The Promoting Psychological Well-Being Globally Project: Approach to Data Collection and Analysis

Abstract

This chapter presents the research methodology of the Promoting Psychological Well-Being Globally project. The project was initiated as a joint effort of the International School Psychology Association and Society for the Study of School Psychology and through collaboration among school and educational psychologists from 12 countries: Brazil, Estonia, Greece, India, Italy, Mexico, Romania, Russia, Slovakia, Sri Lanka, Tanzania, and the USA. Each country included one local community with the exception of the USA where three sites representing different ethnic/racial populations were included Boston, Massachusetts; Mayaguez, Puerto Rico; New Orleans, Louisiana. Each research partner collected data within their respective local sites, using a standard set of procedures for recruitment, data collection, and data analysis. Student participants in each site numbered between 48 and 64, with a minimum of 16 students for each of primary, middle, and secondary school levels. Data collection methods for students included focus groups, ecomaps (graphic representation of stress–support networks), and narratives of stressful and supportive experiences. Data also were collected from adult stakeholders (parents, teachers, school administrators, and support staff) through focus groups or individual interviews. However, the focus of the book is on data collected from children and adolescent samples, so only few chapters include adult findings. We describe the study objectives, participants across sites, and procedures for negotiating partnerships in local contexts, recruiting participants, and securing institutional approval and informed consents. Procedures for data collection, analysis, and trustworthiness also are detailed. Unless indicated in respective chapters (Chaps. 3–16), all sites followed the procedures outlined in this chapter.

Appendices

Appendix 2.A

Student Focus Group Protocol

INTRODUCTION. Today (and subsequent day) we will be meeting to talk about the experiences of students your age. I will ask questions about stresses that others your age face, what adults expect, common feelings, sources of support, and how children/adolescents your age cope with stress. Today we will have a group discussion about children/adolescents in general. In the next session, you will complete an individual activity about stressors and supports in your own life. Please remember that you do not need to share anything that you are not comfortable with. All information you share will be kept private unless you tell me something that suggests you or someone else is in danger of being harmed. You can also choose to stop the activity at any point or choose to not answer particular questions. If you want to talk further about anything we discuss, I can arrange for you to talk with me or someone else at a later time.

STEP 1: GENERAL QUESTIONS [Note: each of these questions has 2 parts—e.g., what is a “good” student? What is a “not good or poor” student? Be sure to use terminology that is culturally and age appropriate.]

• 1. Describe a good (not good) student

  [alternative: What is expected of children/adolescents your age in school?]

• 2. Describe a good (not good) friend

  [alternative: What is expected of friends your age?]

• 3. Describe a good (not good) citizen

  [alternative: What are children/adolescents your age expected to contribute to your community, society, country?]

• 4. Describe a good (not good) parent.

• 5. Describe a good (not good) teacher.

STEP 2: QUESTIONS ABOUT EMOTIONS

• 1. Ask the group to a brainstorm a list of feeling words—identify age-appropriate terminology for the following concepts—happy, sad, angry, scared/frightened, confused, etc. [Use those terms in asking questions that follow.] The objective is to identify culture-specific or context-specific feeling words.

• 2. Feelings—for each feeling concept/category [happy, sad, angry, frightened, confused], ask the following questions:

  • a. What makes children/adolescents [your age group] feel [emotion]?

  • b. How can you tell if someone is feeling [emotion]?

  • c. How do children/adolescents [your age group] express [emotion]?

  • d. What can someone do when feeling [emotion] to make themselves feel better?

  • e. What can you do for a friend who is feeling [emotion]?

STEP 3: QUESTIONS ABOUT SOURCES OF DISTRESS

• 1. From the list of sources of feelings of distress [sad, angry, frightened, confused—i.e., responses to item 2a], identify three to five common sources of distress for the age group. Examples of sources of distress include academic pressure, parental conflict, or violence in the community. The objective is to identify culture-specific or context-specific stressors.

• 2. For each source of distress, ask the following:

  Suppose you [or other children/adolescents in your age group] experienced this [source of distress],

  • a. How would you [they] feel? [encourage group to generate multiple feeling concepts]

  • b. What would you [they] do? How would you react?

