Solution-focused self-help for improving university students’ well-being

Abstract

Along with positive developments in psychology, the self-help movement is becoming widespread, based on the belief that people are capable of growing and achieving positive change with only minimal help. This article addresses the potential of a solution-focused self-help tool to improve university students’ well-being by comparing its outcome to a cognitive restructuring self-help tool. The study sample consisted of 173 undergraduate Lithuanian psychology students, assigned to three different study conditions: solution-focused self-reflection (SFSR), cognitive restructuring self-reflection (CRSR) and free observation (FO). Subjective measures of well-being were used twice within a 12-day period. Both intervention groups did better on all applied measures, compared to the FO group. Furthermore, SFSR was found to be superior to the CRSR with regards to the subjective evaluation of the condition of the life area chosen by participants for change as well as the evaluation of usefulness and acceptability of the intervention.

Keywords:

• self-help
• solution-focused approach
• university students
• well-being