Living Happily in the Era of COVID-19: Philosophical and Positive Psychology Intervention in Secondary Education
Published:
Dec 31, 2022
Keywords:
positive psychology Epicureanism Stoicism school intervention program COVID-19 mental well-being
Abstract
In the coronavirus pandemic crisis, the mental well-being of adolescents was significantly burdened and, in this context, an innovative school intervention program was applied and its effect was investigated. The program involved a structured 11-weeks-long psycho-educational intervention on a sample of 11 Greek high school students (aged 16-17 years), combining principles of Epicurean and Stoic Philosophy with Positive Psychology techniques, aiming at promoting their mental well-being and the effective management of the psychological effects of the pandemic crisis. A qualitative methodology was used for data collection, including triangulation and data enrichment, self-referential demographic questionnaires, focus group and group interviews, semi-structured individual oral interviews and written descriptions and narratives. Before the intervention, the students’ needs and expectations were investigated through written narratives and, after the intervention, semi-structured individual oral interviews and group interviews recorded their personal experiences and evaluative judgments. The application of positive techniques of meaning in life, optimism, gratitude and the development of positive relationships, combined with a cognitive reconstruction based on the principles of Epicureanism and Stoicism, had beneficial effects on the participating students, including emotional state improvement, mental well-being enhancement, and improved aspects of quality of life, such as subjective health, cognitive and school performance, family and interpersonal relationships. The highlight of the study was the emergence of the supporting role of Philosophy in the effectiveness of the applied techniques of Positive Psychology in the management of the psychological and social impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Article Details
- How to Cite
-
Michopoulou, E. (2022). Living Happily in the Era of COVID-19: Philosophical and Positive Psychology Intervention in Secondary Education. Conatus - Journal of Philosophy, 7(2), 193–227. https://doi.org/10.12681/cjp.31765
- Section
- Articles
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.
Authors who publish with this journal agree to the following terms:
Authors retain copyright and grant the journal right of first publication with the work simultaneously licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial International License (CC BY-NC 4.0) that allows others to share the work with an acknowledgement of the work's authorship and initial publication in this journal.
Authors are able to enter into separate, additional contractual arrangements for the non-exclusive distribution of the journal's published version of the work (e.g. post it to an institutional repository or publish it in a book), with an acknowledgement of its initial publication in this journal.
Authors are permitted and encouraged to post their work online (preferably in institutional repositories or on their website) prior to and during the submission process, as it can lead to productive exchanges, as well as earlier and greater citation of published work.
Downloads
Download data is not yet available.
References
Algoe, Sara B. “Positive Interpersonal Processes.” Current Directions in Psychological Science 28, no. 2 (2019): 183-188. doi: https://doi.org/10.1177/0963721419827272.
Alvis, Lauren, Robyn Douglas, Natalie J. Shook, and Benjamin Oosterhoff. “Adolescents’ Prosocial Experiences during the Covid-19 Pandemic: Associations with Mental Health and Community Attachments.” PsyArXiv Preprints (2020). doi: https://doi.org/10.31234/osf.io/2s73n.
Arslan, Gökmen, and Murat Yildirim. “Coronavirus Stress, Meaningful Living, Optimism, and Depressive Symptoms: A Study of Moderated Mediation Model.” Australian Journal of Psychology 73, no. 2 (2021): 113-124. doi: https://doi.org/10.1080/00049530.2021.1882273.
Bailey, Cyril. “Philodemus – F. Sbordone: Philodemi adversus [Sophistas]. Pp. xv+ 183. Naples: L. Loffredo, 1947. Paper. L. 550.” The Classical Review 62, nos. 3-4 (1948): 133-134.
Beck, Aaron T. “The Current State of Cognitive Therapy: A 40-year Retrospective.” Archives of General Psychiatry 62, no. 9 (2005): 953-959. doi: https://doi.org/10.1001/archpsyc.62.9.953.
