1

Effect of Positive Psychology Program

to Orphan Children’s Well-being in Manila

A Thesis
Presented to the Faculty of the Graduate School
DE LA SALLE ARANETA UNIVERSITY
Victoneta Ave., Malabon City, Metro Manila

In partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of

Master of Arts in
Guidance and Counseling

By

ROCHELLE T. FERNANDEZ
MARCH 2020
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Recommendation Sheet

Researchers: Rochelle T. Fernandez

College: Graduate School

Title: Effect of Positive Psychology Interventions on Orphan Filipino

Children’s Well-being

Recommending Approval:

_________________________ __________
Dr. Jennifer Reyes Date
Adviser

Approved by:

_________________________ __________
[Name of Committee Chair] Date
Chairperson

_________________________ __________
[Name of Panel Member] Date
Member

_________________________ __________
[Name of Panel Member] Date
Member

_________________________ __________
[Name of Panel Member] Date
Member

Recorded by:

_________________________ __________
PIC, Registrar’s Office Date
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Approval Sheet

This Thesis entitled Effect of Positive Psychology Interventions on Orphan Filipino

Children’s Well-being by Rochelle T. Fernandez, in partial fulfillment of the requirements
for the degree of Master of Arts in Education major in Guidance and Counseling, has been
examined and is recommended for acceptance and approval for ORAL EXAMINATION.

________________________
Dr. Jennifer Reyes
Adviser

Panel of Examiners

Approved by the COMMITTEE ON ORAL EXAMINATION with a grade of

_______ on [DATE].

________________________
[NAME OF COMMITTEE CHAIR]
Chairperson

________________________ ________________________
[NAME OF PANEL MEMBER] [NAME OF PANEL MEMBER]
Panel Member Panel Member

________________________
[NAME OF PANEL MEMBER]
Panel Member

Accepted and approved as partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of
Master of Arts in Education major in Guidance and Counseling.

_______________________
[NAME OF DEAN]
Dean, Graduate Studies
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Acknowledgements
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Table of Contents

Page

TITLE PAGE .................................................................................................................1

RECOMMENDATION SHEET ....................................................................................2

APPROVAL SHEET .....................................................................................................3

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT .............................................................................................4

ABSTRACT .................................................................................................................10

TABLE OF CONTENTS ...............................................................................................5

LIST OF TABLES .........................................................................................................7

LIST OF FIGURES .......................................................................................................8

LIST OF APPENDICES ................................................................................................9

CHAPTER

1 The Problem and a Review of Related Literature

Introduction ......................................................................................................11

Statement of the Problem .................................................................................13

Conceptual Framework ....................................................................................14

Definition of Terms..........................................................................................16

Review of Related Literature ...........................................................................17

2 Methods

Research Design...............................................................................................26
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Research Procedure ..........................................................................................27

Instruments .......................................................................................................33

Participants .......................................................................................................34

Analysis............................................................................................................35

3 Results and Discussion

Presentation of Results .......................................................................................#

Interpretation of Data .........................................................................................#

[Additional entries] ............................................................................................#

4 Summary, Conclusion and Recommendation

Summary ............................................................................................................#

Conclusion .........................................................................................................#

Recommendation ...............................................................................................#

REFERENCES ............................................................................................................36

APPENDICES .............................................................................................................45

CURRICULUM VITAE ..............................................................................................50

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List of Tables

Table Page

1 Timetable of Positive Psychology Intervention Program ................................28

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List of Figures

Figure Page

1 Roadmap of Well-being .................................................................................14

2 IPO Model of Positive Psychology Intervention Process ...........................15

3 PERMA Model of Well-being .......................................................................19

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List of Appendices

Appendix Page

A Letter of Request for Asilo De San Vicente De Paul.......................................46

B The Psychological Flourishing Scale (Filipino) ..............................................49

C Validation Sheet for FISH ...............................................................................49

D Validation Certificate .......................................................................................50

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Abstract

TITLE : Effect of Positive Psychology Program to Orphan

Children’s Well-being in Manila (March 2020)

