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"Positive Psychology"
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Use of the Chatbot “Vivibot” to Deliver Positive Psychology Skills and Promote Well-Being Among Young People After Cancer Treatment: Randomized Controlled Feasibility Trial
Positive psychology interventions show promise for reducing psychosocial distress associated with health adversity and have the potential to be widely disseminated to young adults through technology.
This pilot randomized controlled trial examined the feasibility of delivering positive psychology skills via the Vivibot chatbot and its effects on key psychosocial well-being outcomes in young adults treated for cancer.
Young adults (age 18-29 years) were recruited within 5 years of completing active cancer treatment by using the Vivibot chatbot on Facebook messenger. Participants were randomized to either immediate access to Vivibot content (experimental group) or access to only daily emotion ratings and access to full chatbot content after 4 weeks (control). Created using a human-centered design process with young adults treated for cancer, Vivibot content includes 4 weeks of positive psychology skills, daily emotion ratings, video, and other material produced by survivors, and periodic feedback check-ins. All participants were assessed for psychosocial well-being via online surveys at baseline and weeks 2, 4, and 8. Analyses examined chatbot engagement and open-ended feedback on likability and perceived helpfulness and compared experimental and control groups with regard to anxiety and depression symptoms and positive and negative emotion changes between baseline and 4 weeks. To verify the main effects, follow-up analyses compared changes in the main outcomes between 4 and 8 weeks in the control group once participants had access to all chatbot content.
Data from 45 young adults (36 women; mean age: 25 [SD 2.9]; experimental group: n=25; control group: n=20) were analyzed. Participants in the experimental group spent an average of 74 minutes across an average of 12 active sessions chatting with Vivibot and rated their experience as helpful (mean 2.0/3, SD 0.72) and would recommend it to a friend (mean 6.9/10; SD 2.6). Open-ended feedback noted its nonjudgmental nature as a particular benefit of the chatbot. After 4 weeks, participants in the experimental group reported an average reduction in anxiety of 2.58 standardized t-score units, while the control group reported an increase in anxiety of 0.7 units. A mixed-effects models revealed a trend-level (P=.09) interaction between group and time, with an effect size of 0.41. Those in the experimental group also experienced greater reductions in anxiety when they engaged in more sessions (z=-1.9, P=.06). There were no significant (or trend level) effects by group on changes in depression, positive emotion, or negative emotion.
The chatbot format provides a useful and acceptable way of delivering positive psychology skills to young adults who have undergone cancer treatment and supports anxiety reduction. Further analysis with a larger sample size is required to confirm this pattern.
Journal Article
The effect of positive psychology interventions on job satisfaction work engagement and withdrawal intentions among remote working cancer survivors
Advances in cancer treatment have significantly increased the survival rate of cancer patients, but these survivors often face challenges in the workplace. Existing literature highlights the significant influence of cancer on job performance, job satisfaction, and the increased risk of withdrawal intention. However, the effects of positive psychology interventions on cancer survivors, particularly in less urbanized settings and remote worker communities, remain underexplored. This study investigates the effects of positive psychology interventions on job satisfaction, work engagement, and withdrawal intentions among cancer survivors in rural and remote workforce communities. A Randomized Control Trial (RCT) was employed, involving 68 cancer survivors. The study used the Minnesota Job Satisfaction Questionnaire, the Utrecht Work Engagement Scale, and the Withdrawal Intention Scale to measure outcomes following a 14-session positive psychology intervention. The results revealed statistically significant improvements in the experimental group compared to the control group. Job satisfaction mean scores increased from 50.23 to 58.94, work engagement mean scores rose from 26.79 to 31.05, and withdrawal intentions mean scores decreased from 48.35 to 39.05. These findings highlight the potential of positive psychology interventions to address the unique challenges faced by cancer survivors in remote workforce communities, particularly in less urbanized areas. By enhancing job satisfaction and work engagement while reducing withdrawal intentions, these interventions can significantly contribute to the occupational well-being of cancer survivors, advocating for their integration into cancer care and organizational practices.
