The Hummingbird Project year 2: decreasing distress and fostering flourishing in a pragmatic pre-post study.

Multi-component Positive Psychology Interventions (mPPIs) in secondary schools have been shown to improve mental health outcomes for young people. The Hummingbird Project mPPI is a six-week program of workshops designed to introduce a variety of positive psychology (PP) concepts to secondary school-aged children in schools to improve well-being, resilience, and hope. The effects on mental distress, however, were not explored. The current study, therefore, was designed to replicate the effects of the Hummingbird Project mPPI on positive mental health and to also explore the effects on symptoms of mental distress. Secondary school-aged children (N = 614; mean age = 11.46 years) from a sample of secondary schools located across the North West of England (N = 7) participated in the study; the majority of children were in Year 7 (94%). The PP concepts explored included happiness, hope, resilience, mindfulness, character strengths, growth mindset, and gratitude. The results showed significant improvements associated with the mPPI in well-being (as measured by the World Health Organization Well-Being Index; WHO-5), hope (as measured by the Children's Hope Scale; CHS), and symptoms of mental distress (as measured by the Young Person's Clinical Outcomes in Routine Evaluation; YP-CORE) from pre- to post-intervention. While acknowledging the limits due to pragmatic concerns regarding the implementation of a control group, the effectiveness of the Hummingbird Project mPPI on well-being was replicated alongside reducing the symptoms of mental distress. Future evaluation, however, will need to implement more robust designs and consider follow-up duration to assess the longer-term effects of the Hummingbird Project mPPI.

An international validation of the Bolton Unistride Scale (BUSS) of tenacity.

Academic success at University is increasingly believed to be a combination of personal characteristics like grit, resilience, strength-use, self-control, mind-set and wellbeing. The authors have developed a short 12-item measure of tenacity, the Bolton Uni-Stride Scale (BUSS) which incorporates these elements. Previous work in the UK had established the reliability and validity of the BUSS. The present paper reports the findings of an International validation of BUSS across 30 countries (n = 1043). Participants completed the BUSS alongside other recognised scales. Factor analysis revealed an almost identical two-factor solution to previous work and the reliability and validity of the scale were supported using an international sample. The authors recommend however that the scale be used as a single score combining all 12 items. In the light of this, the authors suggest that the BUSS will be a useful measure to incorporate in studies of academic attainment.

European university students' mental health during Covid-19: Exploring attitudes towards Covid-19 and governmental response.

The effects of Covid-19 have been felt worldwide and one population that are of increasing concern are university students. University students have endured unique and drastic changes to their everyday and academic lives. It is important to understand how university students in different parts of the world have been affected by the Covid-19 pandemic and how it has affected their mental health? A cross-sectional study was conducted during the first wave of Covid-19, in May 2020 with 2,006 university students from the UK, Italy, Germany and Spain. Participants were recruited online and were asked to complete a series of standardised measures of psychological distress, anxiety, flourishing and wellbeing. Attitudes towards Covid-19 were measured using a new scale. The factor structure and reliability of this new scale was confirmed using this European sample. Results indicated that all university students were suffering from poor mental health, considerably below pre-pandemic norms. There were many geographical differences in the way that university students perceived the Covid19 pandemic, in terms of their fears, anxieties, loneliness and positivity. There were also significant mental health comparisons between students from the UK, Italy, Germany and Spain. Student beliefs that their government had provided effective leadership during the Covid-19 pandemic were strongly related to numerous mental health outcomes. A picture of university students' mental health is provided and discussed. Geographical comparisons are discussed, as are the implications for practice and future directions. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s12144-022-02854-0.

The Hummingbird Project: A Positive Psychology Intervention for Secondary School Students.

Mental health in schools has attracted a lot of attention in recent years. Positive Psychology Interventions (PPIs) in secondary schools have been shown to improve mental health outcomes for students. Previous PPIs have tended to be delivered by trained Psychology specialists or have tended to focus on a single aspect of Positive Psychology such as Mindfulness. The current study involved 2 phases. Phase 1 was a pilot PPI, delivered by current university students in Psychology, which educated secondary school students (N = 90) in a variety of Positive Psychology concepts. Phase 2 involved delivering the PPI to secondary school students (N = 1,054). This PPI, the Hummingbird Project, led to improvements in student well-being, as measured by the World Health Organization Well-Being Index (WHO-5). The intervention also led to improvements in student resilience, as measured by the Bolton Uni-Stride Scale (BUSS), and hope, as measured by the Children's Hope Scale (CHS). Results are discussed in the context of their implications for the future of psychological intervention in secondary school settings.

