Positive time use: a missing link between time perspective, time management, and well-being.

Introduction: The notion of satisfaction with the use of one's time has not been operationalized previously. Based on qualitative interviews, we propose a concept of positive time use comprised by four components: self-congruence of daily activities, balance between activities, efficient use of time, and a sense of mastery over one's time. Methods: Using data from two UK adult samples (N = 173 and N = 357), we developed a new measure, Positive Time Use Inventory (PTUI), and investigated its structural and convergent validity. Results and discussion: The associations of positive time use with balanced time perspective, affect balance, satisfaction with life, sense of coherence, and self-reported satisfaction with time use indicate convergent and discriminant validity of the new measure. Positive time use partially explained the associations of balanced time perspective with subjective well-being and fully mediated the effects of future time perspective and time management on subjective well-being. We propose positive time use as a new model of temporal well-being, which brings together the notions of work-life balance, time efficiency, and time mastery in a single comprehensive framework, helping to inform the time management coaching interventions.

SPARK Resilience in the workplace: Effectiveness of a brief online resilience intervention during the COVID-19 lockdown.

Science asserts that resilience at work can be developed, with evidence pinpointing to multiple resources that can be built through deliberate coaching, training and interventions. This paper presents a mixed-methods study exploring the effectiveness of group coaching using SPARK Resilience training, a model and a structured coaching protocol that have been administered in educational and workplace settings in face-to-face format and remotely. The study used a non-randomised controlled design with a pre-test and a post-test in a sample of French adults (N = 101 in the intervention group and N = 86 in the waitlist control group). The SPARK Resilience programme was administered online with 8 sessions spanning 4 weeks in April 2020, during the very early stage of the pandemic and lockdown in France. The results indicate beneficial effects of the intervention on meaning, resilience, positive affect, and perceived stress outcomes (d in the .40-.56 range), as well as weaker effects on negative affect (d = .35) and work engagement (d = .21). Moderator analyses suggest that the effects of the intervention on perceived stress and negative affect tended to be stronger for older adults. Participants reported high levels of satisfaction with the intervention and provided 151 responses to three open-ended questions that were coded using thematic analysis, revealing specific benefits of the intervention. The findings are interpreted within the pandemic context, showing the way resilience interventions can help people overcome unprecedented challenges.

Feeling Good Despite EDS: The Effects of a 5-Week Online Positive Psychology Programme for Ehlers-Danlos-Syndromes Patients.

Ehlers-Danlos-Syndromes (EDS) is a group of hereditary, chronic and potentially disabling conditions. Few studies have tested the effects of psychological interventions to increase well-being in this population. We hypothesized that Positive Psychology Interventions (PPI), first applied to healthy and mentally ill subjects, can also be useful for people with somatic conditions and conducted a study to evaluate the efficacy of a 5-week online PPI designed to improve well-being in EDS patients. A sample of 132 EDS patients were allocated to three groups: assigned PPI, self-selected PPI, and waitlist control-group (WLC). Measures of positive and negative affect, pain disability, fatigue, and life satisfaction were administered before program start, 6 weeks later, and 1 month later. Satisfaction with the program was also evaluated. The results revealed that participants in the self-selected PPI-group, but not in the assigned PPI group, reported significantly lower levels of fatigue and higher levels of positive affect and life satisfaction compared to WLC after 6 weeks. There were no effects on negative affect and pain disability measures. Finally, 77% of the participants were satisfied or very satisfied with the program. These findings confirm and extend previous research by showing the efficacy of PPI for people with chronic illness under the condition that individuals can choose the program content. From a healthcare perspective, online PPIs could complement treatments aimed at symptom reduction and increase well-being in patients with EDS.

Sensory processing sensitivity and culturally modified resilience education: Differential susceptibility in Japanese adolescents.

This study investigated the efficacy of a culturally modified resilience education program on Japanese adolescents' well-being from a differential susceptibility perspective. First, a culturally modified resilience education intervention was developed by employing the SPARK resilience program and implemented with 407 Japanese high school students in Tokyo (age = 15-16, M = 192, F = 215). To test intervention efficacy, students' level of resilience, self-esteem, self-efficacy, and depression were measured pre-, post-, and three months after intervention. Additionally, sensory processing sensitivity, using the Japanese version of the Highly Sensitive Child Scale for Adolescence, was measured as an index of individual sensitivity. Analysis of variance was used to examine the baseline differences and interaction effects of students' gender and level of sensory processing sensitivity. Latent growth curve models were used to assess the overall effects of the intervention and change over time. Results indicated that the intervention was effective in enhancing students' overall self-efficacy; and that highly sensitive students, who scored significantly lower in well-being than their counterparts at baseline, responded more positively to the intervention, and had a greater reduction in depression and promotion of self-esteem. These findings provided unique evidence in line with the differential susceptibility perspective and useful implications to develop personalized treatment interventions for adolescents in different cultural contexts.

Preliminary evaluation of a school-based resilience-promoting intervention in a high-risk population: Application of an exploratory two-cohort treatment/control design.

Applying innovative methodology, we explored the efficacy of SPARK Resilience Programme--a new universal school-based resilience-promoting programme--regarding effects on depression symptoms and resilience in a high risk population in England. Quantitative and qualitative methods were combined in an exploratory two cohort treatment/control design with one cohort serving as the control group (single assessment) and a subsequent cohort as the treatment group (assessed before and immediately after treatment as well as 6 and 12 months after treatment ended), involving a total of 438 11-13 year old girls, According to analyses, depression symptoms were significantly lower directly after treatment and at 6 months but no longer at 12 months. Resilience scores, on the other hand, were significantly higher in the treatment cohort compared to the year-ahead control cohort at post-treatment and both follow-up assessments. Qualitative results demonstrated beneficial teacher experience overall. The current study provides first evidence for the efficacy of SPARK Resilience Programme. Furthermore, the applied two cohort treatment/control mixed methods design proved helpful for the preliminary testing of a school-based universal intervention programme efficacy in an authentic setting.