Shoshani and Steinmetz (2014)

Question 1

Aims/hypotheses

Answer 1

• To investigate whether ppts in the positive psychology intervention group had better mental health outcomes throughout middle school compared with a control group.
• To investigate if the efficacy of the intervention was moderated by any specific sociodemographic factors, including gender.

Question 2

Self-efficacy

Answer 2

An individual’s belief in their capacity to act in the ways necessary to reach specific goals.

Question 3

Method

Answer 3

Longitudinal field study, using indepedent and repeated measures.

Question 4

Participants

Answer 4

1038 7th-9th graders from 2 large schools in Israel.

Question 5

How many students were in the experimental group vs the control group?

Answer 5

• 537 from one school = experimental group.
• 501 from other school = wait list control group.

Question 6

How were pupils allocated to the conditions?

Answer 6

Out of 8 schools who were interested, one school was randomly allocated to the intervention programme, and one school (matched for demographics) was used as a control group and would participate in the programme after the study ended.

Question 7

The Brief Symptom Inventory (BSI)

Answer 7

A scale designed to measure adolescents’ mental health.

Contains 53 self-report items rated on a 4-point Likert scale, measuring 10 subscales including depression, anxiety, paranoid ideation, hostility etc..

Question 8

What did teachers for the experimental group attend?

Answer 8

15, 2-hour long training workshops, run by clinical psychologists, to train them in group dynamics and positive psychology.

Question 9

What did the experimental group experience?

Answer 9

Their teachers administered an age-appropriate programme to them (similar to what they went through).

Question 10

What did the intervention programme involve?

Give an activity example.

Answer 10

Activities, discussions, video clips to watch/talk about and poems and stories to read: all dealing with the key aspects of positive psychology.

For example, to address gratitude, students were asked to list 5+ things they were grateful for that week, and share them with the group.

Question 11

What did the control group experience?

Answer 11

They continued with their usual studies and did not take part in any positive psychology activities.

Question 12

When did ppts fill out questionnaires?

Answer 12

Before the programme began, when the programme ended, as well as follow-ups months later.

Question 13

What were ppts’ mental health levels like at the beginning of the study?

Answer 13

Both groups had slightly worse mental health levels than expected at the beginning of the study, as judged by the questionnaires.

Question 14

What was the intervention group’s mental health like at the end of the study?

Answer 14

They experienced significant decreases in psychological distress and depression, as well as significant increases in optimism.

Question 15

What was the control group’s mental health like at the end of the study?

Answer 15

They had increased poor mental health symptoms.

Question 16

What type of student was most likely to report signs of poor mental health?

Answer 16

Students from a lower income or a single-parent household.

Question 17

Which gender was more likely to show anxiety, lower life satisfaction, self-efficacy and optimism?

Answer 17

Boys, whilst girls were more likely to show other signs of poor mental health and lower self-esteem.

Question 18

Conclusion

Answer 18

Intervention was effective for both low and high-risk middle school students.

Question 19

Strengths

Answer 19

• Longitudinal = can track long-term effects.
• Ecologically valid = done in real school with real staff/pupils.
• RWA = can be applied to other schools to effect children and staff at the school positively.
• Validity = used a control group and matched demographics closely.

Question 20

Criticisms

Answer 20

• Limited sample/generalisability = programme only done in one school in Israel.
• Self-report = lowers validity since answers are subjective and open to social desirability bias.
• Unethical = students in control group were left to suffer and their mental health got worse whilst the others’ got better.