RESEARCHER : Rochelle T. Fernandez

ADVISER : Dr. Jane Jose

SCHOOL : De La Salle Araneta University

DEGREE CONFERRED : Master of Arts In Education Major in Guidance and

Counseling

Positive Psychology is a relatively new discipline of Psychology that focuses on a

person’s strength, optimal functioning and flourishing. Applying Positive Psychology to
programs and interventions have been proven to boost level of well-being of a person.
This is a fitting intervention to orphanages as previous studies in the orphan care are
more on the psycho-pathological issues of orphans. In this study, the researcher aims to
conduct a Quasi-Experimental Research rivetted in applying Positive Psychology
Interventions into a program called FISH (Flourishing Interventions in Seeking
Happiness) to children ages 5-10 years old in an orphanage in Manila. The FISH program
is composed of five phases based on Martin Selgiman’s PERMA model of well-being.
The program will run for four months. The effectivity of the program will be measured
through the analysis of pretest-posttest results of Psychological Flourishing scale by Ed
Diener and the children’s responses to Children Apperception Test by Leopold Bellak &
Sonya Bellak.
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Chapter I

Introduction

“Just as good life is something beyond the pleasant life, the meaningful life is

beyond the good life” – Martin Seligman, 2002

Positive Psychology is a discipline that focuses on strengths, optimal functioning

and flourishing of a person (Lopez, Pedrotti & Snyder, 2015). According to Dr. Martin

Seligman, Psychology have three distinct missions: curing mental illness, making the

lives of all people more productive and fulfilling, and identifying and nurturing high

talent (Luthans, Youssef-Morgan & Avolio, 2015; Seligman, 2005). While there are three

major objectives, many mental health professionals including Counselors have been

focusing on the first mission which is to cure mental illness and forgetting the other two

missions which builds up the wellbeing of a person. Mental health professionals are too

focused on diagnosing and treating people with mental health problems and

psychopathological issues. With Positive Psychology, new way of looking into same

things but with different perspective has been introduced. Positive Psychology

Interventions (PPI) are not just corrective but works on strengthening the positive

attributes and strength of a person towards flourishing (Chowdhury, 2016). Positive

psychology is not just a solution for a person’s problems but helps build inner strength

and raise awareness of capabilities which let a person savor the positive things and make

life more meaningful.

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Thus, the researcher aimed to apply PPIs to children of Asilo de San Vicente de

Paul Orphanage (ASVP) and measure the improvement to their well-being and happiness

through a Quasi-experimental research. Subsequently, Positive Psychology is a discipline

that aims to promote optimal functioning (Seligman & Csikszentmihalyi, 2000) it has

become the new approach in treating psychological problems while having a scientific

and applied approach to identify people’s strength and promote positive functioning in

Western Culture (Snyder & Lopez, 2006). In the Philippines, Positive Psychology is still

a relatively new discipline. Last July 2019, the 2nd Philippine Positive Psychology

Conference is conducted in order to jumpstart the PPIs will also be a fresh intervention

to the children as past interventions and programs implemented in ASVP are often

subjected to psychological assessment to know “what’s wrong” with the children or

towards their predisposition to violence and crime. Although such information would be

helpful, assessment and encouragement of their strength and their hopes in the future is

vital.

This study will also provide data about the effectivity of Positive Psychology

Interventions (PPI) applied in a Filipino orphanage. Previous treatment researches in

positive psychology have examined the effectivity of interventions for the average

individual such as proving that diverse strategies in expressing gratitude, savoring

experiences, using strengths, increasing optimism, and practicing kindness has the

potential to increase level of well-being of a person which is often conducted in Western

countries (Schueller, 2011).

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Purpose of the study. The purpose of this study is to evaluate Positive

Psychology intervention’s effectiveness through examining the changes result from

pretest-posttest of Flourishing Scale of children and adolescents in ASVP. Since

researches about children from the orphanage are typically about the effect of orphanage

which is mostly into negative effect in social-skills (Pitula, 2016; Huynh, 2017)

academics and behavior (McGinnis, 2017). Orphan children are often being related to

delinquent adolescents with set maladaptive and delinquent goals while there are no

specific interventions to support their development of functional and adaptive goals

(Carroll et al., 2013). There is also a study that found out that nearly one-third of youth in

an orphanage in Korea had borderline to clinically-significant depressive symptoms,

internalizing behavior problems, and externalizing behavior problems while 20% of them

met criteria for Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) diagnosis (McGinnis, 2017).

