Character strengths intervention for nurturing well-being among Pakistan's university students: A mixed-method study

Green, Zane Asher

A strengths intervention, The Good Life, was developed for this study to augment Pakistani university students' PERMA-oriented well-being. The intervention strategy focused on all 24 strengths, observing strengths in others, and developing the lesser strengths based on the dominant ones. Intervention best practices from positive, vocational, and educational psychology were also implemented to support greater learning capabilities among participants. Additionally, fidelity to training was observed to ensure intervention integrity. In this three-wave longitudinal study, participants were randomly assigned to an experimental group (n = 91) and a wait-list/no-treatment control group (n = 91). Quantitative results revealed that the experimental group reported greater well-being than the control group immediately after the intervention and 6 months later. Qualitative findings shed light on the character strengths demonstrated by the experimental group to build each PERMA dimension during Time 2 and Time 3. Findings also provided insights into how the experimental group experienced well-being during Time 2 and Time 3. Together, the quantitative and qualitative findings provide encouraging evidence regarding the long-term efficacy of the intervention in Pakistan's collective society. Implications for offering future strengths interventions amid the COVID-19 pandemic and recommendations for improving the Good Life intervention are also discussed.