Effectiveness of a Mind Training and Positive Psychology Program on Coping Skills in School Children in Taiwan

Abstract

Lack of effective coping skills for managing stress can increase the risk of negative psychological outcomes. However, to date little research has explored the effectiveness of interventions aimed at improving children’s coping skills. The aim of this study was to investigate the effectiveness of a mind training and positive psychology program on coping skills for dealing with stress in elementary school students. Participants were 4th and 5th grade students from two primary schools in Taichung, Taiwan, with a total of 97 students in the intervention group and 90 in the control group with complete data. Children in the intervention group attended a four week mind training and positive psychology program while those in the control group maintained their routine class schedule. However, following completion of data collection, the control group was invited to attend the same intervention program due to ethical considerations. We used repeated measures ANOVA to assess the short-term and long-term effects of the intervention. The results showed that: (1) The program enhanced children’s ability to use positive thinking to deal with stress, particularly in 5th graders (both short-term and long-term effects); (2) The program enhanced children’s ability to use positive thinking and their overall coping skills, particularly in boys (long-term effect). (3) In terms of program evaluation, 73.19% of participants in the intervention group felt that the program had improved their ability to cope with stress. An effective mind training and positive psychology program may help children learn useful coping skills, improve their ability to cope with stress and increase their confidence in facing challenges.