Journal Article
Enhancing mental well-being in university students through multicomponent low intensity positive education and the mediating role of civic engagement
Evidence supports the efficacy of positive psychology interventions (PPIs) for enhancing mental well-being, yet the effectiveness of brief, multicomponent PPIs and the role of civic engagement within educational settings remain inadequately understood. This study investigated both the impact of an 8-week positive education programme on student mental well-being in Hong Kong and other Asia Pacific regions, and examined civic engagement’s mediating role in intervention outcomes. Participants (
N
= 112) were randomly assigned to experimental or waitlist control groups. The intervention incorporated multiple positive psychology topics and civic engagement components. The experimental group demonstrated significant improvements in growth mindset, resilience, prosocialness, positive emotions, general health, and reduced insomnia severity compared to the waitlist control group, with civic engagement behaviors also showing a significant increase. Mediation analyses revealed that civic engagement mediated the relationship between resilience and well-being in the experimental group, while showing an unexpected negative association in the waitlist control group. This differential effect highlights civic engagement’s complex role in well-being interventions, while demonstrating the effectiveness of structured brief, multicomponent PPIs in enhancing participants’ well-being. The study reveals that structured support is potentially crucial for maximizing benefits. These insights inform the design of effective well-being interventions in higher education settings.
Journal Article
The effects of positive psychology and physical activity on depression, anxiety, and stress among students with premenstrual syndrome: a single-blind, randomized controlled trial
Background
Premenstrual syndrome affects many women in their reproductive years and often disrupts their social connections and work. This study aimed to compare the effects of positive psychology and physical activity on depression, anxiety, and stress among students with premenstrual syndrome.
Methods
In this four-group parallel clinical trial with blinded data analysis, 120 eligible students who experienced premenstrual syndrome were recruited based on inclusion/exclusion criteria and randomly allocated to four groups (
n
= 30) including three experiment groups as positive psychology, physical activity, and positive psychology, physical activity, and control group, using a simple randomization method. All four groups completed premenstrual syndrome screening and the DASS-21 questionnaire before the intervention. Then, the positive psychology intervention group received eight sessions of 70–90 min weekly intervention, the second group received eight weeks of aerobic physical activity intervention, and the third group received positive psychology and physical activity intervention for eight weeks. The control group did not receive any interventions. The DASS-21 was completed immediately after the intervention and two months later by all four groups. In this study, the participants and investigators were not blinded; however, the analysts were. The recruitment process took place from September 2018 to March 2019. One hundred twenty participants fulfilled the study. The Data were collected and analyzed using SPSS (v18).
Results
Before and immediately after the intervention, there was no statistically significant difference in depression, anxiety, and stress mean scores among the positive psychology, physical activity, positive psychology, and physical activity and control groups (
p
≥ 0.05). However, two months after the intervention, a significant difference was observed between the four groups so there was a difference between the scores of the three intervention groups and the control group (
p
< 0.05). There was no significant difference between positive psychology, and physical activity groups. No significant adverse events or side effects were observed.
Conclusion
Our findings supported the use of aerobic physical activity and educational interventions based on positive psychology as non-pharmacologic interventions to reduce anxiety, depression, and stress. This research should be replicated in different settings.
Trial registration clinical trials
Iranian Registry of Clinical Trials;
https://irct.behdasht.gov.ir/trial/32363
(IRCT20130812014333N97), registered (11/08/2018).
Journal Article
Second Wave Positive Psychology: Exploring the Positive–Negative Dialectics of Wellbeing
Positive psychology has tended to be defined in terms of a concern with ‘positive’ psychological qualities and states. However, critics of the field have highlighted various problems inherent in classifying phenomena as either ‘positive’ or ‘negative.’ For instance, ostensibly positive qualities (e.g., optimism) can sometimes be detrimental to wellbeing, whereas apparently negative processes (like anxiety) may at times be conducive to it. As such, over recent years, a more nuanced ‘second wave’ of positive psychology has been germinating, which explores the philosophical and conceptual complexities of the very idea of the ‘positive.’ The current paper introduces this emergent second wave by examining the ways in which the field is developing a more subtle understanding of the dialectical nature of flourishing (i.e., involving a complex and dynamic interplay of positive and negative experiences). The paper does so by problematizing the notions of positive and negative through seven case studies, including five salient dichotomies (such as optimism vs. pessimism) and two complex processes (posttraumatic growth and love). These case studies serve to highlight the type of critical, dialectical thinking that characterises this second wave, thereby outlining the contours of the evolving field.
Journal Article