E-Thesis 298 views 111 downloads
Introducing a New Model of Wellbeing: Applications to the General Public and Student Population. / JESSICA MEAD
Swansea University Author: JESSICA MEAD
DOI (Published version): 10.23889/SUthesis.66119
Abstract
The science of wellbeing has become more nuanced in its approach, with scholars progressing through the various waves of positive psychology. The aim of this thesis was to further broaden the scope of wellbeing through an integration of different research areas, covering not just the individual, but...
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Swansea University, Wales, UK
2023
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| Institution: | Swansea University |
| Degree level: | Doctoral |
| Degree name: | Ph.D |
| Supervisor: | Kemp, A. H.; Tree, J.; and Fisher, Z. |
| URI: | https://cronfa.swan.ac.uk/Record/cronfa66119 |
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| Abstract: |
The science of wellbeing has become more nuanced in its approach, with scholars progressing through the various waves of positive psychology. The aim of this thesis was to further broaden the scope of wellbeing through an integration of different research areas, covering not just the individual, but the community and the environment. Accordingly, this thesis has implications for large-scale challenges such as climate change, emphasising a key role for individual wellbeing that lays strong foundations for collective and planetary wellbeing. This thesis includes three chapters based on collected data as well as three chapters comprising reviews of the literature and two summary chapters. The first chapter presents an overview of the field of health and wellbeing, with a focus on increasing individual wellbeing through individual, community, and environmental pathways, and presenting a new model of wellbeing (the GENIAL model), which spans individual, community and environment domains. Chapter 2 discusses the upcoming chapters for the rest of the thesis and the overall arguments that are presented. Chapter three investigated the impact of these three domains (focusing on exemplars of each) on wellbeing during a time of collective trauma (the COVID-19 pandemic). Using a multiple regression model, findings highlight key protective roles for gratitude and tragic optimism. Chapter 5 investigated whether this impact was mediated by post-traumatic growth (PTG), with results indicating distinct pathways to PTG and wellbeing, although no evidence was obtained for a mediating role. Building on the knowledge generated in these initial chapters and drawing on developments in modern wellbeing science, chapter 7 presents an updated GENIAL model, highlighting not only the importance of the individual, community, and environment domain, as well as wider sociostructural and environmental issues that impact on the individual beyond their control. This updated model lays the foundation for the subsequent chapter, which determined the impact that a 5-week wellbeing science module had on student wellbeing. Findings from a mixed-effects ANOVA demonstrated significant benefits for wellbeing. Focusing on where my research is now developing, Chapter 11 provides an overview of how broad the scope of wellbeing could reach, discussing the need for top-down (e.g. policy-making) and bottom-up (e.g. individual behaviours) approaches. The chapter provides a hopeful future, not just for the wellbeing of individuals, but the wider environment and planet, and subsequently, future generations. To conclude, I provide an overview of the impact that the work of this thesis is now having in chapter 12. |
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| Keywords: |
wellbeing, positive psychology, connectedness, sustainability, post-traumatic growth |
| College: |
Faculty of Medicine, Health and Life Sciences |
| Funders: |
Fieldbay and Swansea University |