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Subjective Well-Being Intervention: Focus on Children’s Interpersonal Relationships Through Social and Emotional Learning

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Psychosocial Well-being of Children and Adolescents in Latin America

Part of the book series: Children’s Well-Being: Indicators and Research ((CHIR,volume 16))

Abstract

This chapter examines an intervention that sought to help participants identify their emotions and their influence on their relationships in order to develop more assertive forms of communication and positive interpersonal relationships that promote well-being. Participants are 100 adolescent from two public schools of a south Brazilian city, aged from 10 to 14 years old (M = 12.18, SD = 1.39), 50.7% boys. They were divided in two groups according to a pre-test results: adolescents with lower well-being rates were allocated in the experimental group (n = 48) and those with higher well-being rates in the control group (n = 52). The intervention addressed family, school and community relationships, focusing on identifying and managing emotions and empathy. The results and the intervention process were assessed using qualitative and quantitative methodologies. We used the responses given by the participants during the intervention, field diary made by researchers, questionnaires with open-ended questions and scales for the assessment. The questionnaires were applied at three time points: before the intervention (pre-intervention), immediately after the intervention (post-intervention) and 30 days after the intervention (follow-up). The results show that in general participants demonstrated difficulty in identifying feelings. The participants’ closest relatives are mothers, fathers and siblings, who were associated with positive feelings and sense of security. Participants demonstrated awareness of what could be done to improve the quality of their relationships with peers and teachers, even if they did not act upon it. The assessment shows that the intervention encouraged reflections on relationships and emotional competence.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Developmental and Personality Psychology, Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul (UFRGS), Porto Alegre, Brazil

    Bibiana Ramos dos Santos & Francielli Galli

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  1. Bibiana Ramos dos Santos
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  2. Francielli Galli
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Correspondence to Bibiana Ramos dos Santos .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Developmental and Personality Psychology, Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul (UFRGS), Porto Alegre, Brazil

    Jorge Castellá Sarriera

  2. Department of Developmental and Personality Psychology, Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul (UFRGS), Porto Alegre, Brazil

    Lívia Maria Bedin

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dos Santos, B.R., Galli, F. (2017). Subjective Well-Being Intervention: Focus on Children’s Interpersonal Relationships Through Social and Emotional Learning. In: Sarriera, J., Bedin, L. (eds) Psychosocial Well-being of Children and Adolescents in Latin America. Children’s Well-Being: Indicators and Research, vol 16. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-55601-7_14

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-55601-7_14

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