Browsing by Author "Lambert, Louise"
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Item Beyond Us: Building Collective Wellbeing(Springer International Publishing, 2022-01-01) Lambert, Louise; Warren, Meg A.; Waldrop, Rachael J.; Subaiei, Sabrina Al; Eubanks, Alecia; Fisher, Jen L.The mission of positive psychology is to explore and build wellbeing in the lives of individuals the world over; however, like all theoretical frameworks, its evolution propels researchers and practitioners into increasingly complex issues. Developments in the field promote a broader view on wellbeing, focusing on culture, religion, social interactions and climate action. Global issues have encouraged the need for a systemic view of wellbeing that is beyond the remit of individuals and extends to organizations, governments and societies alike. In short, the time has come for a global, contextual and systemic understanding of wellbeing. Here, we address the development of these frameworks and three emerging areas as examples of their utility; namely, climate change, egalitarianism as an aid to intergroup relations, and the need for purposeful non-Western views of wellbeing. © The Editor(s) (if applicable) and The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2022, corrected publication 2022Item Effects of positive psychology interventions in Arab countries: a protocol for a systematic review(BMJ Publishing Group, 2021-07-29) Basurrah, Asma; Lambert, Louise; Setti, Annalisa; Murphy, Mike; Warren, Meg; Shrestha, Topaz; di Blasi, ZeldaIntroduction Despite the growing volume of published studies on the effects of positive psychology interventions (PPIs), little is known about their effectiveness outside of Western countries, particularly in Arab countries. As the effectiveness of PPIs in this region remains unclear, a systematic review focusing on this area of research can offer a valuable contribution. Here, we present a protocol for the first systematic review that aims to examine the effects of PPIs on increasing well-being, quality of life and resilience and decreasing depression, anxiety and stress for both health and clinical, child and adult populations in Arab countries. Methods and analysis This protocol is carried out in accordance with the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses Protocols guidelines. A systematic literature search for studies up to 30 April 2021 will be conducted in the following electronic databases: PsycINFO, PubMed, Scopus, ProQuest, Dar Al Mandumah and Al Manhal. Experimental/quasi-experimental quantitative studies evaluating the effects of PPIs on healthy and clinical participants of all ages in the 22 Arab countries will be included. Outcomes will include psychological effects of PPIs on dimensions related to well-being (eg, happiness), quality of life, resilience, depression, anxiety and stress. The risk of bias will be evaluated using the Cochrane risk-of-bias tool. A narrative synthesis with tables of study characteristics will be provided. A meta-analysis will be included if outcomes allow; in this instance, subgroups analysis will be conducted, depending on the data gathered, to examine differences in effect sizes based on age group, population type, duration of intervention and type of intervention. Ethics and dissemination Ethical approval was not required for the performance of this systematic review. We intend to publish the study in a peer-reviewed journal and share the findings at relevant conferences. PROSPERO registration number CRD42020198092. ©Item Foundational frameworks of positive psychology : mapping well-being orientations(Canadian Psychological Association, 2015) Lambert, Louise; Passmore, Holli-Anne; Holder, Mark D.The scientific study of well-being has been strongly influenced by ideas from a number of related fields, including different areas of psychology. Two major philosophical traditions-hedonia and eudaimonia-underscore much of our current understanding of well-being, and are reflected across early and contemporary psychological theories of well-being. These traditions help delineate the various conceptualisations of well-being and its components; moreover, these traditions influence which research questions are asked, and where and how answers are sought. This has resulted in a plethora of categories and terms referring to similar, yet distinct, concepts such as: well-being, happiness, optimal or positive experiences, life satisfaction, and flourishing. Given the difficulties of distinguishing these concepts, this article aims to provide clarity by delineating the major orientations in positive psychology. We provide a "road-map" to theories and models of well-being found within positive psychology, thereby providing a starting a point from which an integrative framework of theories and models of well-being