Title: Feel Good - Think Positive”: A Positive Psychology Intervention for Enhancing Optimism and Hope in Elementary School Students. A Pilot Study

Abstract:

Positive psychology interventions (PPIs) targeting both optimism and hope in young children are scarce. This pilot study explored the feasibility and promise of the “Feel Good - Think Positive” intervention, a brief, manualized, multicomponent group PPI for young children. The intervention aimed to enhance participants’ optimism, hope, and self-esteem, while also reducing their anxiety levels. Forty-one students (M_age = 9.68, SD = 1.64) participated in the intervention and provided data on optimism, hope, self-esteem, and anxiety at baseline and after the intervention was concluded. Analyses showed a significant increase in optimism and self-esteem and asignificant decrease in anxiety. However, no change was observed in hope levels. The results complement previous studies of school-based PPIs and hint to the promise of designing feasible interventions that can be easily incorporated into school curriculum and produce both a promoting and a remedial effect in young children.

Biography:

Stephanos P. Vassilopoulos, Ph.D., is a Professor of Counselling in the Department of Primary Education, University of Patras, Greece. He is also director of the Relational Dynamic Laboratory of Education and Counselling.