  • c. To whom could you [they] turn for help?

  • d. What effect would this experience [source of distress] have on you [children/adolescents in your age group]?

Appendix 2.B

Parent Focus Group Protocol

INTRODUCTION. Today we will be talk about your experiences in parenting (guiding, rearing, etc.) children ages ____. I will ask questions about stresses that children this age experience, feelings they express, sources of support, and how children cope with stress. We will also talk about the challenges of parenting children in this age group. We want to focus on the experiences of children and parents in general, so please remember that you do not need to share anything that you are not comfortable with. All information you share will be kept private unless you tell me something that suggests a child may be in danger (of being harmed). You can also choose to stop the activity at any point or choose to not answer particular questions. If you want to talk further about anything we discuss, I can arrange for you to talk with me or someone else at a later time.

GENERAL QUESTIONS

• 1. What are your expectations for your child/children (in school, at home, in community)? [Encourage parents to generate a list of “qualities” or characteristics they value that cover cognitive-academic as well as social-emotional well-being.]

• 2. What is the role of parents in helping children develop these qualities [as listed in #1]? [What can parents do?]

• 3. What is the role of teachers/schools in helping children develop these qualities [as listed in #1]? [What can teachers/school personnel do?]

• 4. What is the role of the community/society in helping children develop these qualities [as listed in #1]? [What can community/society do?]

QUESTIONS ABOUT STRESSOR S & SUPPORTS

Provide the following definitions as needed:

Stressor =	someone or something that creates difficulty or distress for you; makes you unhappy or angry or scared, etc.
Support =	someone or something that provides comfort for you; makes you feel happy or safe or loved, etc.

• 1. What “stressors” do your children experience? (What are the sources of distress for your children?) [encourage parents to generate stressors for home, school, peer group, community, environment]

• 2. How do you know when you children are feeling “stressed”? (What do they do or say?)

• 3. As parents, what can you do to help children in distress?

• 4. What are the sources of support for your child when he/she is in distress? [in family, schools, community]

QUESTIONS ABOUT CHALLENGES IN CHILDREARING

• 1. What challenges/difficulties do parents face in raising/rearing children/adolescents? (identify common challenges and ask the following questions about those)

• 2. How do you deal with these challenges?

• 3. How do you discipline your children?

• 4. What other support do you have (in family, community, from school)? (Where can you go for help in coping with childrearing challenges?)

Appendix 2.C

Teacher Focus Group Protocol

INTRODUCTION. Today we will be talk about your experiences in teaching children ages ____. I will ask questions about stresses that children this age experience, feelings they express, sources of support, and how children cope with stress. We will also talk about the challenges of teaching and disciplining children in this age group. We want to focus on the experiences of children and teachers in general, so please remember that you do not need to share anything that you are not comfortable with. All information you share will be kept private unless you tell me something that suggests a child may be in danger (of being harmed). You can also choose to stop the activity at any point or choose to not answer particular questions. If you want to talk further about anything we discuss, I can arrange for you to talk with me or someone else at a later time.

GENERAL QUESTIONS

• 1. What are your expectations for your students (in classroom, school, in interactions with peers)? [Encourage parents to generate a list of “qualities” or characteristics they value that cover cognitive-academic as well as social-emotional well-being.]

• 2. What is the role of teachers in helping children develop these qualities [as listed in #1]? [What can teachers do?]

• 3. What is the role of parents/families in helping children develop these qualities [as listed in #1]? [What can parents/family members do?]

• 4. What is the role of the community/society in helping children develop these qualities [as listed in #1]? [What can community/society do?]

QUESTIONS ABOUT STRESSORS & SUPPORTS

Provide the following definitions as needed:

Stressor =	someone or something that creates difficulty or distress for you; makes you unhappy or angry or scared, etc.
Support =	someone or something that provides comfort for you; makes you feel happy or safe or loved, etc.

• 1. What are common sources of distress for children/adolescents (age group you teach)? [encourage teachers to generate stressors for home, school, peer group, community, environment]

• 2. How do you know when your students are feeling “stressed”? What do they do or say?

