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Various emotional well-being issues often arise in college students. Participation in creative activities, regardless of previous art experience, contributes to a significant decrease in cortisol levels, resulting in less stress. However, to better understand the impact of art therapy related activities on well-being, it is important to examine what specific areas of emotional well-being may be applied to specific art activities. The Make and Take Mondays Program was implemented through the East Tennessee State University Counseling Center and provided students with the opportunity to participate in seven different art therapy related activities. Each activity examined a specific area of emotional well-being, which consisted of the following: balance stones, stress-relief hemp bracelets, self-awareness magnets, mindfulness painting, mental health awareness rock painting, gratitude journals and self-expression prayer flags. Students were then given informational handouts in reference to research on each specific activity, information about the counseling resources available on campus and the opportunity to complete an optional quick survey and/or additional survey. As a result of implementing the Make and Take Mondays program and compiling survey results, it was determined that the majority of students found the program to be helpful and reported feeling calm and positive while participating in the activities. It was also determined that art therapy related activities may be contrived to address specific areas of emotional well-being, which can lead to a decrease in emotional well-being issues in college students.

Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI) / Social isolation has been documented as a significant challenge for older adults, including those who are immigrants. The conventional wisdom blames social isolation among older immigrant adults on language barriers, living arrangements, and age at migration, however, this does not allow for analytical clarity on how social isolation interacts with other important risk factors to influence emotional well-being among older African immigrants. This study offers an important contribution to the existing knowledge by examining how social isolation and other risk factors interact to impact emotional well-being among older African immigrants. It uses life course theory, acculturation theory, resilience theory, and cumulative risk theory to identify the relevant stressors or risk factors such as living arrangements, financial satisfaction, acculturation predictors, transportation, and grandchild care. A mixed-methods approach integrating quantitative and qualitative research methods was used in the study. For the collection of quantitative data, 163 participants aged 60 and over completed an online or mailed survey. Hierarchical regression was used to analyze the quantitative data. Findings showed that ethnic social relations and living arrangements had a unique contribution to the social isolation of the participants. Also, social isolation, ethnic social relations, and financial satisfaction significantly influenced the emotional well-being of study participants. For the study’s qualitative data, the researcher conducted in-depth interviews with 11 participants, age 63-79, by telephone. Five major themes were generated from the data using a thematic analysis approach, which included (a) minimal social engagement outside of the home, (b) barriers to social engagement, (c) satisfaction with finances, (d) fewer socialization consequences, and (e) coping strategies. The overall finding showed that the participants lacked social engagement outside of the home, which negatively affected their emotional well-being. Implications for social work practice and policy as well as recommendations were emphasized in the study.

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The national prevalence studies of the mental health of looked after children in Great Britain provide sobering reading. Forty-five per cent of looked after children in England were found to have a diagnosable mental health disorder. In contrast, this is to one in 10 in the general population. Carers estimated that mental health problems were even more widespread. Children with mental health disorders were also more likely to have education, health and social issues. This paper discusses the findings and argues for early intervention along with inter-departmental and interdisciplinary approaches. The recent Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services Review clearly indicates that issues of access to appropriate and timely Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services remain. However, the introduction of evidence-based approaches is encouraging. Young people's views on the services they want and on what is important for emotional well-being and mental health are important considerations.

yes / Links between social relationships and emotional well-being in old age are well documented, but little is known about daily life fluctuations in momentary affective experiences of the oldest-old while interacting with specific social partners. We examined associations between the presence of different types of social partners and moment-to-moment fluctuations in affect in the oldest-old, taking into account individual differences in gender, neuroticism, depressive symptoms, chronic health conditions, and loneliness. Participants (N = 74, M age = 88.7 years, range = 84–102 years, 68% women) provided self-reports concurrently on the presence of social partners and subjective affective states 6 times a day for each of 7 consecutive days (3,071 occasions, in total). Relative to being with other people, time spent alone was associated with lower positive affect in the oldest-old. Being with other family members and friends was associated with more positive affective experiences. Compared with men, women reported more negative affective experiences when they were with their spouses than when their spouses were not present. Individuals with more chronic health problems reported more negative affective experiences when they were with their spouses than not. Participants higher in neuroticism reported more positive affective experiences when they were with their friends, compared with times when their friends were not present. Finally, lonelier individuals reported more positive affective experiences when they were with their spouses than when they were not. These findings suggest that affective experience is a function of individual differences and the type of social partners oldest-old adults interact with in everyday life. We discuss how our findings can be generalized to oldest-olds of different marital statuses, taking into account the proportion of widows in our sample as well as measurement specifics.

