Symposium Summary:
Wellbeing in childhood is a foundation for adult wellbeing. Children who are happy, comfortable, and interested learn more and develop better social skills (Coffey, 2018; Suldo, 2016). As a result, children’s positive emotions predict future academic success and wellbeing (e.g., Coffey, 2019; Lewis et al., 2019). Few studies, however, have considered the value of positive emotional experiences (e.g., joy, interest, enjoyment) in school environments despite the fact children spend a large portion of their time in schools around the world. Therefore, understanding children’s emotions at school, the long-term implications of their emotions, and how to improve children’s emotional experiences is vital. In the current symposium, we demonstrate the value of children’s emotions and provide evidence that children report mixed emotions while they are at school, but they can be improved in school-based programs that can also promote academic success.
We present three projects investigating the nature and long-term potential of cultivating children’s positive emotions. The first presentation includes two studies using multiple methods of emotion measurement (e.g., experience sampling) among more than 21,000 high school students. We provide evidence that adolescents report mixed emotional experiences—characterized by high stress and boredom and some positive emotions. In the second presentation, we examine the links between socioeconomic status and cognitive ability and emotion expression before examining the long-term value of children’s positive emotions. Specifically, coder-rated positive emotions at age 11 predicted optimism, meaning in life, social wellbeing, and life satisfaction at age 50 in a nationally representative sample from the United Kingdom. Finally, in our third presentation, we present evidence that an innovative character strengths school-based intervention leads to improvements in positive emotions, more positive school experiences, and improvements in executive functioning. Together, these presentations highlight the need, value, and specific strategies to improve children’s and adolescents’ emotions at school.
Symposium Presentation 1 Proposal:
Title:
How do high school students feel at school?
Presenter:
Zorana Ivcevic
Abstract:
Childhood and adolescent positive and negative emotions are linked to wellbeing and academic success. So, are students happy in school? We present findings from two studies examining high school students’ affective experiences at school. Study 1 is a nation-wide retrospective survey of 21,678 students across the United States and Study 2 includes both a retrospective survey and experience sampling methodology (ESM) with 472 students across 5 high schools in the Northeast of the United States (Moeller, Brackett, Ivcevic, & White, 2020). Both studies combined mixed methods, including open-ended questions and traditional affective rating scales.
In Study 1, 75% of feeling terms students reported in their open-ended responses were negative in valence. The three most frequently mentioned feelings were tired, stressed, and bored. For rated items, feelings rated as most frequently experienced were stressed and bored. However, positive PANAS emotions tended to be rated as more frequent than negative emotions. We discuss the results in terms of granularity of students’ emotion vocabulary (greater vocabulary to describe nuances of negatively valenced feelings; “happy” is a dominant term to refer to positive experiences) and suggest a need for greater nuance in describing positive emotional experiences.
Study 2 supported the major findings from Study 1. Tired, stressed, and bored were again commonly mentioned in open-ended responses, but feeling happy at school was more prominent. Although in-the-moment ESM measures showed high frequency of negative feelings (primarily tired, stressed, bored), they also indicated frequent positive feelings (calm, happy, relaxed). We discuss the findings in light of the stress and appraisal literature and in relation to research on academic emotions, as well as positive psychology interventions that could improve emotional experiences in high school.
Symposium Presentation 2 Proposal:
Title: Childhood positive emotions predict adult life satisfaction, optimism, meaning in life, and social wellbeing
Presenter: John Coffey
Abstract:
Parents want their children to be happy, but the value of children’s happiness is often overlooked by education and policymakers. In this study, we add to limited evidence about the long-term value of early happiness in two ways. We first investigated potential predictors from school (e.g., teacher-rated academic ability) and home (e.g., parent involvement, socioeconomic factors) of childhood positive emotion expression. Next, we examined the association between positive emotion expression and self-reported wellbeing outcomes at age 50—positive emotions, optimism, life satisfaction, meaning in life, social wellbeing, and physical health. Using a representative sample (N = 495) of children from the United Kingdom, we coded essays for positive and negative emotions using an objective coding system (e.g., Danner et al., 2001). Age 11 positive emotion expression was not linked to concurrent parent-reported socio-economic status (SES), parent involvement, or teacher-reported academic ability. Furthermore, positive emotion expression at age 11 predicted greater optimism, life satisfaction, meaning in life, and social wellbeing at age 50 after controlling for SES in adulthood. The associations between positive emotion expression in childhood and wellbeing in adulthood remained significant when accounting for age 11 academic ability, SES, and parent involvement. By using objective measures of positive emotion during childhood and accounting for relationships among wellbeing outcomes in adulthood, our findings offer insights regarding the long-term consequences of children’s emotions. Given the amount of time children spend at school, school-based interventions that promote positive experiences in the classroom may have lifelong benefits.
Symposium Presentation 3 Proposal:
Title:
Student Strengths Safari: Promoting School-Based Wellbeing in Elementary Education
Presenter: Lauren Naples
Abstract:
Focusing on children’s strengths is likely to lead to more positive emotions and better academic functioning. This pilot study combined mixed methods to evaluate and enhance student wellbeing through a novel multitarget positive psychology program. The Student Strengths Safari© program was developed in alignment with the Social-Emotional Health Survey-Primary (SEHS-P; Furlong et al., 2014) to directly target four character strengths that have been empirically validated as coexisting traits strongly linked to school-based wellbeing in elementary education. Two classrooms of students (n = 24) with identified social-cognitive challenges were randomly assigned to the control or intervention condition—1st- and 2nd-grade, respectively. The intervention was implemented during regular school hours in 30-min intervals, 2x/week, across four weeks, through eight practices targeting (a) gratitude (journaling; modified gratitude letter/visit); (b) optimism (positive reframing to foster a growth mindset; envisioning “best student self”); (c) persistence (identifying concrete steps to achieve “best self” goals; using self-talk strategies to overcome barriers); and (d) zest (practicing mindfulness during a nature walk; “student skills scavenger hunt” to promote positive peer relationships).
Self-ratings on the SEHS-P were assessed as indicators of school-based wellbeing, and teacher-rated executive functioning was reported using the Behavior Rating Inventory of Executive Function, Second Edition (Gioia et al., 2016) at pre-/posttest. Findings revealed that young neurodiverse students were able to grow their positive emotions at school through increased gratitude and optimism, recognize and build their own student strengths, and cultivate more nuanced perceptions of positive school experiences through advanced prosociality, while also demonstrating significant improvements in executive functioning following the intervention, above and beyond the control group.