Journal of Happiness and Health

Research shows that children’s views and experiences are usually overlooked in discussions related to their own happiness and wellbeing. In fact, the largest international study to date on children’s wellbeing only included children aged 8-12. A review of reviews further reveals that no previous studies have focused on exploring factors that make children aged 3-7 happy. This research addresses this gap in the literature by conducting the first systematic review of international studies exploring young children's perspectives on happiness. The EPPI-Centre framework guided this systematic review of international research published covering almost a decade of research (2015-2024). This comprehensive approach aimed to provide an overview of the current research landscape to inform future research and policy decisions. Out of 2594 papers arguing to listen to children, only five focused on exploring children’s happiness and wellbeing from an interpretivist perspective. Results showed that there are studies listening to children’s voices, however, very limited studies genuinely explore what makes children happy. Factors contributing to children’s happiness and wellbeing include spending time with loved ones, receiving praise, achieving goals and engaging in sociodramatic play. Negative factors include feeling ignored, limited interaction with peers/friends and forced activities. Methodological limitations identified include unclear sample selection, regional bias, subjective data interpretation, and pre-determined prompts influencing children's responses. The findings can inform future research directions and policy decisions aimed at promoting children's happiness and well-being in schools. As such, this paper provides a unique insight and makes an original and significant contribution to the field.

Over time, humans have experienced varied and shifting relationships with food in both negative and positive ways. Mostly negative results have emerged from restrictive diets, while approaches to food that include more self-trust indicated healthier impacts. The current study focused on the positive approach to eating and addressed a relationship between intuitive eating and dimensions of self-compassion and wellbeing.  Data were collected using an online survey, which assessed demographics, BMI, self-compassion, intuitive eating, and wellbeing. A cohort of 234 participants, comprising both men and women, predominantly women aged 36-65, responded to the survey. Within this group, a subset of 148 participants provided supplementary information regarding their weight and height. Regression analysis showed that after controlling for wellbeing, 24% of the variance in intuitive eating was explained by self-compassion. Specifically, the self-compassion components that best predicted intuitive eating were reduced self-judgement and increased common humanity. No correlation was observed between self-compassion and BMI, age and gender. Contrary to previous research, a positive correlation between BMI and intuitive eating was observed. Further research is needed to study the relationship among IE, BMI, and dietary quality, along with investigating the connection between IE and varying physiological responses according to BMI status, age and gender. The results are discussed in the context of policy and practice.

Individuals face both psychological and physical problems as they age. These psychological problems adversely affect the mental health of adult individuals. The purpose of this study is to test the serial mediating role of belongingness, hope, and harmony in life in the relationship between adult individuals' emotional intelligence and their level of flourishing. The research sample consists of a total of 461 Turkish adults, 125 female (27.1%) and 336 male (72.9%). The mean age of the participants is 48.03 years (age range = 40-60 years). Data were collected from the participants using the Trait Emotional Intelligence Questionnaire-Short Form, the Flourishing Scale, the General Belongingness Scale, the Dispositional Hope Scale, and the Harmony in Life Scale. All of these collected data were tested with chain mediation analysis. Gender, age, and socioeconomic status were added as covariance variables to the hypothesized model. The results showed significant positive relationships between emotional intelligence, flourishing, belongingness, hope, and harmony in life. In addition, the relationship between emotional intelligence and flourishing was found to have a chain-mediating role through belongingness, hope, and harmony in life. The results expand our understanding of the relationship between adult individuals' emotional intelligence and their level of flourishing.

This cross-sectional research aimed to explore how intolerance of uncertainty and hope predict subjective well-being in adults, while accounting for demographic and other relevant psychological variables. The sample consisted of 822 adults, with 58.60% female and 41.40% male participants, aged 18 to 65 years (M = 36.21, SD = 12.76). Regression analysis indicated that both hope and intolerance of uncertainty significantly contributed to unique variance in subjective well-being, even after controlling for all other variables in the model. It was found that hope had a greater impact on subjective well-being, explaining an additional 15% of the variance, compared to intolerance of uncertainty, which accounted for an additional 2% of the variance. Furthermore, hope remained a significant predictor of subjective well-being even when controlling for intolerance of uncertainty and other relevant factors. These results underscore the importance of fostering hope as a distinct and independent factor that enhances subjective well-being, beyond the effects of intolerance of uncertainty and other variables.

The COVID-19 pandemic exacerbated demand for mental and emotional well-being support. As a result of the pandemic and the prevailing economic climate, individuals and businesses in the UK have been ‘taking stock’. Positive Psychology Interventions provide the prospect of meeting these needs through strengths-based approaches which demonstrate a host of benefits. One of these is the use of photographs to transform the narratives that people ascribe to their experiences. This intervention may have a range of advantages, including a positive impact on well-being. However, there is relatively little research into the use of photos as a potential tool for self-identifying strengths. To gain an understanding of the lived experience of using photos to elicit strengths, a homogeneous participant sample of nine students studying psychology at a UK university were recruited. The participants undertook an intervention based on that used by Steger et al. (2014) in their pilot study. Each participant was asked to take 9-12 pictures of things that were meaningful to them over the period of one week. Semi-structured interviews were used for data collection, and reflexive thematic analysis was undertaken to analyse the data. Four themes were identified: Experiencing the strength, Feeling uplifted, Being reflective, and Looking to the future. It was found that that the participants experienced the intervention as profound and enriching. The use of the photographs was instrumental in the self-identification of strengths. This study provides valuable insights into the experience of this PPI and may have implications for positive psychology practitioners and coaches.