Bruine de Bruin, Wändi. “Age Differences in COVID-19 Risk Perceptions and Mental Health: Evidence from a National US Survey Conducted in March 2020.” The Journals of Gerontology: Series B 76, no. 2 (2021): e24-e29. doi: https://doi.org/10.1093/geronb/gbaa074.
Burton, Chad M., and Laura A. King. “Effects of (very) Brief Writing on Health: The Two-minute Miracle.” British Journal of Health Psychology 13, no. 1 (2008): 9-14. doi: https://doi.org/10.1348/135910707X250910.
Buzzi, Carlo, Maurizio Tucci, Riccardo Ciprandi, Ilaria Brambilla, Silvia Caimmi, Giorgio Ciprandi, and Gian Luigi Marseglia. “The Psycho-social Effects of COVID-19 on Italian Adolescents’ Attitudes and Behaviors.” Italian Journal of Pediatrics 46, no. 1 (2020): 1-7. doi: https://doi.org/10.1186/s13052-020-00833-4.
Chishima, Yuta, I‐Ting Huai‐Ching Liu, and Anne E. Wilson. “Temporal Distancing during the COVID-19 Pandemic: Letter Writing with Future Self Can Mitigate Negative Affect.” Applied Psychology: Health and Well‐Being 13, no. 2 (2021): 406-418. doi: https://doi.org/10.1111/aphw.12256.
Creswell, John W. Educational Research: Planning, Conducting, and Evaluating Quantitative. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall, 2002.
Darbyshire, Philip, Colin MacDougall, and Wendy Schiller. “Multiple Methods in Qualitative Research with Children: More Insight or just More?” Qualitative Research 5, no. 4 (2005): 417-436. doi: https://doi.org/10.1177/1468794105056921.
DiGiuseppe, Raymond Α, Kristene A. Doyle, Windy Dryden, and Wouter Backx. A Practitioner’s Guide to Rational-Emotive Behavior Therapy. New York: Oxford University Press, 2014.
Ellis, Albert. Reason and Emotion in Psychotherapy: A Comprehensive Method of Treating Human Disturbances. New York: Citadel Press, 1994.
Emmons, Robert A., and Michael E. McCullough. “Counting Blessings versus Burdens: An Experimental Investigation of Gratitude and Subjective Well-being in Daily Life.” Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 84, no. 2 (2003): 377. doi: https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-3514.84.2.377.
Fegert, Jörg M., Benedetto Vitiello, Paul L. Plener, and Vera Clemens. “Challenges and Burden of the Coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19) Pandemic for Child and Adolescent Mental Health: A Narrative Review to Highlight Clinical and Research Needs in the Acute Phase and the Long Return to Normality.” Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Mental Health 14, no. 1 (2020): 1-11. doi: https://doi.org/10.1186/s13034-020-00329-3.
Fenwick-Smith, Amanda, Emma E. Dahlberg, and Sandra C. Thompson. “Systematic Review of Resilience-enhancing, Universal, Primary School-based Mental Health Promotion Programs.” BMC Psychology 6, no. 1 (2018): 1-17. doi: https://doi.org/10.1186/s40359-018-0242-3.
Froh, Jeffrey J., Todd B. Kashdan, Kathleen M. Ozimkowski, and Norman Miller. “Who Benefits the most from a Gratitude Intervention in Children and Adolescents? Examining Positive Affect as a Moderator.” The Journal of Positive Psychology 4, no. 5 (2009): 408-422. doi: https://doi.org/10.1080/17439760902992464.
Galante, Julieta, Ignacio Galante, Marie-Jet Bekkers, and John Gallacher. “Effect of Kindness-based Meditation on Health and Well-being: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis.” Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology 82, no. 6 (2014): 1101-1114. doi: https://doi.org/10.1037/a0037249.
Gallagher, Matthew W., and Shane J. Lopez. “Positive Expectancies and Mental Health: Identifying the Unique Contributions of Hope and Optimism.” The Journal of Positive Psychology 4, no. 6 (2009): 548-556. doi: https://doi.org/10.1080/17439760903157166.