• 3. As teachers, what can you do to help children in distress?

• 4. What are the sources of support for students in distress? [in family, schools, community]

QUESTIONS ABOUT CHALLENGES IN DISCIPLINE.

• 1. What challenges/difficulties do teachers face in disciplining children/adolescents? [identify common challenges and ask the following questions about those]

• 2. How do you deal with these challenges?

• 3. How do you discipline your students?

• 4. What other support do you have (in family, community, from school)? [Where can you go for help in coping with disciplinary challenges?]

Appendix 2.D

Individual Interview Protocol with School Administrators, Health and Mental Health Care Providers

INTRODUCTION. Today I would like to talk with you about issues related to promoting the psychological well-being of children and adolescents. I would like your views based on your experiences serving children/adolescents (ages 6-17, or specific age group). Please remember that you do not need to share anything that you are not comfortable with. All information you share will be kept private unless you tell me something that suggests that children may be in danger (of being harmed). You can also choose to stop the activity at any point or choose to not answer particular questions.

GENERAL QUESTIONS

• 1. What is psychological well-being?

• 2. What is a psychologically healthy environment (e.g., home, school, community, society)?

• 3. What factors influence psychological well-being of children and adolescents?

• 4. What are the roles of schools, families, communities, and societies in promoting psychological well-being?

• 5. What are effective ways to promote development psychological well-being of children and adolescents in schools?

Appendix 2.E

Guidelines for Facilitating Focus Group Discussions

• Facilitate the group so that all participants have an opportunity to respond to questions (e.g., ask each participant to respond in turn)

• Encourage everyone to express their ideas/views, without critique

• Encourage diversity of ideas (the goal in this study is to capture the diversity as well as convergence of perspectives)

• Monitor discussion so that an individual or few individuals do not dominate (e.g., redirect, asking others to respond; ask the person to hold the idea until later)

• Conclude with open-ended question; “Is there anything else on this topic that you would like to share that we have not covered?”

• Close session with thank you to all participants. Provide contact information for follow-up questions.

Appendix 2.F

Student Ecomap Protocol

Materials: Paper (drawing and writing), colored markers, pens/pencils, chalkboard

STEP 1: INTRODUCE ECOMAP—WHOLE GROUP

• Say, “The purpose of today’s activities is to talk about the people and events that are important to you, for example, in your home, school, community. And to do a drawing that shows your relationships with these people and events—we call the drawings “ecomaps.”

• Demonstrate the ecomap, using the sample below:

Ecomap artwork designed by Kitt Bryce. Adapted from Nastasi et al. (2000).

Draw an ecomap and say, as you draw,

• 1. “For example, we all belong to families. You can use a circle to represent your family.”

• 2. “Inside the circle, you can draw small circles or other shapes to show who is in your family.”

• 3. “We can use lines to show how we feel about the relationship with family members.” Introduce and define how to depict—stressful, supportive, ambivalent (both stressful and supportive). (Use the following definitions to introduce the concepts)

Stressor =	someone or something that creates difficulty or distress for you; makes you unhappy or angry or scared, etc.
Support =	someone or something that provides comfort for you; makes you feel happy or safe or loved, etc.
Ambivalent =	someone or something that creates both difficulty and comfort

• 4. “We can use similar drawings to show other relationships, for example, in school or with friends, etc.”

• 5. “We can also use drawings to show things that happen in the community or environment that affect you, for example, a community celebration, neighborhood conflict, the weather.”

STEP 2: GENERATING ECOMAPS—INDIVIDUAL ACTIVITY

• 1. Each student draws his/her own ecomap to depict important relationships in his/her life. Encourage students to include relationships with family, school, peer, community, and the environment.

• 2. On the ecomap, ask the students to write the following:

  • f. Who is the person/event? [label the relationship]

  • g. What are the associated feelings about the person/event?

  • h. What makes this relationship stressful, supportive, or ambivalent?

