Psychology Positive psychology

To encourage the university community to take regular exercise and think positively through physical activities, Lingnan University in Hong Kong held a fundraising film screening of the documentary Four Trails in Yuen Long yesterday, 7 March. A group of runners, along with the film’s production team, attended the post-screening sharing session, where they chatted with students and faculty, sharing behind-the-scenes stories. The event attracted an audience of about a hundred, and all proceeds will be donated to the Outstanding Athletics Awards Fund for students at the University.

Mental health in the young has become a growing concern in recent years. To improve the psychological wellbeing of university students in the Greater Bay Area (GBA), the Department of Psychology at Lingnan University has conducted a five-year longitudinal study through a series of mental health education courses. The programme aims to enhance students' resilience, psychological knowledge, and basic counselling skills. Using questionnaires, the study seeks to find out the effect of such interventional mental health programmes on their psychological wellbeing. Results show that participants’ resilience, prosocial behaviour, and growth mindset have improved significantly, and their negative mental health symptoms such as depression and anxiety have diminished.

Ghana’s high youth population suggests that evidence-based programs specifically targeting young people’s development and mental health are key to the country’s socio-economic growth. As a result, social scientists are focusing on rigorous testing of the links between these two sides of personal thriving.