The character-driven person: how frozen's Anna, not Elsa, is an exemplar

We argue that the character of Anna in the Disney animated feature film Frozen, when examined through the lens of character strengths, is one of the strongest characters in recent film history. Nevertheless it is notable, on both sides of the Atlantic, that consumers (young girls and adults alike) have a particular fascination with the older sister Elsa, viewing her as the beloved character of the film

Enabling Positive Transition to University: Evaluating an App-Based Positive Psychology Intervention with UK First Year Undergraduate Students

© 2022 National Wellbeing Service Ltd. This is the accepted manuscript version of an article which has been published in final form at https://www.nationalwellbeingservice.org/volumes/volume-6-2022/volume-6-article-6/Background: Starting university is a key life transition, and a potential source of psychological distress in first year university students. Those who manage the university transition effectively report high levels of optimism, hope, self-efficacy, emotional intelligence and self-regulation. Methodology: This study evaluated the effect of an app-based multi-component positive psychology intervention (MPPI) delivered to undergraduates within the first semester of university. Ninety-two first year university students were randomly allocated to an app-based MPPI (n = 46) or an active control journaling condition (n = 46) for six weeks. Results: The MPPI condition reported significant increases in life satisfaction after three and six weeks of the intervention; plus, significant increases in positive affect and self-efficacy, and decreases in negative affect after six weeks. Discussion: The effect of exercise dosage and follow-up period is reviewed. The differential effects of the varied psychological intervention are considered in the light of the Synergistic Change Model. Conclusions: App-based MPPIs are presented as a scalable cost-effective approach to supporting student transition to university.Peer reviewe

Spark Inside Prison Staff Coaching Programme: Interim Report

A team from the University of Lincoln evaluated the Spark Inside Prison Staff coaching programme. This is the interim repor

Genetic analysis of the vitamin D receptor gene in two epithelial cancers: melanoma and breast cancer case-control studies

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Vitamin D serum levels have been found to be related to sun exposure and diet, together with cell differentiation, growth control and consequently, cancer risk. Vitamin D receptor (<it>VDR</it>) genotypes may influence cancer risk; however, no epidemiological studies in sporadic breast cancer (BC) or malignant melanoma (MM) have been performed in a southern European population. In this study, the <it>VDR </it>gene has been evaluated in two epithelial cancers BC and MM.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>We have conducted an analysis in 549 consecutive and non-related sporadic BC cases and 556 controls, all from the Spanish population, and 283 MM cases and 245 controls. Genotyping analyses were carried out on four putatively functional SNPs within the <it>VDR </it>gene.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>An association with the minor allele A of the non-synonymous SNP rs2228570 (rs10735810, <it>Fok</it>I, Met1Thr) was observed for BC, with an estimated odds ratio (OR) of 1.26 (95% CI = 1.02–1.57; p = 0.036). The synonymous variant rs731236 (<it>Taq</it>I) appeared to be associated with protection from BC (OR = 0.80, 95%CI = 0.64–0.99; p = 0.047). No statistically significant associations with MM were observed for any SNP. Nevertheless, sub-group analyses revealed an association between rs2228570 (<it>FokI</it>) and absence of childhood sunburns (OR = 0.65, p = 0.003), between the 3'utr SNP rs739837 (<it>Bgl</it>I) and fair skin (OR = 1.31, p = 0.048), and between the promoter SNP rs4516035 and the more aggressive tumour location in head-neck and trunk (OR = 1.54, p = 0.020).</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>In summary, we observed associations between SNPs in the <it>VDR </it>gene and BC risk, and a comprehensive analysis using clinical and tumour characteristics as outcome variables has revealed potential associations with MM. These associations required confirmation in independent studies.</p

The three chapters of marriage

Contrary to popular opinion, marriage is one of the best, if not the best, personal growth opportunities you can ever embark upon. Let me tell you why, in three chapters..

