AUTHOR=Hobbs Catherine , Armitage Jessica , Hood Bruce , Jelbert Sarah 

TITLE=A systematic review of the effect of university positive psychology courses on student psychological wellbeing

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Psychology

VOLUME=Volume 13 - 2022

YEAR=2022

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/psychology/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2022.1023140

DOI=10.3389/fpsyg.2022.1023140

ISSN=1664-1078

ABSTRACT=Educational courses that teach positive psychology interventions as part of university degree programmes are becoming increasingly popular, and could potentially form part of university-wide strategies to respond to the student mental health crisis. To determine whether such courses are effective in promoting student well-being, we conducted a systematic review of studies across the globe investigating the effects of positive psychology courses taught within university degree programmes on quantitative measures of psychological well-being. We searched Embase, PsychInfo, PubMed, and Web of Science electronic databases from 1998 to 2021, identifying 27 relevant studies. Most studies (85%) reported positive effects on measures of psychological well-being, including increased life satisfaction and happiness. However, risk of bias, assessed using the ROBINS-I tool, was moderate or serious for all studies. We tentatively suggest that university positive psychology courses could be a promising avenue for promoting student well-being. However, further research implementing rigorous research practices is necessary to validate reported benefits, and confirm whether such courses should form part of an evidence-based response to student well-being.