Keynote Presentation International Positive Psychology Association 7th IPPA World Congress 2021

Positive psychological interventions: A research agenda and call to action for positive psychology researchers and practitioners  (#65)

Judith Moskowitz 1
  1. Nortwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, Chicago, IL, United States

Positive psychological interventions (PPIs) are programs designed with the intentional goal of improving emotional wellbeing. Research across a wide range of samples and delivery formats increasingly demonstrates that PPIs hold significant promise for improving emotional wellbeing across the lifespan. Despite this progress, a number of questions remain with respect to PPIs, emotional wellbeing, and health. These include questions of efficacy (which outcomes are most influenced by PPIs and how are these best measured?), mediators (which mechanisms or pathways link PPIs with physical health?), and moderators (which individual or intervention characteristics determine PPI effectiveness?). In addition, a critical next step is to address questions of implementation of PPIs in clinical and community settings for maximum reach and impact. Siloed research teams continue to “reinvent the wheel” instead of building on previous work to more efficiently advance the filed. The goal of this presentation is to outline a research and practice agenda for next steps in PPIs to address these issues. I will use examples from my program of research on tests of PPIs in people coping with a range of types of stress including chronic illness, depression, dementia caregiving and the COVID-19 pandemic as well as implementation in HIV clinics and community-based gun-violence prevention programs. I will conclude with suggestions for building a community of researchers and practitioners to better scale and disseminate PPIs to maximize the beneficial impact on wellbeing for all. 

  • Keywords: Education, Health and Medicine