This study assessed the impact of mindfulness-based group therapy and counseling on emotional intelligence, mindfulness, stress, happiness, self-compassion, and compassion for others among clinical psychology students. A quasi-experimental design was employed involving fourth-year undergraduate students in a clinical psychology program at a…

Nature-based interventions (NBI) have demonstrated positive effects on a range of student outcomes, including enhanced prosocial behaviors, decreased levels of stress, and improved mood and concentration. Further, school-aged children's participation in NBIs supports students' reconnection with the natural world. Although schools represent an…

Background: The global outbreak of the novel COVID-19 virus presented a significant threat to students' well-being across the globe. In this paper, we construct a measure of student psychological distress related to COVID-19 disruption. We then examine the variation in students' psychological distress as a function of student demographic…

As the increase in university students' mental health problems poses significant challenges to education, new research-based ways to support students' well-being in higher education are urgently needed. Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) has been shown to be effective in enhancing different aspects of well-being in a variety of contexts.…

This quasi-experimental study investigates differences in the impact of school-based yoga interventions and mindfulness practices on psychological well-being impact factors in at-risk Hispanic adolescent high school students compared to similar students enrolled in traditional physical education classes. Due to the global COVID-19 pandemic,…

Objective: To examine the differences in experiences of stress, emotional well-being, and physical activity among international and domestic students. Participants: Domestic (n = 4,035) and international (n = 605) students at a large Canadian university. Methods: Responses to items on stress, emotional well-being (happiness and satisfaction with…

Virtue ethics has been considered to be of utmost relevance in every aspect of education in terms of cultivating virtuous character in individuals. Moral education aims at the development of worthy moral character through the cultivation of virtues, values, attitudes, ethical conduct and habits. Eudemonic well-being suggests engaging in behaviours…

The COVID-19 pandemic has led to a global crisis resulting in lockdowns worldwide. Studies found that these could amplify negative affects predictive of disturbances in time perception. However, all existing studies on this topic concentrated on the general population during a lockdown at home. There was no research on university students living…

This study evaluated the effect of positive psychology interventions (PPIs) on hope and well-being among adolescents living in a child and youth care centre (CYCC) in South Africa. Adolescents (n = 29) were allocated to either the experimental or control group through matched sampling. The experimental group engaged in one-hour intervention…

Bed bugs are on the rise and are increasingly perceived as harmful parasites. Because individuals affected by bed bugs often feel disgust and shame and are stigmatized, bed bugs are an important public health and environmental justice concern and therefore a health education issue as well. In this quasi-experimental study, we examine how different…

This study explored substance use trajectories and associations with mental health among an ethnically/racially diverse college student sample before and during the COVID-19 pandemic. We combined repeated cross-sections and panel data from a total of 3,247 college students assessed with an online survey in 2018, 2019, and in three waves in 2020.…

The relatively unfamiliar pedagogy of Soka (value creating) education is analysed for its capacity to promote well-being and social justice, using the well-known Capability Approach (CA) as a comparator. Various aspects of Soka education correspond favourably with the CA, indicating its potential as a credible and constructive approach for…

The idea of happiness boomed in the public as well as in the academic domain over the last decade and has not reached its peak yet. However, the understanding of happiness (understood as eudaimonia) as being the utmost goal of human beings is hardly new. Philosophers have discussed this topic, under various terms, throughout history. One of the…

Boarding schools are the common 'out-of-home' placements for adolescents, due to various historical, religiously orthodox, and traditional reasons and due to dysfunction within families. The purpose of the current study is to examine the relationship between a free versus an enforced decision to enroll in a boarding school in terms of personal…

This dissertation consists of three independent chapters in applied microeconomics. In the first chapter, I study the causal effect impact of early life circumstances on adult psychological well-being using the property reform in China as a positive and policy driven change in economic resources in early life. Exploiting the staggered adoption of…