Gander, Fabian, René T. Proyer, Willibald Ruch, and Tobias Wyss. “Strength-based Positive Interventions: Further Evidence for their Potential in Enhancing Well-being and Alleviating Depression.” Journal of Happiness Studies 14, no. 4 (2013): 1241-1259. doi: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10902-012-9380-0.
Glaw, Xanthe, Ashley Kable, Michael Hazelton, and Kerry Inder. “Meaning in Life and Meaning of Life in Mental Health Care: An Integrative Literature Review.” Issues in Mental Health Nursing 38, no. 3 (2017): 243-252. doi: https://doi.org/10.1080/01612840.2016.1253804.
Hadot, Pierre. What is Ancient Philosophy? Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 2002.
Hammerstaedt, Jürgen, Pierre-Marie Morel, and Refik Güremen, eds. Diogenes of Oenoanda: Epicureanism and Philosophical Debates. Leuven: Leuven University Press, 2017.
Irvine, William B. A Guide to the Good Life: The Ancient Art of Stoic Joy. New York: Oxford University Press, 2008.
Jahanshahi, Asghar Afshar, Maryam Mokhtari Dinani, Abbas Nazarian Madavani, Jizhen Li, and Stephen X. Zhang. “The Distress of Iranian Adults during the Covid-19 Pandemic – More Distressed than the Chinese and with Different Predictors.” Brain Behavior and Immunity 87 (2020): 124-125. doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bbi.2020.04.081.
Jiang, Da. “Feeling Gratitude is Associated with Better Well-being across the Life Span: A Daily Diary Study during the COVID-19 Outbreak.” The Journals of Gerontology: Series B 77, no. 4 (2022): e36-e45. doi: https://doi.org/10.1093/geronb/gbaa220.
King, Laura A. “The Health Benefits of Writing about Life Goals.” Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin 27, no. 7 (2001): 798-807. doi: https://doi.org/10.1177/0146167201277003.
Knapp, Paulo, and Aaron T. Beck. “Cognitive Therapy: Foundations, Conceptual Models, Applications and Research.” Brazilian Journal of Psychiatry 30, s. 2 (2008): s54-s64. doi: https://doi.org/10.1590/s1516-44462008000600002.
Koo, Minkyung, Sara B. Algoe, Timothy D. Wilson, and Daniel T. Gilbert. “It’s a Wonderful Life: Mentally Subtracting Positive Events Improves People’s Affective States, Contrary to Their Affective Forecasts.” Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 95, no. 5 (2008): 1217-1224. doi: https://doi.org/10.1037/a0013316.
Layous, Kristin, S. Katherine Nelson, Eva Oberle, Kimberly A. Schonert-Reichl, and Sonja Lyubomirsky. “Kindness Counts: Prompting Prosocial Behavior in Preadolescents Boosts Peer Acceptance and Well-being.” PLOS One 7, no. 12 (2012): e51380. doi: https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0051380.
Long, Anthony Arthur. From Epicurus to Epictetus: Studies in Hellenistic and Roman Philosophy. New York: Oxford University Press, 2006.
Luthar, Suniya S., Dante Cicchetti, and Bronwyn Becker. “The Construct of Resilience: A Critical Evaluation and Guidelines for Future Work.” Child Development 71, no. 3 (2000): 543-562. doi: https://doi.org/10.1111/1467-8624.00164.
Lyubomirsky, Sonja, Kennon M. Sheldon, and David Schkade. “Pursuing Happiness: The Architecture of Sustainable Change.” Review of General Psychology 9, no. 2 (2005): 111-131. doi: https://doi.org/10.1037/1089-2680.9.2.111.
Marcus Aurelius. Meditations. Translated by Martin Hammond. London: Penguin Classics, 2006.
Morgan, David L., and Richard A. Krueger. The Focus Group Guidebook. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications, 1998.
