Faculty of Education - Theses
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ItemConceptualising and Measuring Wellbeing Literacy( 2022)Abstract This thesis aims to conceptualise and measure wellbeing literacy, an emergent concept regarding the capability of mindful language use about and for wellbeing. Wellbeing literacy has potential value to theory, measurement and practice in fields including wellbeing science, positive education, and public health. However, prior to this thesis, the concept of wellbeing literacy had not been operationalised or measured. A consensus on what wellbeing literacy is and how it is measured is essential for future research and practice using this concept. This thesis is comprised of three studies conceptualising and measuring wellbeing literacy for the first time. Specifically, Study 1 developed a parsimonious measure of wellbeing literacy, and used it to examine the nomological networks and incremental value of wellbeing literacy. Study 2 systematically reviewed the definitions of literacy, which were used to refine the concept of wellbeing literacy in the final study. Study 3 used a Delphi approach to gather experts’ opinions and adjusted the conceptualisation of wellbeing literacy accordingly. The findings from the overall thesis provided some of the first evidence that wellbeing literacy is a distinct construct from wellbeing and illbeing, and it also predicted significant unique variance in these constructs over and above established predictors, such as resilience and emotion regulation. Then an operational framework of wellbeing literacy was proposed based on the systematic review of literacy and refined according to 26 international experts’ feedback. This framework may be useful in developing other measurement tools of wellbeing literacy, including objective measures that do not rely on self-report. This PhD research makes an original contribution to the field of wellbeing science, positive education, and public health by clarifying what wellbeing literacy is and by conducting preliminary examinations of its use as a measurement tool. Future research could use the measure to explore the relationship between wellbeing and other key variables in wellbeing science, positive education, and public health. The operational framework could be applied in developing other measures of wellbeing literacy or education programs for wellbeing literacy.
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ItemA path to flourishing: the role of emotion regulation in adolescent wellbeing and positive education( 2018)Emotion regulation (ER) is a widely recognized contributor to adaptive psychological functioning, and an important developmental task of adolescence. Positive education programs (PEPs) are school-based interventions that seek to enhance wellbeing and protect young people against the development of psychological distress and dysfunction. To date, the role and relevance of ER to PEPs remains unknown. The central objective of this thesis was to evaluate the relationship of ER with the full spectrum of mental health in an adolescent sample, and to determine the relevance of ER to outcomes of a best-practice PEP. A literature review explored methodological and conceptual considerations in the examination of ER in adolescent wellbeing. A second, targeted review of the literature (Publication 1) synthesized two fields of research, ER and positive psychology interventions, to reveal that processes of ER are meaningfully related to domains of wellbeing, including positive emotions, engagement, relationships, meaning, and health (i.e., the PERMA model). An exploratory study of 101 adolescents (age 14 -16; 36% female) was then conducted to assess the degree of covariance between change in physiological (i.e., heart rate variability; HRV) and self-report measures of ER (i.e., the Difficulties in Emotion Regulation Scale; DERS) over the school year, to determine if including both measures in subsequent analyses provides a more comprehensive measure of ER than using one alone. Small, significant relationships were found between HRV and DERS total score, indicating that HRV and self-report represent related but largely distinct processes contributing to the ER construct. A second study of 119 adolescents (age 14-17; 50% female) then evaluated the cross-sectional relationship between multiple ER measures and domains of positive and negative psychological functioning. As predicted, after controlling for covariates (i.e., age and school), hierarchical regression analyses revealed that self-reported ER predicted resilience, perseverance, connectedness, and happiness; and fewer depression and anxiety symptoms. Higher HRV also predicted resilience and perseverance. Effect sizes were small to moderate. To explore the longitudinal relationship between ER and wellbeing, and to determine the role of ER in PEP outcomes, a third empirical study was conducted. This study examined the relationship between two self-report measures of ER and changes in wellbeing scores of 44 Year 10 adolescents (50% female, m age = 15.07) following a year-long PEP compared to a treatment-as-usual control condition (n = 36; m age = 15.11; 18.8% female,). Results of linear mixed modelling revealed that ER meaningfully predicted wellbeing over time. A time-by-group-by-ER interaction revealed that adolescents with low ER capacity enrolled in PEP reported improvements in happiness and social connection following PEP exposure, and benefits were sustained at least 6-months post treatment. Irrespective of treatment group, greater ER capacity was associated with higher wellbeing and resilience, and fewer symptoms of depression and anxiety over time. PEP did not improve students’ ER capacity. Overall, this thesis underscores the importance of ER capacity to the full spectrum of adolescent mental health, and indicates that PEP interventions may be extended and enhanced by conceptualizing them within a broader, theoretical ER framework. Finally, results provide preliminary support for the value of ER in differentiating students who are more likely to benefit from PEP participation, and suggest that current PEP models might benefit from the inclusion of explicit ER training and interventions.