STEP 3: GENERATING STORIES—INDIVIDUAL ACTIVITY

• 1. Ask each student to select a stressful or ambivalent relationship and depict (write or draw) a story about a time when he/she felt “stressed” in the relationship. Ask them to include the following in the story: What happened? How did you feel? What did you do?

• 2. Ask each student to select a supportive or ambivalent relationship and depict (write or draw) a story about a time when he/she felt “supported” in the relationship. Ask them to include the following in the story: What happened? How did you feel? What did you do?

Appendix 2.G

Stage 2 Coding: Generating Themes

The purpose of thematic analysis is to generate subtypes of key constructs (e.g., types of competencies or types of stressors), provide inductive definitions based on what the students say, and consider how the definitions are influenced by cultural norms.

Competencies : Consider the following as you generate themes:

• What are the culturally valued competencies? Make a list of specific competencies (e.g., academic ability, social skills). You can depict the competencies on a continuum from positive to negative if that makes sense (e.g., star student vs. academic failure).

• How is each competency defined? For each competence listed in #1, provide the definition based on students’ descriptions (e.g., Academic ability = making good grades; being good at math, etc.).

• What cultural norms are reflected in the competencies? (For example, one theme might be that academic competence is especially valued or most important. Social skills are important but only in relation to developing friendship.)

Stressors : Consider the following as you generate themes:

• What are the types of stressors that children experience?

• Which stressors are internal (e.g., frustration due to academic failure)? Which are external (e.g., parental conflict, peer bullying)

• What are the sources (or triggers) of stress? (e.g., parents, peers, school, weather)

Response to Stress: Consider the following:

• What are the emotional reactions (i.e., feelings)?

• What are the cognitive reactions (i.e., thoughts)?

• What are the behavioral reactions (i.e., behaviors/actions)?

• What are the somatic or bodily reactions (e.g., get headaches, feel tense muscles)?

Supports: Consider the following as you generate themes:

• What are the types of social support that children experience?

• What are the sources of support (e.g., parents, peers, school, priest, pets)?

Response to Support: Consider the following:

• What are the emotional reactions (i.e., feelings)?

• What are the cognitive reactions (i.e., thoughts)?

• What are the behavioral reactions (i.e., behaviors/actions)?

• What are the somatic or bodily reactions (e.g., feel relaxed muscles)?

Appendix 2.H

DEMOGRAPHIC DATA: STUDENTS

For student participants, please gather the following information so that we can describe the sample.

School: _______________

Age (years): _________

Grade: _________

Gender: ___ female ___ male

Language: ________________

Ethnic Origin: _______________

Religion: __________

Parental/Guardian Education levels (for each parent/guardian):

#1. (mother or other guardian) ______________

#2. (father or other guardian) _____________

Parental/Guardian Occupation (for each parent/guardian:

#1. _____________________

#2. _____________________

Family Income: _________________

Family Status: _______ married; ________ divorced; ________ single parent

Number of siblings: ________________

How many people live in your household? _____________

With whom do you live (for example, parents, grandparents, etc.)?_______________

DEMOGRAPHIC DATA: Parents

For parent participants, please gather the following information so that we can describe the sample.

Age (years): _________

Gender: ___ female ___ male

Language: ________________

Ethnic Origin: _______________

Religion: __________

Parental/Guardian Education levels (for each parent/guardian):

#1. (mother or other guardian) ____________

#2. (father or other guardian) _____________

Parental/Guardian Occupation (for each parent/guardian):

#1. _____________________

#2. _____________________

Family Income: _________________

Family Status: _______ married; ________ divorced; ________ single parent

How many people live in your household? _____________

With whom do you live (for example, spouse/partner and children, parents, grandparents, etc.)?_______________

School(s) children attend: ___________________

Number of children: ___________________

Ages of children: ______________________

DEMOGRAPHIC DATA: Teachers

For teacher participants, please gather the following information so that we can describe the sample.

School: __________________

Age (years): _________

Gender: ___ female ___ male

Language: ________________

Ethnic Origin: _______________

Religion: __________

Education level: _____________________

What grade level(s) do you teach? __________

Number of years teaching experience: ______