can be developed. To that end, also included in this review is a selection of well-being models that lie beyond the traditional frameworks. We conclude with a consideration of several criticisms that have been directed at positive psychology, and provide recommendations for future directions. © 2015 Canadian Psychological Association.Item Geographic, Socio-Demographic and School Type Variation in Adolescent Wellbeing and Mental Health and Links with Academic Competence in the United Arab Emirates(Springer Science and Business Media B.V., 2022) Marquez, Jose; Lambert, Louise; Cutts, MeganInterest in adolescents’ wellbeing and mental health is growing worldwide, but little research in this area has been conducted in certain world regions and countries such as the United Arab Emirates (UAE). Geographic, socio-demographic and school type differences in adolescent wellbeing and mental health are commonly observed in the field, and the UAE is a diverse country where these types of differences have been found for other outcomes (notably, academic). Yet, no prior national study has explored these differences in terms of wellbeing and mental health in the nation. We address this gap by investigating differences across emirates, gender, socio-economic status, immigrant status, school sector and school curriculum for overall life satisfaction, positive affect, negative affect, meaning and purpose in life, and internalizing difficulties. We use linear regression to analyse cross-sectional data from the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) study from 2015 and 2018. We find substantial geographic, socio-demographic and school type differences in levels (2018) of wellbeing and mental health -which vary across distinct domains- and declines (2015–2018) of wellbeing. Better wellbeing and mental health are observed in the northern emirates and among boys. Better wellbeing and poorer mental health are observed among nationals (compared to expatriates) and in public schools (compared to private schools). Despite presenting the best academic outcomes, British schools present the worst wellbeing and mental health outcomes. However, results show the absence of a trade-off between academic competence and wellbeing and mental health, with evidence of a small positive association with wellbeing. © 2022, The Author(s).Item Made in the UAE : an indigenous positive psychology for the United Arab Emirates(Palgrave Macmillan, 2015) Lambert, Louise; Pasha-Zaidi, NausheenPositive psychology focuses on the creation of positive emotions and positive experiences in the lives of individuals, groups, and societies. It examines the positive aspects of people’s lives and its research aims are to study the reasons for individuals and groups to excel. The founders, Martin Seligman and Mihalyi Csikszentmihalyi (2000), argue that traditional psychologists ignore people who want to be happy if they don’t have a mental disorder. As such, although the psychologist’s goal is to help, they often just help individuals to better cope with misery. In other words, they argue that mainstream psychologists have been so programmed to see only what is wrong with a person that when someone doesn’t necessarily have any sort of pathology but wants to simply improve his or her life, psychologists have nothing to say. Clients such as these end up feeling disappointed in therapy—and often grow worse—as they are not given the skills to move forward.Item A positive psychology intervention program in a culturally-diverse university : boosting happiness and reducing fear(Springer Netherlands, 2019-04-15) Lambert, Louise; Passmore, Holli-Anne; Joshanloo, MohsenWhile developing excellence in knowledge and skills, academic institutions have often overlooked their obligation to instill wellbeing. To address this, we introduced a 14-week positive psychology intervention (PPI) program (Happiness 101) to university students from 39 different nations studying in the United Arab Emirates (N = 159). Students were exposed to 18 different PPIs. Pre, post, and 3-month-post measures were taken assessing hedonic and eudaimonic well-being, and beliefs regarding the fear and fragility of happiness. At the end of the semester, relative to a control group (N = 108), participants exposed to the Happiness 101 program reported higher levels of both hedonic and eudaimonic well-being, and lower levels of fear of happiness and the belief that happiness is fragile. Boosts in life satisfaction and net-positive affect, and reduction of fear of happiness and the belief that happiness is fragile were maintained in the Happiness 101 group 3 months post-intervention. © 2018, Springer Science+Business Media B.V., part of Springer Nature.Item Positive psychology interventions in the United Arab Emirates: boosting wellbeing – and changing culture?