Carmel Proctor P. Alex Linley Editors Research, Applications, and Interventions for Children and Adolescents A Positive Psychology Perspective Research, Applications, and Interventions for Children and Adolescents Carmel Proctor (cid:129) P. Alex Linley Editors Research, Applications, and Interventions for Children and Adolescents A Positive Psychology Perspective Editors Carmel Proctor P. Alex Linley Positive Psychology Research Centre Centre of Applied Positive Psychology St. Peter Port, Guernsey Coventry, UK ISBN 978-94-007-6397-5 ISBN 978-94-007-6398-2 (eBook) DOI 10.1007/978-94-007-6398-2 Springer Dordrecht Heidelberg New York London Library of Congress Control Number: 2013938482 © Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht 2013 This work is subject to copyright. 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Violations are liable to prosecution under the respective Copyright Law. The use of general descriptive names, registered names, trademarks, service marks, etc. in this publication does not imply, even in the absence of a specifi c statement, that such names are exempt from the relevant protective laws and regulations and therefore free for general use. While the advice and information in this book are believed to be true and accurate at the date of publication, neither the authors nor the editors nor the publisher can accept any legal responsibility for any errors or omissions that may be made. The publisher makes no warranty, express or implied, with respect to the material contained herein. Printed on acid-free paper Springer is part of Springer Science+Business Media (www.springer.com) For all those who are striving to improve outcomes for children, giving every child, every chance, every day. Foreword What is the purpose of schools and indeed of education at large? Is it wholly, as govern ments would appear to think, to secure exam passes or is there a wider purpose? For too long, I believe, schools and education have been overly concerned with academic attainment at the expense of character and well-being. This is not to say that a focus on academic attainment is wrong – far from it. But this extensive focus on academic attainment is, undoubtedly, to the detriment of other critical facets in the lives and development of children and young people – such as character and well-being – which leave the emerging generation short-changed in what they should expect from education and life development in general. With the emergence of the discipline of positive psychology in the last 15 years, psychologists have decisively shifted their focus to attend to what is right with peo- ple, building on their strengths and celebrating their happiness and well-being, at the same time as being able to respond to their calls for help in times of distress and need. A similar paradigm shift is needed in education. We should recognize the damage that is being done to generations of children and young people by just “teaching to the test” and leaving to wither on the vine their crucial need for char- acter development and life lessons in how to be happy and become productive and fulfi lling members of the society. This is why, at Wellington College, we have introduced a consistent focus on happiness into our curriculum, with extraordinary results, not only in the atmo- sphere of the school and the health of our young people, but also a very sharp rise in their academic performance. It is my hope that many more schools will embrace this shift in the emphasis of education and focus on developing the whole of the person in our children and young people. Schools will not fi nd, as governments appear to believe, that academic results will fall. Rather, they will, I believe, see the results rise. In this book, Carmel Proctor and Alex Linley bring a focus to how positive psy- chology can contribute to this debate, both in education and the classroom setting specifi cally, but also in our focus on the development and fulfi llment of children and vii viii Foreword young people more broadly. The chapters cover topics including the strengths and well-being of children and adolescents, the role of family, peers and community in optimal development, the role and contribution of positive approaches to education, and positive youth development from the perspective of community activity and legal and policy positions. Taken together, they provide an excellent summary of the state of knowledge and practice in the research, applications and interventions of positive psychology as they apply to children and adolescents. Further research will inevitably be needed: this academic fi eld, after all, is still young. But the authors make a compelling case, and they should be listened to with respect. I thus encourage all those involved with the development of children and young people, and most especially educators and policy makers, to pay attention to the lessons of this volume in how we can create more optimal developmental contexts for our children and young people, building their character and well-being to equip them for the challenges and opportunities they will increasingly face in their jour- ney through modern life. Wellington College Anthony Seldon Contents 1 Surveying the Landscape of Positive Psychology for Children and Adolescents ............................................ 1 P. Alex Linley and Carmel Proctor Part I Strengths and Well-Being 2 The Importance of Good Character ...................................................... 13 Carmel Proctor 3 Assessment and Promotion of Life Satisfaction in Youth ............................................................................... 23 E. Scott Huebner, Kimberly J. Hills, and Xu Jiang 4 Promoting Hope Among Youth: Theory, Research, and Practice ............................................................. 43 Lisa M. Edwards and Jessica B. McClintock Part II Interventions and Applications 5 Flourishing Among Children and Adolescents: Structure and Correlates of Positive Mental Health, and Interventions for Its Enhancement ................................................ 59 Andrew J. Howell, Corey L.M. Keyes, and Holli-Anne Passmore 6 Assessment of Character Strengths in Children and Adolescents .................................................................. 81 Tayyab Rashid, Afroze Anjum, Carolyn Lennox, Denise Quinlan, Ryan M. Niemiec, Donna Mayerson, and Fahim Kazemi 7 Gratitude Intervention in Adolescence and Young Adulthood ........... 117 Nathaniel M. Lambert and Amanda Veldorale-Brogan ix