Search

We examined mediators of a multi-component positive psychology intervention for healthy employees. We analyzed data from a randomized controlled trial involving 158 participants who were assigned to a six-session intervention program or a wait-list control group. In total, 144 participants completed baseline and post-test assessment. The mediating effects of positive emotions and psychological flexibility on treatment outcomes mental well-being and resilience at post-test assessment were examined. We also examined the influence of a range of moderators on the relationship between the intervention and the outcomes. Mediator analyses showed that these improvements possibly and partially work through increasing positive emotions. Psychological flexibility could not be considered a mediator. However, due to inability to infer causality, definite conclusions on the mediating effect of positive emotions cannot be drawn. In relation to mental well-being, a significant moderating effect for ethnicity was found in the intervention group.

There is growing evidence that positive psychology interventions (PPIs) are effective in enhancing mental well-being and reducing depressive symptoms. However, there is a knowledge gap regarding the motives of people to seek such PPIs. This study qualitatively identifies help-seeking motives and quantitatively examines which motives relate to client satisfaction, adherence and an impact on mental well-being, anxiety and depressive symptoms. We analyzed 123 introductory emails of people with suboptimal levels of mental well-being who assigned to a comprehensive 9-week PPI with email support, of which its efficacy was investigated in a randomized controlled trial. Results showed that 49% mentioned mainly suffering-related motives (i.e. distress and stressful events/circumstances) and 51% mentioned mainly growth-related motives (i.e. mental well-being and developing resources). Hardly any motive was significantly related to beneficial outcomes, albeit developing resources and suffering were positively—though weak—correlated with adherence. The present study indicates that this PPI was effective for a broad audience, namely for those with suffering-related and with growth-related motives. This finding underscores the great relevance of PPIs to reach people who might be at risk for future mental disorders who otherwise do not seek help.

This article presents findings from a meta-analysis which sought to determine the effectiveness of interventions adopting a whole school approach to enhancing children and young people’s social and emotional development. Whole school interventions were included if they involved a coordinated set of activities across curriculum teaching, school ethos and environment, and family and community partnerships. A total of 45 studies (30 interventions) involving 496,299 participants were included in the analysis. Post-intervention outcomes demonstrated significant but small improvements in participants’ social and emotional adjustment (d = 0.220), behavioural adjustment (d = 0.134), and internalising symptoms (d = 0.109). Interventions were not shown to impact on academic achievement. Origin of study and the inclusion of a community component as part of a whole school approach were found to be significant moderators for social and emotional outcomes. Further research is required to determine the active ingredients of whole school interventions that we can better understand the components necessary to achieve successful outcomes.

De meeste mensen weten wel wat ze (zouden) moeten doen om gezond te blijven: iedere dag een half uurtje bewegen, gezond eten, niet roken en niet teveel alcohol drinken. Voor onze mentale gezondheid is dit minder duidelijk. Of niet? Psyfit.nl is een online zelfhulpcursus waarmee de mentale conditie wordt getraind. Via een zestal ‘mental fitness’ principes, zoals het richting geven aan je leven, stimuleren van positieve emoties en leven in het hier en nu, werken mensen aan hun welbevinden en veerkracht wat tezamen de mentale conditie bepaalt. 1 Door de oefeningen, tests en tips krijgen deelnemers inzicht in hun krachten en mogelijkheden om met het leven van alledag om te gaan.

Herinneringen ophalen aan het eigen leven is voor ouderen een heel vanzelfsprekende bezigheid. Hier ligt dan ook het aanknopingspunt voor de cursus ‘De verhalen die we leven’, een laagdrempelige interventie voor mensen van 55 jaar en ouder die met een depressie en met angstklachten kampen. De eerste ervaringen zijn veelbelovend.

Background: There is a growing recognition that cancer not only affects the lives of the patients, but also the lives of their partners. Partners of cancer patients are highly involved in the illness trajectory by providing informal care and they often experience distress. However, supporting interventions for this group are scarce and existing interventions bear several limitations. On the basis of the need for theory- and evidence-based supportive interventions for partners of cancer patients, the web-based self-help intervention Hold on, for each other has been developed. This intervention is based on Acceptance and Commitment Therapy. The primary objective of the RCT is to investigate the (cost-) effectiveness of the intervention. Additional goals are (1) to examine if psychological flexibility, self-compassion, mastery, supportive behavior, posttraumatic growth and resilience are mediators of the intervention's effects on the partners' mental health; (2) to examine the moderating effects of the socio demographics (age, gender, education, working situation, family situation) and disease-related characteristics of the patients (sort of cancer, stage of disease, duration and treatment of cancer); and (3) to investigate to what extend participants are satisfied with the intervention, which parts of the intervention are mostly used, and how adherent the users are. Methods/Design: A three-armed randomized controlled trial (RCT) will be conducted to compare two versions of the intervention Hold on, for each other with a waiting list control condition. Both intervention conditions contain the same content and differ only with regard to the form of professional support (personal support versus automatic support). Adult partners of cancer patients with mild to moderate depressive and anxiety symptoms, will be recruited through a multi-component strategy. Online measurements by self-assessment will be made on four measurement points (prior to randomization (baseline-measurement) and 3, 6 and 12 months after baseline). Discussion: When proven effective, Hold on, for each other can be an invaluable contribution to the healthcare system and it could be offered to all partners of cancer patients who are in need for additional support. Trial registration: Dutch Trial Register, trial registration number NTR4035, date of registration: 17 March 2013.