Existential  loneliness  is  a  specific kind  of  loneliness,  associated  with decreased emotional  well-being.Existential loneliness differs from physical aloneness and is connected to negative feelings and  moods;  in  contrast,alonenesscan  be  experienced  as  something  positive  and  emotionallycharging.The institutionalized elderly care is an integral,part of the Swedish Welfare state. The Swedish population is getting older, factors likedemographic changesand migration flowinfluence on  the  traditional  welfare  system. Societal  culturesand  lifestyleare  underestimated  health determinants affect subjective(emotional)well-beingof the citizens. Sweden demonstrateshigh rates of single households,and a traditional societal structure encourages social isolation. A sense of belonging, the importance of the presence of attachmentfigures,and supportiverelationshipsincrease the individual’spossibility to a positive aging processwith a transition from a materialistic to a cosmic coherencedue to the Theory of Gerotranscendence. The sense of belonging increasesfeelings  of  being  attachedand the presence  of  attachment  figuresenhance  understanding  of protection and security in times of need;both of those concepts boost emotional well-being. Being attached and  belonged  keep  functioning  throughout  life  as aninstinct  of  human  beingsandno one  is  completely  free  from  being  relianton  others. Constructive social,  individual,and institutional supporthaspositive effects on the overall individual and societal health.Individuals’ life circumstancesand experiences define thekind of social, individualand institutional supportdesiredand needed.

