Efficacy of a Positive Psychology Intervention Through a Mobile App

Efficacy of a Positive Psychology Intervention Through a Mobile App: a Randomized Controlled Trial

The aim of this study is to analyze the efficacy of several variations of an already validated Positive Psychology Intervention (PPI) called Best Possible Self in not flourishing population. This will be done through a mobile app specially designed for this aim.

Concretely, the design will permit to compare the classic intervention (BPS Future), a new variation (BPS Past), and a combination of both components (BPS Past+Future).

Participants will be randomly assigned to one of 3 conditions, in which they will practice the intervention for two weeks:

• BPS-PAST + BPS FUT condition: Participants will practice BPS Past for one week, and then they will switch to BPS future for another week.
• BPS-FUT condition: Participants will practice BPS Future for two weeks.
• CONTROL condition: Participants will practice DAILY ACTIVITIES for two weeks.

The design will permit two comparisons:

After the first week of the intervention, participants will answer the assessment. It will permit to compare BPS PAST, BPS FUTURE and CONTROL conditions (pre-post).

After the second week, participants will answer the assessment and then it will be possible to compare BPS PAST + BPS FUTURE combination, BPS FUTURE, and CONTROL conditions.

Inclusion Criteria:

• Participants must be 18 years old or older.
• Participants must be willing to participate in the study.
• Participants must have a smartphone (Android or Ios).

Exclusion Criteria:

• To suffer from moderate depression or anxiety (scores of 11 or higher) measured by the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS; Zigmond & Snaith, 1983).
• To have "Flourishing mental health" measured by the Mental Health Continuum Short Form (MHC-SF; Keyes, 2009)