Improving Middle School Students' Subjective Well-Being: Efficacy of a Multicomponent Positive Psychology Intervention Targeting Small Groups of Youth

Abstract.

Most interventions intended to improve subjective well-being, termed positive psychology interventions (PPIs), have neglected to include relevant stakeholders in youth's lives and have not included booster sessions intended to maintain gains in subjective well-being. The current study investigated the impact of a multitarget, multicomponent (i.e., students plus parents), small group PPI on students' mental health (subjective well-being as well as symptoms of internalizing and externalizing forms of psychopathology) at postintervention and approximately two months follow-up. Forty-two seventh-grade students were randomly assigned either to immediately receive the PPI or to a wait-list control group. At postintervention, students who participated in the PPI evidenced significant gains in all indicators of subjective well-being (life satisfaction, positive affect, and negative affect), and there was a trend for practically meaningful reductions in internalizing and externalizing problems relative to the control group. At follow-up, gains in positive affect were maintained. Findings provide preliminary support for this multicomponent PPI as an evidence-based school-based intervention that causes long-lasting improvements in early adolescents' positive affect, a primary indicator of subjective well-being.

Notes

The authors of this manuscript would like to acknowledge the assistance of the following members of their university research team: Bryan Bander, Michael Frank, and Brittany Hearon.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Rachel A. Roth

Rachel A. Roth, PhD, is an assistant professor in the School Psychology Program at Alfred University. She received her PhD in school psychology from the University of South Florida in 2015. Her primary research interests include building capacity for schools to deliver evidence-based mental health services, as well as school-wide approaches to maximize the complete mental health of students in rural settings, including the integration of dialectical behavioral therapy skills training and positive psychology interventions.

Shannon M. Suldo

Shannon M. Suldo, PhD, is a professor in the School Psychology Program at the University of South Florida and a licensed psychologist in Florida. She received her PhD in school psychology from the University of South Carolina in 2004. Her primary research interests include evidence-based interventions for promoting students' subjective well-being and reducing symptoms of psychopathology; school-wide strategies to identify students without complete mental health; and stress, coping, and academic and emotional success of high school students in accelerated curricula. She is a former associate editor of School Psychology Review.

John M. Ferron

John M. Ferron, PhD, is a professor in the Educational Measurement and Research Program at the University of South Florida. He received his PhD in educational psychology from the University of North Carolina in 1993. His research interests focus on the development and application of statistical methods for educational research.