Muñoz-Fernández, Noelia, and Ana Rodríguez-Meirinhos. “Adolescents’ Concerns, Routines, Peer Activities, Frustration, and Optimism in the Time of COVID-19 Confinement in Spain.” Journal of Clinical Medicine 10, no. 4 (2021): 798. doi: https://doi.org/10.3390/jcm10040798.
Nezlek, John B., David B. Newman, and Todd M. Thrash. “A Daily Diary Study of Relationships between Feelings of Gratitude and Well-being.” The Journal of Positive Psychology 12, no. 4 (2017): 323-332. doi: https://doi.org/10.1080/17439760.2016.1198923.
Nneji, Bellarmine U. “Philosophical Counselling/Therapy: Praxis and Pedagogy.” Working Papers on Culture, Education and Human Development 9, no. 3 (2013): 1-9.
Nussbaum, Martha C. The Therapy of Desire: Theory and Practice in Hellenistic Ethics. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 2013.
O’Brien Wicker, Kathleen. Porphyry the Philosopher to Marcella. Atlanta: Scholars Press, 1987.
O’Connell, Brenda H., Deirdre O’Shea, and Stephen Gallagher. “Feeling Thanks and Saying Thanks: A Randomized Controlled Trial Examining if and how Socially Oriented Gratitude Journals Work.” Journal of Clinical Psychology 73, no. 10 (2017): 1280-1300. doi: https://doi.org/10.1002/jclp.22469.
Otake, Keiko, Satoshi Shimai, Junko Tanaka-Matsumi, Kanako Otsui, and Barbara L Fredrickson. “Happy People Become Happier through Kindness: A Counting Kindness Intervention.” Journal of Happiness Studies 7 (2006): 361-375. doi: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10902-005-3650-z.
Pressman, Sarah D., Tara L. Kraft, and Marie P. Cross. “It’s Good to Do Good and Receive Good: The Impact of a ‘Pay it Forward’ Style Kindness Intervention on Giver and Receiver Well-being.” The Journal of Positive Psychology 10, no. 4 (2015): 293-302. doi: https://doi.org/10.1080/17439760.2014.965269.
Raabe, Peter B. Philosophical Counseling: Theory and Practice. Westport, CT: Praeger Publications, 2001.
Rajkumar, Ravi Philip. “COVID-19 and Mental Health: A Review of the Existing Literature.” Asian Journal of Psychiatry 52 (2020): 102066. doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ajp.2020.102066.
Rashid, Tayyab, and Afroze Anjum. “Positive Psychotherapy for Young Adults and Children.” In Handbook of Depression in Children and Adolescents, edited by J. Abela, B. Hankin, 250-287. New York: Guilford Press, 2008.
Robertson, Donald. The Philosophy of Cognitive-Behavioural Therapy (CBT): Stoic Philosophy as Rational and Cognitive Psychotherapy. Oxon: Routledge, 2018.
Robson, Colin. Real World Research: A Resource for Social Scientists and Practitioner-researchers. Hoboken, NJ: Wiley-Blackwell, 2002.
Rossi, Rodolfo, Valentina Socci, Dalila Talevi, Sonia Mensi, Cinzia Niolu, Francesca Pacitti, Antinisca Di Marco, Alessandro Rossi, Alberto Siracusano, and Giorgio Di Lorenzo. “COVID-19 Pandemic and Lockdown Measures Impact on Mental Health among the General Population in Italy.” Frontiers in Psychiatry (2020): 790.
Schäfer, Sarah K., M. Roxanne Sopp, Christian G. Schanz, Marlene Staginnus, Anja S. Göritz, and Tanja Michael. “Impact of COVID-19 on Public Mental Health and the Buffering Effect of a Sense of Coherence.” Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics 89, no. 6 (2020): 386-392. doi: https://doi.org/10.1159/000510752.
Seçer, İsmail, and Sümeyye Ulaş. “An Investigation of the Effect of COVID-19 on OCD in Youth in the Context of Emotional Reactivity, Experiential Avoidance, Depression and Anxiety.” International Journal of Mental Health and Addiction 19, no. 6 (2021): 2306-2319. doi: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11469-020-00322-z.
