealth.2006.10.013

Flores-Verduzco, G. R., Fraijo-Sing, B. S., & Tapia-Fonllem, C. O. (2020). School environment as a mediating variable between family support and social well-being in high school students. Www.um.edu.mt. Retrieved from https://www.um.edu.mt/library/oar/handle/123456789/65121

Korkiamäki, R. (2019). Friendship as Potential? The Recognition of Teenagers’ Peer Relationships at School. Open Journal of Social Sciences, 4(9), 720–726. https://doi.org/10.4236/jss.2016.49005

Ortuño-Sierra, J., Lucas-Molina, B., Inchausti, F., & Fonseca-Pedrero, E. (2021). Special Issue on Mental Health and Well-Being in Adolescence: Environment and Behavior. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 18(6), 2975. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph18062975

Petko, D. (2019). Mindfulness-based Stress Reduction (MBSR) in Reducing Stress in Nursing Students: An Integrative Review and Toolkit. Retrieved April 10, 2024, from Semantic Scholar website: https://www.semanticscholar.org/paper/Mindfulness-based-Stress-Reduction-%28MBSR%29-in-Stress-Petko/4b1239867db44cb89a5b93567f305eae18693dd8/figure/2

Phillips-Howard, P. A., Bellis, M. A., Briant, L. B., Jones, H., Downing, J., Kelly, I. E., … Cook, P. A. (2019). Wellbeing. Substance Abuse Treatment, Prevention, and Policy, 5(1). https://doi.org/10.1186/1747-597x-5-27

Sarwar, A., Islam, M. A., Mohiuddin, M., Tareq, M. A., & Siddika, A. (2022). Social Connections and Self-Perceived Depression: An Enhanced Model for Studying Teenagers’ Mental Wellbeing. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 19(23). https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph192315791

Stasulane, A. (2019). Factors Determining Children and Young People’s Well-being at School. Journal of Teacher Education for Sustainability, 19(2), 165–179. https://doi.org/10.1515/jtes-2017-0021

Tobia, V., Greco, A., Steca, P., & Marzocchi, G. M. (2019). Children’s Wellbeing at School: A Multi-dimensional and Multi-informant Approach. Journal of Happiness Studies, 20(3), 841–861. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10902-018-9974-2