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Scaling Up, While Drilling Down: Effects of a Personalized Positive Psychology Course on College Student and Older Adult Mental Health.

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Title: Scaling Up, While Drilling Down: Effects of a Personalized Positive Psychology Course on College Student and Older Adult Mental Health.
Authors: Sommers-Flanagan, John (AUTHOR), Ryan, Robert (AUTHOR), Mumbauer-Pisano, Jayna (AUTHOR), Salois, Daniel (AUTHOR), Palmer, Charles (AUTHOR)
Source: Journal of Adult Development. Mar2026, Vol. 33 Issue 1, p68-79. 12p.
Subjects: Competency assessment (Law), Nontraditional college students, T-test (Statistics), Data analysis, Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale, Positive psychology, Undergraduates, Course evaluation (Education), Medical care, Educational outcomes, Clinical trials, Universities & colleges, Psychological well-being, Internet, Descriptive statistics, Analysis of covariance, Quantitative research, Control groups, Pre-tests & post-tests, Longitudinal method, Research methodology, Happiness, One-way analysis of variance, Statistics, Videoconferencing, Psychology of college students, Alternative education, Health promotion, Comparative studies, Hope
Geographic Terms: United States
Abstract: The United States is experiencing a mental health crisis across the lifespan. To address this crisis, researchers and professional groups have recommended scaling up individual interventions to larger populations. In this spirit, we evaluated the effects of a uniquely individualized semester-long, positive psychology course on the well-being and mental health of traditional undergraduates and older adults. Using a quantitative, quasi-experimental, pretest–posttest design, participants in two cohorts of positive psychology courses (n = 52) were compared to two cohorts of a control condition (n = 49) on measures of well-being and mental health. To personalize the course experience, the positive psychology course included small group labs and individualized consultations. Compared to students in control courses, traditional college students and older adults who completed the positive psychology course reported statistically significant improvement on eight of 12 outcomes. Medium-to-large effect sizes were found on negative affect (reduced), positive affect (increased), subjective happiness (increased), and pathways-hope (increased). Older adults who were enrolled experienced similar positive outcomes. Integrating small group labs and/or individual consultations may broaden and magnify positive psychology course outcomes. Colleges and universities could use positive psychology courses to attract older, non-traditional students and to scale up mental health prevention and intervention. Future research should explore this curricular innovation, include larger samples, random assignment, greater diversity, and follow-up assessments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
Copyright of Journal of Adult Development is the property of Springer Nature and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites without the copyright holder's express written permission. Additionally, content may not be used with any artificial intelligence tools or machine learning technologies. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)
Database: Psychology and Behavioral Sciences Collection
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  Data: Scaling Up, While Drilling Down: Effects of a Personalized Positive Psychology Course on College Student and Older Adult Mental Health.
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  Data: The United States is experiencing a mental health crisis across the lifespan. To address this crisis, researchers and professional groups have recommended scaling up individual interventions to larger populations. In this spirit, we evaluated the effects of a uniquely individualized semester-long, positive psychology course on the well-being and mental health of traditional undergraduates and older adults. Using a quantitative, quasi-experimental, pretest–posttest design, participants in two cohorts of positive psychology courses (n = 52) were compared to two cohorts of a control condition (n = 49) on measures of well-being and mental health. To personalize the course experience, the positive psychology course included small group labs and individualized consultations. Compared to students in control courses, traditional college students and older adults who completed the positive psychology course reported statistically significant improvement on eight of 12 outcomes. Medium-to-large effect sizes were found on negative affect (reduced), positive affect (increased), subjective happiness (increased), and pathways-hope (increased). Older adults who were enrolled experienced similar positive outcomes. Integrating small group labs and/or individual consultations may broaden and magnify positive psychology course outcomes. Colleges and universities could use positive psychology courses to attract older, non-traditional students and to scale up mental health prevention and intervention. Future research should explore this curricular innovation, include larger samples, random assignment, greater diversity, and follow-up assessments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
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  Data: <i>Copyright of Journal of Adult Development is the property of Springer Nature and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites without the copyright holder's express written permission. Additionally, content may not be used with any artificial intelligence tools or machine learning technologies. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract.</i> (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)
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      – Type: doi
        Value: 10.1007/s10804-025-09516-y
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      – Code: eng
        Text: English
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        PageCount: 12
        StartPage: 68
    Subjects:
      – SubjectFull: Competency assessment (Law)
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Nontraditional college students
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: T-test (Statistics)
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Data analysis
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Positive psychology
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Undergraduates
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Course evaluation (Education)
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Medical care
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Educational outcomes
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Clinical trials
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Universities & colleges
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Psychological well-being
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Internet
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Descriptive statistics
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Analysis of covariance
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      – SubjectFull: Quantitative research
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      – SubjectFull: Research methodology
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      – SubjectFull: Happiness
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      – SubjectFull: One-way analysis of variance
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      – SubjectFull: Statistics
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      – SubjectFull: Videoconferencing
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      – SubjectFull: Comparative studies
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      – SubjectFull: Hope
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      – SubjectFull: United States
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      – TitleFull: Scaling Up, While Drilling Down: Effects of a Personalized Positive Psychology Course on College Student and Older Adult Mental Health.
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              Text: Mar2026
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