ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Psychol.
Sec. Positive Psychology
Volume 16 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2025.1631713
Supporting the Transition to Higher Education: Examination of Stateand Trait-Level Effects of a Multicomponent Positive Psychological Intervention for University Students
Provisionally accepted
- 1Universität Potsdam, Potsdam, Germany
- 2Universität Greifswald, Greifswald, Germany
- 3German Centre for Child and Adolescent Health (DZKJ), Greifswald/Rostock, Germany
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Positive psychological interventions (PPIs) can help mitigate psychological challenges and facilitate the transition to higher education. This study presents the results of a quasi-experimental trial of a 6-week universal, multicomponent PPI designed specifically for university students. It compares survey responses of intervention group participants with those of passive control group participants before, immediately after, and 6 months after the intervention. The results show that the PPI led to significant improvements in mindfulness, positive reframing, and self-compassion at the trait level, and in self-compassion, positive affect, relaxation, subjective physical health, and subjective sleep quality at the state level. The study demonstrates that PPIs can effectively build psychological resources during educational transitions, particularly those related to emotion regulation. However, other resources and outcomes (e.g., character strengths) were less affected. Thus, more tailored approaches and selective interventions are recommended to address these areas comprehensively and ensure a more holistic improvement in student well-being.
Keywords: Positive Psychology, intervention, state-trait, university students, Ecological Momentary Assessment
Received: 20 May 2025; Accepted: 30 Jul 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Ewert, Palme, Voigt and Tomczyk. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence:
Christina Ewert, Universität Potsdam, Potsdam, Germany
Wilhelm Heinrich August Voigt, Universität Potsdam, Potsdam, Germany
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