Bolier, L., Haverman, M., Westerhof, G. J., Riper, H., Smit, F., & Bohlmeijer, E. (2013). Positive psychology interventions: a meta-analysis of randomized controlled studies. BMC public health, 13(1), 119.
For this assignment, I have selected a journal titled Positive psychology interventions: a meta-analysis of randomized controlled studies. It is a research article for BMC Public Health. I know it is an analysis of a professional issue research article. This is because it meets the description of the research article. It has a set of systematic records kept by the researcher (Bolier et al.,) and it reflects the issues around positive psychology. In this case, positive psychology is a professional issue. It is also original research. The article contains the innovative ideas of the researcher. These ideas include a full introduction to the article, research methods, the results, discussion, and conclusion of the material. Applied research is carried out in the section. To be specific, qualitative research looks to interpret why and how certain aspects of psychology behave.
The article aims to analyze the effectiveness of positive psychology interventions for the general public and individuals with specific psychological problems. The analysis method involves the use of a systematic literature search of over 40 articles and positive psychology interventions. From the article, I have learned that psychological medications of conditions like depression and anxiety have been continually made for the past few years. The effectiveness of the medication given has been accessed through therapy groups. An example of such therapies is in problem-solving therapy, interpersonal therapy, and communicational therapy. However, it is a challenge that instead of finding ways to prevent the development of psychological conditions, the focus is given to the treatment.
The article, in its introduction, well-being, and positive functioning, is a core element of mental health. Mental health has been defined as the state of well-being in which an individual realizes their abilities. However, the author states that the definition of mental health under looks the fact that an individual may be free of mental illness, but still be unhappy and dysfunctional. Similarly, people with mental illness may be happy and enjoy their life by coping well with their conditions. The study, therefore, disputes the idea of relating mental health and psychology to well-being alone. Instead, suggest the relationship of mental health with positive psychology interventions like counting blessings, setting personal goals, practicing gratitude, and kindness, among other interventions.
From the introduction, I have also learned that there have been several limitations in the meta-analysis. The treatment effects of psychotherapy have been overestimated in lower quality studies. Many researches have been made of them. Most are lower quality research that exaggerates the impact of mental health treatment. The researches have shown that the effects of psychological medication are very adverse, yet that is not the case. Another limitation is the lack of clarity in inclusion criteria. The inclusion of other studies related to the topic was included in the meta-analysis. However, the addition of these studies reduced the robustness of real results in psychological interventions. The last problem encountered in the research is the inclusion of both randomized studies and quasi-experimental studies. Results would be useful if only one of the two studies were carried out.
As said earlier, the method used for the study is a systematic literature search. From the research method, I have learned that 84 were included in the study after analyzing several pieces of literature. For each study, they calculated the effect sizes. Results were then presented in a table format. The research findings prove that positive psychology interventions significantly enhance subjective and psychological well-being and reduce depressive symptoms in people who have a mental illness. The mean effects of psychological inventions on the well-being of people with mental health were in small to moderate numbers. Numerically, the mean effects were found to be 0.34 on mental well-being and 0.23 on depression.
The study discussion also shows that several characteristics of the moderated the effects on depressive symptoms. More significant effects on depression and well-being were found in interventions that required long durations, while shorter effects are experienced when shorter durations are taken. For effective results to be achieved, psychological patients should be exposed to longer interventions like therapy and self-help groups. The quality rating also proved to moderate the effects of depression. The higher the quality rating, the least the effects of depression and vice versa.
Several characteristics of the study moderated the effect on depressive symptoms. More significant effects were found in interventions with a longer duration, in individual interventions (compared with self-help), when the interventions were offered to people with some psychosocial issues and when recruitment was carried out via referral from a health care professional or hospital. The quality rating also moderated the effect on depression. Quality rating is the criteria used by psychologists to evaluate how best a patient is reciprocating to medication. The higher the quality, the smaller the effects of depression on the patient.
In conclusion, the study demonstrates that positive intervention can be useful in enhancing subjective and psychological well-being and help reduce depressive symptoms levels. Positive intervention includes actions like taking physical activities, meditation, imagines self-technique, among many other activities. Psychologists should, therefore, make use of this conclusion in the treatment of mental conditions. The research findings can also be used in the improvement of future research. The researchers challenged future researchers to come up with high quality studies and more studies in clinical populations and then diverse intervention formats to know how the interventions work for different people.
Developmental psychology is the study of how human beings change over time. The research in this article fits into this topic because it can be used to study human behaviors. In the discussion part of the article, the research findings are instrumental in developmental psychology. The introduction of different interventions into human life will bring about different responses to how humans behave. From the article, developmental psychologists can use this information to study the behavior of their patients. The same results can also be used on people with mental health.
The exact corresponding chapter that makes the article fit into developmental psychology is on page six to page twenty. In the extract, the article provides a detailed analysis of the results from their research. The article also presents a discussion of the results. The discussion is more elaborate and easy for use in developmental psychology. Lastly is the conclusion about the whole research process.
This article is a few similarities and differences from other non-scholarly articles. I will use magazine publication on Forbes to point out the similarities and differences in the two articles. The magazine is referenced alongside, Nichole Fisher, May 29, 2020, Psychological Research Explains Why People Protest. Forbes. https://www.forbes.com/sites/nicolefisher/2020/05/29/the-psychology-of-protests-reveals-why-americans-are-ready-for-action/#4bb9d151bbbb.
The difference between the two articles is that one, the research article, is written by a professional in psychology. In contrast, the article from Forbes is written by Nicole, who is not a professional in the field. Nichole Fisher is only a healthcare advisor and has not specialized in psychology but advising. The other difference between the two articles is that the writers cited their work for the research article. The magazine on mental health from Forbes has not been cited. The writer does not make citations. The last difference between the two articles is that the research was published for the sake of sharing findings with other researchers, while for the article from Forbes, it was written for a profit-making purpose. Forbes publishes the articles to sell and gain profit. Alternatively, there exist similarities between the two. The main similarity is that the two articles address the issue of mental health. The other similarity is the aspect that the two are both research sources and can be used to give reliable information about a particular topic.
To conclude, psychological interventions reduce the effects of psychological conditions. Patients are advised to get involved in long durations of such activities to keep for effective results. We also conclude that the two researchers’ research, from the scholarly article, is the most reliable. The information from their findings can be used in understanding developmental psychology. Their work is detailed and easy to follow through and understand. For research and academic work purposes, students should, therefore, stick to using scholarly articles since they are most detailed, and one can easily trace their source of information. Information from non-scholarly articles are also reliable and can be used in research. The only difference is that we cannot substantiate their source of facts.