Effects of positive psychological interventions on young children's mental health and well-being: A systematic review protocol

Abstract

Research on child well-being, happiness, and flourishing has expanded significantly in recent decades, with positive psychological interventions (PPIs) emerging as key approaches to fostering these outcomes. Despite increasing interest in PPIs and their potential benefits in improving child mental health and well-being outcomes, their effectiveness remains uncertain, particularly for young children. The proposed systematic literature review outlined in this protocol aims to fill this gap by investigating the effects of PPIs on the mental health and well-being of young children aged 0–7 years. This systematic literature review protocol has been preregistered in PROSPERO (CRD42024518222) and has been developed following the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis Protocols (PRISMA-P). Study selection will be guided by the PICOS framework, including only English-language publications without a restriction on publication year. Searches will be conducted across Scopus, Web of Science, PsycINFO, PubMed, ERIC, and ProQuest. Additional studies will be identified through manual reference checks of relevant review studies and AI-powered literature discovery tools. Data synthesis will use a narrative approach, structured around participants and intervention characteristics, comparison groups, outcome measures, and study design. The risk of bias will be assessed using the Effective Public Health Practice Project (EPHPP) tool. This study outlines a structured and reproducible review protocol, ensuring rigorous search methods and consistent criteria for selecting and coding studies. The review will aim to contribute to a deeper understanding of PPIs and inform their implementation to support the mental health and well-being outcomes in young children in educational and related contexts.