Broadening and amplifying the effects of positive psychology courses on college student well-being, mental health, and physical health.

Abstract

Objective: In this study, we evaluated the effects of a semester-long, multi-component positive psychology course on undergraduate well-being, mental health, and physical health. Participants/Methods: Using a quantitative, quasi-experimental, pretest-posttest design, participants in the positive psychology course (n = 38) were compared to a control condition (n = 41) on measures of well-being, physical health, and mental health. The positive psychology course included traditional lectures, experiential homework, small group labs, and individual consultations. Results: Positive psychology students reported statistically significant improvement on eight of 17 outcomes, including hope, physical health, positive affect, and friendship support. Conclusions: These results suggest that imbedding small group lab activities and individual consultations may increase effect sizes associated with positive psychology courses. This is only the second study to show positive physical health outcomes. Future research should explore this curricular innovation, include larger samples, random assignment, greater diversity, and follow-up assessments.