Application of a classroom-based positive psychology education course for Chinese medical students to increase their psychological well-being: a pilot study

Anxiety and depression have been increasing among Chinese medical students. The psychological well-being of Chinese medical students has become a critical focus of attention for the medical education community. Increasing evidence shows that positive psychology interventions can be effective in the...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:BMC medical education 2020-09, Vol.20 (1), p.323-323, Article 323
Main Authors: Zhang, Xiao-Qin, Zhang, Bao-Shuai, Wang, Meng-Die
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
China
Chinese medical students
Depression (Mood disorder)
Education
Humans
Medical students
Mental health
Pilot Projects
Positive psychology
Psychological aspects
Psychological well-being
Psychology
Psychology, Positive
Stress, Psychological
Students, Medical
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Summary:Anxiety and depression have been increasing among Chinese medical students. The psychological well-being of Chinese medical students has become a critical focus of attention for the medical education community. Increasing evidence shows that positive psychology interventions can be effective in the enhancement of psychological well-being, and may help to prevent depressive symptoms in university students. In the present study, we aimed to explore the potential effect of positive psychology education on improving the mental health of Chinese medical students. An 8-week classroom-based positive psychology intervention workshop, which was established as an elective course embedded in the regular school curriculum, was conducted at the School of Medicine, South China University of Technology (SCUT), China. Undergraduate medical students of the institute in year-2 or year-3 of academic study participated in this training course voluntarily. The participants' self-reported data on the hope scale, life satisfaction scale, subjective happiness scale, and depression and anxiety scale were collected and analyzed at pre-course (n = 61) and post-course (n = 49) times. The investigation was also validated with an independent cohort of students who enrolled in the course in the year following the preliminary study. The analyses showed that the psychological well-being of the participants were improved after the intervention. Their mean scores on the hope scale, life satisfaction scale and subjective happiness scale were significantly improved (P 
ISSN:1472-6920
1472-6920
DOI:10.1186/s12909-020-02232-z