Evidence-based practice (EBP) and randomized control trials (RCT) are an approach that relies on scientific evidence for effectiveness evaluation and decision-making. It has been grounded in medicine discipline and spread to more wide areas that including, but not limited, to psychology, social work, public health, and psychiatry. The scholars in these health-related scopes adopted both approaches to design and evaluate numerous interventions, which impact the increase of science-based health promotion programs. Just as the lines of traditional psychology, most of these health-promotion programs focused on the repairment of "weakness" and "problems" of individuals and communities, rather than using a strengths-based perspective to enhance abilities to cope with risks. Obviously, this is not sufficient to help the individual get a sustained happy and healthy life.
With the principles of positive psychology that emerged in the US 20 years ago, more and more researchers began to consider the importance of individual and environmental strengths when designing new interventions. The understanding of the scope of "health" expended from no ill-being to living well. In other words, the interventions should not only be designed to help at-risk populations back to normal life but also to help at-normal populations to a better life. Accordingly, a few strengths-based intervention studies were conducted in positive psychology and the publications were increased in recent years. The existed studies have partly demonstrated the effectiveness of strengths-based interventions. Specifically, a lot of studies constructed and examined the validation of character strengths-based interventions under the framework of VIA classification, which is a famous model to study strengths in positive psychology. However, with a deep understanding of this approach, it is necessary to know and study strengths at a broader scope and explore how (i.e., moderators) and why (i.e., mediators) these interventions work.
In this Research Topic, our aim is to bring together the most current literature on the evidence-based strengths interventions from scholars with psychology, psychiatry, public health, and social work backgrounds. We seek papers that include empirical research focus on treatment, prevention, and promotion models; integrating personal and environmental strengths as a means to foster health, both in clinical and non-clinical settings, as well as in community and educational settings. Furthermore, we are especially interested in papers that explore the underlying mechanisms of change present in the situation that may be used in the development of new interventions.
Evidence-based practice (EBP) and randomized control trials (RCT) are an approach that relies on scientific evidence for effectiveness evaluation and decision-making. It has been grounded in medicine discipline and spread to more wide areas that including, but not limited, to psychology, social work, public health, and psychiatry. The scholars in these health-related scopes adopted both approaches to design and evaluate numerous interventions, which impact the increase of science-based health promotion programs. Just as the lines of traditional psychology, most of these health-promotion programs focused on the repairment of "weakness" and "problems" of individuals and communities, rather than using a strengths-based perspective to enhance abilities to cope with risks. Obviously, this is not sufficient to help the individual get a sustained happy and healthy life.
With the principles of positive psychology that emerged in the US 20 years ago, more and more researchers began to consider the importance of individual and environmental strengths when designing new interventions. The understanding of the scope of "health" expended from no ill-being to living well. In other words, the interventions should not only be designed to help at-risk populations back to normal life but also to help at-normal populations to a better life. Accordingly, a few strengths-based intervention studies were conducted in positive psychology and the publications were increased in recent years. The existed studies have partly demonstrated the effectiveness of strengths-based interventions. Specifically, a lot of studies constructed and examined the validation of character strengths-based interventions under the framework of VIA classification, which is a famous model to study strengths in positive psychology. However, with a deep understanding of this approach, it is necessary to know and study strengths at a broader scope and explore how (i.e., moderators) and why (i.e., mediators) these interventions work.
In this Research Topic, our aim is to bring together the most current literature on the evidence-based strengths interventions from scholars with psychology, psychiatry, public health, and social work backgrounds. We seek papers that include empirical research focus on treatment, prevention, and promotion models; integrating personal and environmental strengths as a means to foster health, both in clinical and non-clinical settings, as well as in community and educational settings. Furthermore, we are especially interested in papers that explore the underlying mechanisms of change present in the situation that may be used in the development of new interventions.
