Promoting well-being in students using brief ecological momentary interventions
Type of research: quantitative empirical
Description:
Many people are struggling with some mental health issues, but access to psychological support, especially for milder cases, is limited. Digital mental health interventions such as ecological momentary interventions (EMIs) offer a promising alternative way of promoting people’s well-being in daily life.
In this thesis project, you will conduct a study on a student population to evaluate a positive psychology-based intervention over the course of a few weeks. During the study period, we will provide participants with a digital mental health app in which they will receive brief daily exercises over 2-3 weeks. The number of daily interventions a participant receives will differ depending on randomized groups. The smartphone-delivered interventions will each take a few minutes to complete and will focus on factors that are relevant for improving an individual’s well-being. Interventions that will be included for this project will, for example, focus on savoring pleasant moments and being grateful for positive things in one’s life.
In this study, we will specifically focus on the perceived benefits of the interventions and their effectiveness in increasing well-being and other psychological constructs, and how the effectiveness depends on specific circumstances and contexts.
Potential research questions might be:
- Do students feel more resilient following a multiple-week positive psychology intervention?
- Do people receiving multiple interventions per day experience larger benefits than participants only receiving one daily intervention?
- Does well-being increase following the intervention and is there a relation to psychological levels at baseline?