The paradox of healing: forgiveness therapy in practice

A Review of Forgiveness Therapy in Practice by Robert D. Enright Washington, DC: American Psychological Association, 2016, American Psychological Association Video Series IV—Relationships, Item 4310950, $99.95 In recent decades, considerable interest has been directed toward forgiveness as a therapeutic intervention. One of the most prominent models of forgiveness as an intervention is Robert Enright’s Process Model of Forgiveness (Enright & Fitzgibbons, 2000), which underlies the approach known as Forgiveness Therapy (FT). It is this approach that is explained and demonstrated in the American Psychological Association DVD, Forgiveness Therapy in Practice

Practice first, theory later

A Review of Handbook of Strengths-Based Clinical Practices: Finding Common Factors by Jeffrey K. Edwards, Andy Young, and Holly J. Nikels (Eds.) New York, NY: Routledge/Taylor & Francis, 2017. 374 pp. Handbook of Strengths-Based Clinical Practices: Finding Common Factors, an edited volume of 23 chapters, opens by outlining what is meant by strengths-based practice. The opening chapters introduce the reader to pioneers of the approach in therapeutic practice, health, and social care. One definition, provided by Lopez and Louis (2009), suggests that the strengths-based perspective “assumes that every individual has resources that can be mobilised towards success in many areas of life and is characterised by efforts to ‘label what is right’ within people and organisations” (p. 2). Another key characteristic of strengths-based practice is the renunciation of the medical model, with its overemphasis on problems without due attention to the strengths and positive qualities of those treated. Dennis Saleebey’s (2012) strengths-based approach to social work is especially prominent. Strengths-based practice, we are told, is not a recent development; practitioners have been operating in this way for over 130 years. It is a broad field, encompassing numerous disciplines and approaches that may not always be placed together but nevertheless bear some strong family resemblances

The roots and routes of mindfulness

A Review of Mindfulness in Positive Psychology: The Science of Meditation and Wellbeing by Itai Ivtzan and Tim Lomas (Eds.) New York, NY: Routledge/Taylor & Francis Group, 2016. 348 pp. Mindfulness in Positive Psychology: The Science of Meditation and Wellbeing is one of the most recent book-length publications originating from the prolific team of positive psychologists based at the University of East London. Over the past decade, the group associated with the London-based Masters in Applied Positive Psychology has maintained a relentless output of authored and edited volumes, which now amounts to a small library of leading texts in the field. With various collaborators, they have sought not only to disseminate positive psychology through introductory textbooks (Hefferon & Boniwell, 2011; Lomas, Hefferon & Ivtzan, 2014) but also to challenge and reshape the field in various directions, such as its need to acknowledge embodiment (Hefferon, 2013), embrace the darker side of existence (Ivtzan, Lomas, Hefferon & Worth, 2015), and its tendency to cling acritically to some of its major theories (Brown, Lomas, & Eiroá-Orosa, in press)

A further response to Steffen, Vossler and Joseph, and van Deurzen - from shared roots to fruitful collaboration: how counselling psychology can benefit from reconnecting with positive psychology

IT WAS WITH GREAT DELIGHT that I read the recently published dialogue between positive psychology and existential-phenomenological psychotherapy (Steffen, Vossler & Joseph, 2015; van Deurzen, 2015). The significance of the two approaches represented in these articles should not be underestimated. If recent publications are anything to go by, both positive psychology and existential psychotherapy continue to grow in scope and influence here in the UK, and beyond. Admittedly positive psychology tends to get the lion’s share of the press coverage (e.g. McQuaid, 2015), but the value of existential psychotherapy is nevertheless increasingly recognised by those who care to pay attention(Smith, 2015)

Dawn of justice, dawn of hope

A Review of Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice (2016) by Zack Snyder (Director) According to the reviews, the 2016 DC Comics film, Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, directed by Zack Snyder, was a disappointment. It was the eagerly anticipated first appearance of Batman and Superman together on the big screen and a box office success, grossing $166 million in North America and$422.5 million worldwide in its opening weekend, to become the fourth largest global opening of all time (Box Office Mojo, 2016). But ultimately, the film received mixed reviews from fans and critics alike, with fan-site Rotten Tomatoes giving it a 27 percent rating, signifying a bad film (Rotten Tomatoes, 2016), and Metacritic a metascore of 44 percent from 51 critics, indicating mixed or average reviews (Metacritic, 2016). For many, it failed to be the film they had hoped for (Kermode, 2016)