Area of focus/rationale for the study: This study is an evaluation of an intervention, named Thrive, which is designed to promote the emotional development of children with Emotional and Behavioural Difficulties (EBD). The focus is to investigate the extent to which Thrive is effective in improving certain emotional and behavioural outcomes for children as well as exploring the experiences of those who are involved with the programme. The study is set out in two papers. Paper one assesses changes in pupil emotional well being over time using two subscales designed to measure specific aspects of resiliency, namely, ‘emotional reactivity’ and ‘sense of relatedness’. It also uses an assessment to measure changes in emotional and social skills which are considered important in order for pupils to engage in learning in a mainstream classroom environment (readiness to learn). Paper one also looks at the possible association between the Thrive training and staff attitudes towards pupils with EBD. Paper two explores, in depth, the experiences of the Thrive approach from the perspective of a small sample of school staff, pupils and parents. This process of exploration serves to better understand the outcomes from paper one by identifying a number of factors which may contribute to the successful or unsuccessful implementation of Thrive in a particular educational context. Context, Background and Research Objectives: Broad labels of ‘Emotional and Behavioural Difficulties’ (EBD) and’ Behavioural Emotional and Social Difficulties’ (BESD) tend to encompass behaviour which interferes with a child’s own or other’s learning; signs of emotional turbulence; and difficulties in forming and maintaining relationships. SEBD is used interchangeably with BESD (Behavioural, Emotional and Social Difficulties) in policy documents and theoretical writing (Evans, 2010). Schools tend to use the term EBD and this will generally refer to children whose behaviour and emotions prevent them and others from learning to their potential (DCSF, 2008). For ease and consistency I will use the term EBD throughout this study. The Special Needs and Disability Act (2001) sets out the right for children with EBD to be educated in mainstream schools. Due to the disruptive impact on learning for self and others, this group of children have been cited as one of the most difficult groups to include (Evans & Lunt, 2002). Behaviour management continues to be high on the education policy and practice agenda in England and the rest of the UK. Schools are faced with the challenge of finding ways of ensuring children with EBD are included in the ordinary classroom with their peers and to ensure that the needs of this vulnerable group of children are adequately met. Alongside this, Government Policy (e.g. NICE Guidelines, 2007) now requires schools to promote the emotional well-being of children who exhibit signs of emotional and behavioural disturbance. There is a demand for evidence based approaches to support children with EBD in mainstream schools from which professionals, such as Educational Psychologists, can draw on in order to make positive changes (see literature review in Appendix B.9 for more details). Thrive is a trademarked programme developed by a multidisciplinary team named ‘Fronting the Challenge’ (ftc). The programme is described as a ‘dynamic developmental approach to working with vulnerable and challenging children whose behaviour interrupts their own and others learning’. The Thrive programme borrows from a range of research and theory around neuroscience, child development, attachment theory and the role of creativity and play (for example Sunderland, 2006; Hughs, 2004; Illsey- Clarke & Dawson, 1989; Stern, 2003). It can be described as a school based intervention which is informed by a psychotherapeutic model as it aims to support children by addressing core relational and developmental features (Evans et al., 2003). Similar to nurture groups, Thrive is based on the understanding that for a child to develop a healthy ability to adapt to his or her social environment they must have experienced a sensitive, responsive and caring relationship with a significant carer/parent (Stern, 2003; Sunderland, 2006). But additional to a nurture group approach, the intervention draws on a concept from Transactional Analysis (Berne, 1964; Levin, 1982; Illsley Clarke & Dawson, 1998) which assumes that a child moves through a number of clearly defined stages of emotional development. The Thrive approach uses a computer based assessment, which relies on pupil observations, to identify specific ‘interruptions’ in this development; and targeted relational experiences, i.e., experiences of being in relationship with another human being, are recommended to promote further development. This will be discussed in more detail within the introduction of this thesis. As part of a wave two pathfinder for the Targeted Mental Health in Schools (TaMHS) Project under DCSF, in 2009, Thrive training was delivered to staff working with children and young people in three learning communities within a local authority in the South West of England. This included staff from approximately forty schools (including primary schools, secondary schools, a PRU and a special school) as well as multi-disciplinary staff such as CAMHS, Educational Psychologists and Behaviour support staff. At the time of beginning this study, thirty eight primary schools within the local authority had already been trained in Thrive and were implementing the intervention with some of their pupils. There was much testimony from staff working with children and young people that the training was highly valued and influential on their professional practice. Furthermore, there were a number of claims suggesting that pupils involved in Thrive were experiencing a whole range of positive outcomes attributable to the programme. For example, that the most disruptive pupils were calmer and making fewer visits to the Head Teacher’s office; that emotionally vulnerable children had become more confident and more trusting; that attendance had improved; and that the number of fixed term exclusions had diminished. Although there were a small number of detailed case studies prepared by schools themselves, the claims were, in the main, based on anecdote. Where schools had made some attempt to measure the impact of Thrive the methodology lacked basic rigour and findings were susceptible to bias; pre and post measurements were very limited and control measures were absent in all cases. The project lead for TaMHS reported ‘emerging’ data in relation to reduced numbers of fixed term exclusions, reductions in referrals to other services and referrals for statutory assessment. However, the source of this data was also said to be unreliable. Despite all of this, a general positive ‘vibe’ about the intervention based on a melange of potentially unreliable evidence was persuasive enough for the local authority to consider further investment into the intervention. Further details of current evidence related to the impact of Thrive can be found in Appendix A.1. Objectives of this study: • To provide a more reliable understanding of the effectiveness of the Thrive programme in supporting children with EBD within mainstream primary schools. More specifically: - To find the extent to which Thrive reduces pupil ‘emotional reactivity’, improves pupil ‘sense of relatedness’ and improves ‘readiness to learn in a mainstream classroom’. - To find whether there is an association between the Thrive training and staff attitudes towards the inclusion of children with EBD in mainstream primary schools. • To explore how a small sample of pupils, parents and staff experience Thrive.