A Qualitative Study of the Tweens Positive Psychology Family Intervention for Children with Depression- or Anxiety Related Symptomatology
Söderlund, Jennifer (2021)
Söderlund, Jennifer
2021
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Julkaisun pysyvä osoite on
https://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi-fe2021061437036
https://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi-fe2021061437036
Tiivistelmä
Positive psychology is the scientific study of human thoughts, feelings and behaviour that focuses on building the good instead of treating illness. Several intervention models have been formed with this aim, and this study utilizes qualitative in-depth analysis to explore one such intervention model – the Tweens intervention. Tweens has been formed for children in late childhood and early teens, aged 11–14, who suffer from symptoms of depressiveness, anxiety or stress. A defining feature of this intervention is that it includes the families of the afflicted children in the intervention, and this is the first study examining a positive psychology family intervention for this particular target group.
Being a pilot-study with the purpose of mapping out the experiences of meaningfulness that the participants made from Tweens, a Constructive Grounded Theory method was chosen for the data collection and analysis. In Grounded Theory, the researcher begins the research process without pre-formulated research questions or hypotheses, only with a central theme of inquiry that she seeks to understand, and then let the informants provide the problem description. By intensive interviewing, this study sought to find what, if any, meaning the participants ascribed to Tweens and what, if any, practical meaning they took away from it into their daily lives. This qualitative approach then seeks to explore the mechanisms behind the positive change that is seen in the majority of quantitative positive psychology intervention research, or alternatively to explore what factors according to the participants make the intervention not very meaningful or effective, if that is their experience.
The results show that the experienced meaningfulness of Tweens can be divided into three main categories. These were 1.) A sense of belonging or togetherness, of not being alone with their problems. 2.) The tools being taught in Tweens helping them with their problems or in their parenting. And 3.) An increased mindsight, so that they could choose their actions consciously. These results are discussed in the light of the Broaden-and-build theory. When both parent and child have shared knowledge and shared vocabulary for talking about their well-being, upward spirals where they support each other and experience positive emotion together occur. All children did not experience the intervention as meaningful to the same degree, and variations in depressiveness, problematic life circumstances and possible flaws in the intervention are discussed as possible reasons for this.
Being a pilot-study with the purpose of mapping out the experiences of meaningfulness that the participants made from Tweens, a Constructive Grounded Theory method was chosen for the data collection and analysis. In Grounded Theory, the researcher begins the research process without pre-formulated research questions or hypotheses, only with a central theme of inquiry that she seeks to understand, and then let the informants provide the problem description. By intensive interviewing, this study sought to find what, if any, meaning the participants ascribed to Tweens and what, if any, practical meaning they took away from it into their daily lives. This qualitative approach then seeks to explore the mechanisms behind the positive change that is seen in the majority of quantitative positive psychology intervention research, or alternatively to explore what factors according to the participants make the intervention not very meaningful or effective, if that is their experience.
The results show that the experienced meaningfulness of Tweens can be divided into three main categories. These were 1.) A sense of belonging or togetherness, of not being alone with their problems. 2.) The tools being taught in Tweens helping them with their problems or in their parenting. And 3.) An increased mindsight, so that they could choose their actions consciously. These results are discussed in the light of the Broaden-and-build theory. When both parent and child have shared knowledge and shared vocabulary for talking about their well-being, upward spirals where they support each other and experience positive emotion together occur. All children did not experience the intervention as meaningful to the same degree, and variations in depressiveness, problematic life circumstances and possible flaws in the intervention are discussed as possible reasons for this.
Kokoelmat
- 515 Psykologia [236]