Parents’ Perceptions Of A Lust For Life Schools Programme. A School-Based Positive Psychology Intervention For Primary School Children

Abstract

The A Lust for Life (ALFL) Schools Programme, which was developed in Ireland, is a 10-session universal positive psychology intervention which aims to increase children’s wellbeing. The objectives of this qualitative study were to investigate parents’ views on school-based wellbeing programmes generally, parents’ role in the ALFL Schools Programme, and the impact of this programme on their children and themselves. Twenty-one parents of 5^th and 6^th class children (aged 10-12 years) who had recently completed the ALFL Schools Programme participated in the study. Data were collected with semi-structured interviews conducted on the Zoom video conferencing platform. Interview transcripts were analysed with reflective thematic analysis. The analysis yielded three primary themes and 23 subthemes. The three primary themes were: (1) Programme feedback, (2) Illustrations of positive changes in children, and (3) Parents' perception of the importance of school-based programmes in the prevention of mental health problems. Parents had predominantly positive views of the ALFL schools programme, its positive effects on their children’s wellbeing skills, and its positive effects on their parenting skills. Benefits for children identified by parents included better awareness of factors contributing to wellbeing, and better wellbeing skills in a range of areas including communication within relationships, reflective capacity, problem-solving, conflict management, online safety, and emotion regulation using techniques such as mindfulness and breathing exercises. Parents also had suggestions for development of the ALFL Schools Programme, notably, increased parental involvement.