Seligman, Martin E. P., and Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi. “Positive Psychology: An Introduction.” American Psychologist 55, no. 1 (2000): 5-14. doi: https://doi.org/10.1037/0003-066X.55.1.5.
Seligman, Martin E. P., Randal M. Ernst, Jane Gillham, Karen Reivich, and Mark Linkins. “Positive Education: Positive Psychology and Classroom Interventions.” Oxford Review of Education 35, no. 3 (2009): 293-311. doi: https://doi.org/10.1080/03054980902934563.
Sharples, Robert William. Stoics, Epicureans and Sceptics. An Introduction to Hellenistic Philosophy. London, and New York: Routledge, 2003.
Sheldon, Kennon M., and Sonja Lyubomirsky. “How to Increase and Sustain Positive Emotion: The Effects of Expressing Gratitude and Visualizing best Possible Selves.” The Journal of Positive Psychology 1, no. 2 (2006): 73-82. doi: https://doi.org/10.1080/17439760500510676.
Sin, Nancy L., and Sonja Lyubomirsky. “Enhancing Well-being and Alleviating Depressive Symptoms with Positive Psychology Interventions: A Practice-friendly Meta-analysis.” Journal of Clinical Psychology 65, no. 5 (2009): 467-487. doi: https://doi.org/10.1002/jclp.20593.
Van Agteren, Joep, Jonathan Bartholomaeus, Daniel B. Fassnacht, Matthew Iasiello, Kathina Ali, Laura Lo, and Michael Kyrios. “Using Internet-based Psychological Measurement to Capture the Deteriorating Community Mental Health Profile during COVID-19: Observational Study.” Journal of Medical Internet Research Mental Health 7, no. 6 (2020): e20696. doi: https://doi.org/10.2196/20696.
Vella-Brodrick Dianne A., Chin Tan Chyuan, and Nickolas Rickard. An Evaluation of Positive Education at Geelong Grammar School: A Snapshot of 2013. Melbourne: The University of Melbourne, 2014
Wang, Guanghai, Yunting Zhang, Jin Zhao, Jun Zhang, and Fan Jiang. “Mitigate the Effects of Home Confinement on Children during the COVID-19 Outbreak.” The Lancet 395, no. 10228 (2020): 945-947. doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/S0140-6736(20)30547-X.
Waters, Lea, Sara B. Algoe, Jane Dutton, Robert Emmons, Barbara L. Fredrickson, Emily Heaphy, Judith T. Moskowitz, Kristin Neff, Ryan Niemiec, Cynthia Pury, and Michael Steger. “Positive Psychology in a Pandemic: Buffering, Bolstering, and Building Mental Health.” The Journal of Positive Psychology 17, no. 3 (2022): 303-323. doi: https://doi.org/10.1080/17439760.2021.1871945.
Wood, Alex M., Jeffrey J. Froh, and Adam W. A. Geraghty. “Gratitude and Well-being: A Review and Theoretical Integration.” Clinical Psychology Review 30, no. 7 (2010): 890-905. doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cpr.2010.03.005.
Yalom, Irvin. “Religion and Psychiatry.” American Journal of Psychotherapy 56, no. 3 (2002): 301-316. doi: https://doi.org/10.1176/appi.psychotherapy.2002.56.3.301.
Yapijakis, Christos, ed. Epicurean Philosophy. An Introduction from the “Garden of Athens.” Athens: Stavrodromi Publications, 2022.
Yapijakis, Christos. “Ancestral Concepts of Human Genetics and Molecular Medicine in Epicurean Philosophy.” In History of Human Genetics, edited by Heike I. Petermann, Peter S. Harper, and Susanne Doetz, 41-57. Cham: Springer, 2017.
Yapijakis, Christos. “Ethical Teachings of Epicurus Based on Human Nature in the Light of Biological Psychology.” Proceedings of the XXIII World Congress of Philosophy 2, no. 3 (2018): 83-88.