Onwards and upwards: The development, piloting and validation of a new measure of academic tenacity- The Bolton Uni-Stride Scale (BUSS).

What factors determine success at University? For many years the construct of intelligence was felt to be critical. More recently, the construct of grit, has attracted the attention of many researchers, along with related concepts such as self-control, growth mind-sets and resilience. The authors of this paper have developed a specific measure of tenacity and self-composure, two constructs crucial to academic achievement. This measure comprises of 12 items drawn from the above constructs, but also including mental well-being and strengths use. In the first study, the authors report on the psychometric properties of the Bolton Uni-Stride Scale (BUSS). The new scale was administered to 1117 university students. Exploratory factor analysis (EFA) revealed two underlying factors, one labelled "tenacity" had seven items and accounted for 30% of the variance. The second was labelled "self-composure," and accounted for 14% of the variance. In the second study the BUSS was given to 340 undergraduate students along with the Grit Scale, the Self-Control Scale, the Mind-sets Quiz, the Connor Davidson Resilience Scale (CD-RISC 10) and the short Warwick Edinburgh Mental Well-being Scale (WEMWBS). This study presented evidence for good internal consistency reliability (.74) and test-retest reliability over three weeks was .70 for Tenacity and .77 for Self-composure. BUSS Academic Tenacity correlated highly with grit (.63), self-control (.59), resilience (.52), mind-sets (.35) and mental well-being (.54). The study also evidences good discriminative validity of the BUSS. A second study conducted confirmatory factor analysis (CFA), explaining a total of 44% of the variance. The authors have shown good support for the reliability and validity of the BUSS scale. It now needs to be tested in other universities and in different countries. It is the contention of the authors that academic tenacity will be a better measure of academic success than other competing measures, such as grit, on their own. Further research is needed to test this assertion.

All That Glitters Is Not Grit: Three Studies of Grit in University Students.

The present research looked at the importance of the concept of grit in University students based on a mixed-method approach. Study 1 comprised 440 University students. All were given the Grit Scale, the Perceived Stress Scale, the short Warwick-Edinburgh Mental Well-being Scale, the Office of National Statistics Well-being items and the Self-Control Scale. Levels of grit were significantly higher in female students, older students and postgraduates. Grit correlated highest with self-control. Study 2 looked at 340 University students. In addition to measuring self-control, mental well-being and grit, measures of resilience and mindsets were also added. A construct validity test of the Grit Scale showed that high grit scorers had significantly higher levels of self-control and mental well-being, were more resilient and were more likely to have a more growth oriented mindset. Grit varies with age and is most closely associated with the concept of self-control. The third study was a qualitative investigation with 10 successful graduates. Semi-structured interviews were coded using thematic analysis. Three broad themes emerged. The first, Passion and Perseverance, included themes of having short and long terms goals, resilience, dedication, and endurance. The second, Self-Control, included time management, self-awareness, prioritizing tasks and knowing strengths and weaknesses. The third theme identified was Positive Mindsets. This included having a positive attitude toward learning, the importance of feedback and constructive criticism and that success is not materialistic. The qualitative research has helped "unpack" concepts from the grit research and may enable University tutors to guide students better. Though these studies were only conducted in one English University, they have been stepping stones in our quest to discover what are the most important factors in determining student academic success? The development and piloting of our new Uni-Stride Scale, is the next step in this process.

From Languishing Dyslexia to Thriving Dyslexia: Developing a New Conceptual Approach to Working with People with Dyslexia.

This is an account of personal narratives shared by several people with dyslexia. Most of these are presented in their original quotation format to provide personal accounts of the lives of people with dyslexia. In this paper the author shares her conversations with her participants. This paper provides an original conceptual model, which is currently been tested empirically. Dyslexia affects the learning process in areas as such reading, and spelling. Conversely abilities or strengths can be seen in other areas, such as developing coping strategies to manage and overcome challenges. This research aims to adapt positive psychology techniques to support individuals with dyslexia. To develop positive psychology interventions, individuals will be helped to discover their five signature strengths. The VIA (Values in Action) Strengths Survey has been hosted in a website which has been developed in the form of a dyslexia user friendly format, such as providing the ability for respondents to change fonts and font sizes, colors and a text to speech option. This paper introduces the theoretical model of 'How to move from Languishing Dyslexia to Thriving Dyslexia.'