Podium Presentation - 10 minutes International Positive Psychology Association 7th IPPA World Congress 2021

The study of the positive education practice for middle school students and their parents in China under the COVID-19 (#70)

Mengjiao Zhang 1 , Yiwen Chen 1 , Yiling Liu 1 , Yuqing Xue 1 , Yang Fan 1 , Yaqiong Zhao 1 , Sangni Huang 1 , Haozi Wang 1
  1. Academy, Geyu Lab, Shanghai, shanghai, China

Background: The January 2020 coronavirus outbreak has been putting many countries, under chaos and potentially life-threatening challenges. Under unique combination of the public health crisis, social isolation, and over-tension of family bonding, we hypothesized that home-based distanced learning may lead to worsen mental health problems among children. Therefore, this study aims to investigate (1) subjective wellbeing of middle-school students in Shanghai, China, and (2) parent-child relationship under this pandemic situation after carrying out proper intervention courses based on positive psychology in middle schools. Method: A quantitative Study 1 included 2850 middle-school students (M age= 12.87 years) in Shanghai, who have been taking regular positive education courses for 8 months from March, 2020.  Adolescent Wellbeing (EPOCH), Anxiety (SAS) and Depression (SDS) were measured before and after intervention. A quantitative and qualitative  Study 2 included a group of middle-school students and their parents (n = 33) who took positive education courses adjusted for parents, based on PERMA model, for 5 month, and a control group who were in the same middle school but had not taken this course (n = 30). Students and parents were interviewed, and Parent-child Attachment (IPPA) and Communication were measured before and after the course. Results: The results indicated that positive education courses not only significantly elevated middle-school students’ EPOCH ( p < .05), including optimism, connectedness, engagement, and happiness, but also promoted parent-child communication and attachment ( p < .001). At the same time, self-reported anxiety and depression for children were significantly decreased after intervention.

  • Keywords: Coping and Emotion Regulation, Education, Family, Parenting, Relationships