Key study Shosani and Steinmetz- Flashcards
(18 cards)
What is the context
What is the aim
- To investigate whether participants in the positive psychology intervention group had
better mental health outcomes
throughout middle school compared with a control group. - To reveal whether the efficacy of the intervention was affected by any specific socio-demographic factors, including gender.
What is the sample in the study by Shoshani and steinmetz
They recruited 1038 adolescents
from 7th-9th grade
ages 12- 15 years at the start
All from 2 large middle schools in the centre of Israel
537: the intervention group
501: the wait list control group
What is the methodology
Field experiment
Longitudinal took place over 2 school years
Had a mixed design:
> Intervention versus control (Independent measuresS)
> All took measures before and after the intervention period (Repeated measures)
Describe the first 3 self-reports in the study by Shoshani and Steinmetz
Brief symptom Inventory: To identify clinical relevant psychological symptoms in adolescents such as depression using a 4 point likert scale
The Rosenberg self-esteem scale: Evaluates self worth using a 4-point likert with 10 items
The General Self Efficacy scale: Assesses how people cope with daily hassles and life events using a 4-point likert
Describe the second 3 self reports
Satisfaction with life scale: Assesses an overall satisfaction with life e.g ‘In most ways, my life is close to ideal’. They use a 7-point liker with 1-strongly disagree and 7-strongly agree
The Life Orientation Test-Revised: Assesses how optimistic or pessimistic a person is using a 5-point likert scale
Socio-demographic measures: Gathers background information on the students including age, gender and socioeconomic status.
How were the teachers prepped
They were trained group dynamics and positive psychology by clinical psychologists
This was done in 15 two- hour sessions every 2 weeks
a teachers textbook included lesson plans and activities to ensure that all teacheres delivered the lessons in the same way
Describe what the intervention group did
- The programme included activities, discussions and reading poems
-Teachers conducted parallel sessions with their students and had psychologists randomly check that the sessions were running appropriately
- The important component was gratitude.
- They discussed 5 or more things they were grateful for each week and also wrote gratitude letters to people who had a positive impact on their lives
What did the wait list control group do?
They continued with their normal social science lessons
State 3 results
Both groups showed slightly higher levels of psychological symptoms at the start of the study.
Participants in the intervention group showed significant decreases in psychological distress between the beginning and the end of the study
the intervention group showed significant increases of optimism overtime compared to the control
What was the conclusion
The intervention was found to be effective for both low and high-risk students
Evaluate the study
- Generalisability
-Use of children - Longitudinal
-Situational vs individual
-Useful application to everyday life
State 3 weaknesses of the study
The students completed the same self reports at 4 points across the two years. They could have recognised the questions as measurements to the success of the programme and so weakening the validity due to demand characteristics
The lack of generalisability as only 2 Israeli schools were involved. With only ages 11-15 years, it is possible the intervention was more successful with this age group and for these specific schools. This could be less effective for older teens
The wait list control group did not benefit from the intervention, so were at risk of increased mental health symptoms
State the strengths
- The use of longitudinal design. They had a follow up in the year 2010-2011 and again in 2012. This allowed the researchers to monitor the long term effects of the intervention.
- The use of a control group allowed researcher to determine the effect of the intervention and whether or not it brought mental health changes to the sample. This was central to the validity
Useful application to everyday life
Individual vs situational
Use of children
In the study, they sent informed parental consent forms and student assent forms
This meant that both the parents and children knew what they would be doing
