Happy groups: A single case research design evaluating a brief positive psychology intervention with adolescents
Presentation Type
Oral Presentation
Category
Social Sciences/Humanities
Abstract/Artist Statement
Mental health concerns among children are higher than ever with the National Survey of Children’s Health reporting that 13.2% of children 3-17 have been diagnosed with a mental or behavioral health condition. Despite high prevalence among youth, only 60.2% of adolescents with a diagnosis received treatment or counseling. School counselors often fill this gap as they are tasked with attending to the social-emotional development of students and they serve all students in schools. They often serve students in small group interventions with 87% of school counselors reporting utilizing groups. The researcher hypothesizes that a small group positive psychology intervention (PPI) facilitated by school counselors can improve well-being and academic performance among secondary students when compared to baseline levels.
While there are many examples of PPI’s within education, this curriculum was co-created by the researchers and colleagues with the Montana Happiness Project with a goal of creating a free resource for counselors to utilize with student populations. Using an experimental single-case research design (SCRD), across multiple participants and groups, where each participant/group serves as their own control, the researchers hope to demonstrate positive effects of the independent variable (group intervention) on wellbeing and academic performance.
The results of this research will inform us about the quality of the group curriculum as its effectiveness is as of yet untested. If positive effects of the group intervention are seen, this will serve as evidence to support school counselors using this intervention to improve student outcomes. Additionally, the effective use of SCRD for school counselors serves as a model for all school counselors who are required to utilize data to inform interventions. Mental health counselors may also be encouraged if this short intervention shows improvements related to mental health and school administrators would be encouraged if improvements are seen within the academic realm.
Mentor Name
Lillian Cheri Martz
Personal Statement
I have been working on projects with the Montana Happiness Project including this group intervention throughout my three years as a doctoral student. This curriculum was first formulated and executed in Spring 2022, by a counseling intern and me. Consequently, this project represents the culmination of our dedicated endeavors, now assessed for effectiveness through an experimental research design. Finding evidence that this is an effective strengths-based intervention which can be provided to students all across Montana and beyond by school counselors broadens the impact of what I first imagined possible when I began working as a school counselor. Additionally, while it is not the primary focus of the presentation, the use of single-case research design (SCRD) is a point of pride which holds personal significance as a future counselor educator. In our field, research is a mandatory content area, and school counselors are tasked with utilizing data to drive interventions, yet many students graduate with a reluctance towards research and feeling ill-prepared to conduct research as counselors. SCRD is a rigorous design which can be easily taught and practiced by master’s students so I am overjoyed to collaborate with another master’s student on this project; I see this experience as a gateway in her development of a strong researcher identity. As a future counselor educator, this project has provided valuable insights into seamlessly integrating SCRD into counseling curricula, ensuring that every master’s level counselor leaves with the confidence to engage in research. Beyond the immediate goal of identifying an effective counseling intervention, my aspirations for this research extend to fostering a model of mentorship among faculty, doctoral students, and master’s students. I envision this approach becoming a staple within the Counseling Department and elsewhere at UM recognizing the untapped potential within each student to positively contribute to the field.
Happy groups: A single case research design evaluating a brief positive psychology intervention with adolescents
UC 331
Mental health concerns among children are higher than ever with the National Survey of Children’s Health reporting that 13.2% of children 3-17 have been diagnosed with a mental or behavioral health condition. Despite high prevalence among youth, only 60.2% of adolescents with a diagnosis received treatment or counseling. School counselors often fill this gap as they are tasked with attending to the social-emotional development of students and they serve all students in schools. They often serve students in small group interventions with 87% of school counselors reporting utilizing groups. The researcher hypothesizes that a small group positive psychology intervention (PPI) facilitated by school counselors can improve well-being and academic performance among secondary students when compared to baseline levels.
While there are many examples of PPI’s within education, this curriculum was co-created by the researchers and colleagues with the Montana Happiness Project with a goal of creating a free resource for counselors to utilize with student populations. Using an experimental single-case research design (SCRD), across multiple participants and groups, where each participant/group serves as their own control, the researchers hope to demonstrate positive effects of the independent variable (group intervention) on wellbeing and academic performance.
The results of this research will inform us about the quality of the group curriculum as its effectiveness is as of yet untested. If positive effects of the group intervention are seen, this will serve as evidence to support school counselors using this intervention to improve student outcomes. Additionally, the effective use of SCRD for school counselors serves as a model for all school counselors who are required to utilize data to inform interventions. Mental health counselors may also be encouraged if this short intervention shows improvements related to mental health and school administrators would be encouraged if improvements are seen within the academic realm.