(Springer, 2021) Lambert, Louise; Warren, Meg A.; Schwam, Allison; Warren, Michael T.Item Promoting Kindness Through the Positive Theatrical Arts: Assessing Kuwait’s Boomerang Programme(Springer, 2023-03) Lambert, Louise; Joshanloo, Mohsen; Warren, Meg A.; Christiani, Kayla; Lomas, Tim; Cody, Brettjet; Al Sabah, Intisar; Chalabi, Ali El; Kruchlik, GayaItem The effects of positive psychology interventions in Arab countries: A systematic review(John Wiley and Sons Inc., 2022) Basurrah, Asma A.; Di Blasi, Zelda; Lambert, Louise; Murphy, Mike; Warren, Meg A.; Setti, Annalisa; Al-Haj Baddar, Mohammed; Shrestha, TopazWhile there is evidence for the effects of positive psychology interventions (PPIs) in the Western world, we know little about their effects on Arab cultures. This review aimed to assess the effects of PPIs on well-being and mental health across Arab countries. Systematic searches of randomised controlled trials (RCTs) and quasi-experimental studies investigating PPIs in Arabia were conducted in six English and Arabic databases from the inception of positive psychology in 1998 to 28 February 2022. The quality of the studies was assessed using the Cochrane risk-of-bias tools. The protocol was published in the BMJ Open. Forty-four studies from 10 Arab countries (n = 3598 participants) were included. Of these, 12 were RCTs and 32 were quasi-experimental. The studies mainly focused on adults (73%) and healthy populations (86%). PPIs included mindfulness, positive thinking, strengths, hope, optimism, self-compassion, positive traits, and multiple PPIs. Nearly all studies (91%) mentioned cultural adaptation; however, little detail was given. This is the first review in Arabia. PPIs appear to be effective for promoting well-being and reducing mental health issues. However, there were some risks of bias concerns. Future research should include younger and clinical populations, using larger samples and providing more details about adaptation. © 2022 The Authors. Applied Psychology: Health and Well-Being published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of International Association of Applied Psychology.Item The PISA performance gap between national and expatriate students in the United Arab Emirates(SAGE Publications Ltd, 2022-04) Marquez, Jose; Lambert, Louise; Ridge, Natasha Y; Walker, StuartIn most education systems, students with an immigrant background perform worse academically than do native students. However, in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) differences emerge in the opposite direction and the national-expatriate gap in academic performance is equivalent to almost three years of schooling. This gap is a concern in the UAE, where national students mainly attend public schools while expatriates mostly attend private schools. In this study, to investigate the performance gap between national and expatriate students we estimate group differences and conduct linear regression analysis using data from the 2018 Programme for International Student Assessment. Results show that the gap varies by emirate and country of origin, and is greater among boys, better-off students and those attending private schools. Between 33% and 47% of this gap is explained by school type, whether public or private. We offer recommendations for the UAE that may also be useful for other high expatriate recruiting nations in development; however, in a country characterized by 85% expatriates and a maturing education policy, challenges remain. © The Author(s) 2022.Item Validation study of a wellbeing scale (SPANE) in the Arab Gulf region: A multicountry study(Public Library of Science, 2022-05) Yaaqeib, Saad; Lambert, Louise; Hadjisolomou, Stavros; Al-Fazari, Manal; Selim, Heyla; Haque, AmberThe Scale of Positive and Negative Experience (SPANE) is an emerging wellbeing scale to measure the frequency of positive and negative emotions. This study explores the psychometric properties of SPANE on a sample from the Arab Gulf region. The Arab Gulf region shares cultural elements with the broader Muslim and Arab world, but maintains distinct features that warrants validation studies for psychological instruments. There were 1393 participants from Saudi Arabia, Oman, Kuwait and other Arab Gulf countries. The factorial structure of SPANE was examined using a principal axis factor analysis, followed up with a confirmatory factor analysis. The convergent validity was examined by correlating SPANE with the Satisfaction with Life Scale (SWLS). The findings confirmed a two-factor structure of SPANE, and demonstrated adequate psychometric properties and convergent validity. In conclusion, this study indicates that SPANE shows sufficient validity for use as a measure of wellbeing in the Arab Gulf region. © 2022 Yaaqeib et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.