International wellbeing study underway

Friday, 25 June 2010, 10:20 am
Press Release: Open Polytechnic

International wellbeing study underway

A ground breaking international wellbeing study being led by the Open Polytechnic and involving researchers from around the world is open to new participants until 30 June 2010.

Participants in the online wellbeing study will be offered the opportunity to opt-in to free internet based wellbeing orientated courses, draws for vouchers, and be provided with a report on their wellbeing scores at the end of the five assessments.

The research, which is based on the relatively new field of positive psychology, is being led by Open Polytechnic psychology lecturer Aaron Jarden, who is also the President of the New Zealand Association of Positive Psychology.

New participants will have until the end of June to register to be part of the study and complete the first set of questions. They will then be asked to complete another four scheduled assessments until the end of June 2011.

The study asks participants to answer a number of questions to help the researchers establish the wellbeing of the respondents and how this changes over time.

The 63-strong research team includes Mr Jarden’s colleagues from the Open Polytechnic, as well as researchers from institutions around New Zealand, the UK and USA.

The international study, which began last year, already has 4,000 participants and has been translated into 15 different languages.

“Positive psychology is still a relatively new field, and this research is already giving us new insights on the factors that contribute to peoples’ feelings of wellbeing”, says Mr Jarden.

Anyone who would like to participate in the study is invited to complete the first survey at www.wellbeingstudy.com by 30 June.

ENDS

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