According to the same study, these risk factors are specific to the experience of being in

alternative care because of lingering more negative affect and preoccupation with

birthparent loss were significant risk factors for depression, PTSD symptoms, and

internalizing behavior problems for adolescents.

Research Problem. Positive psychological intervention has been effectively used

in the development of subjective well-being (Giannopoulos & Vella-Brodrick, 2011). It

would be only fitting to apply Positive Psychology interventions to children in an

orphanage as many orphans have been struggling to maintain happiness and wellbeing.

This study aims to answer the following question:

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Research Question 1: What is the level of well-being of orphans in ASVP before

the Positive Psychology Interventions?

Research Question 2: How can the PPIs be applied in a Filipino Orphanage?

Research Question 3: Is there a significant difference in the orphan’s well-being

before and after the application of PPIs?

The framework of Well-being theories is the primary roadmap to the positive

psychology course through the years. Which started from the four Philosophical

Traditions the Utilitarian, Virtue, Hedonic, and Eudaimonic and psychological discipline

frameworks. Although positive psychology is considered a relatively new field of

psychology (Ackerman, 2019) its roots can be traced to several philosophical traditions

Figure 1. Roadmap of Well-being

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as early as 1806 which provided meaning to the positive psychological theories

of today (Lambert, Holder & Passmer, 2015).

Figure 2. IPO Model of Positive Psychology Intervention Process

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Since there are no current theoretical framework of Positive Psychology

Interventions, the researcher made an input-process-output model of Positive Psychology

Intervention (PPI) process for this study. It is grounded in Seligman’s models of Well-

being called PERMA (Positive Emotion, Engagement, Positive Relationship, Meaning

and Accomplishment). Each model has corresponding PPI which all contributes to a

person’s happiness and well-being towards flourishing.

Definition of terms

The following are the definition of terms for this research.

Happiness- A trait of a person that results to an elated feeling or positive affect, it

is regarded as trait as it meets three criteria including the temporal stability, cross-

situational consistency, and inner causation (Veenhoven, 2005).

Well-being- Originally, well-being is the overall experience of pleasure and

reward, but for this research, it is used as subjective well-being that can be interchanged

with happiness (trait), which is a combination of the positive affect and the life

satisfaction.

Flourishing- is when a person experiences positive emotions, positive

psychological functioning and positive social functioning. This is related to increase in

happiness and well-being.

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Related Literature

Happiness and Well-being. Well-being includes life experiences of pleasure and

rewards while, subjective well-being which is a synonym for happiness, is known to be

the combination of positive affect and general life satisfaction (Lopez, Pedrotti & Snyder,

2015). Subjective well-being is also referred as a multidimensional model consist of

several related factors such as positive affect, low levels of negative affect, satisfaction

with important domains, and life satisfaction as determined through self-report (Diener,

2000; Diener, Suh, Lucas, & Smith, 1999). On the other hand, psychologists from

Hedonic perspective believe that well-being is a mixture of happiness and meaning and

that those who seek well-being must be authentic and live according to their real needs

and desire (Lopez, Pedrotti & Snyder, 2015;Waterman, 1993). Also based on Hedonic

perspective, the hedonic treadmill model explains that people have a certain set point or

base line of happiness that they will naturally gravitate back to as either good or bad

events take place (Diener, Lucas, & Scollon, 2006). This base line of happiness differs

from one person to another, who will return to a point of neutrality as continuous

adaptation to changing circumstances occur, but the individual set point has been shown

to be positively affected (Tomyn et al., 2015). Common misconception about happiness

is that happiness is only a state although, it can also be regarded as trait as long it meets

three criteria including the temporal stability, cross-situational consistency, and inner

causation (Veenhoven, 2005).

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In other studies, happiness and wellbeing are evident in the following conditions

such as having optimistic expectations which predict positive affect (Segerstrom &

Sephton, 2010), life satisfaction (Lyubomirsky, King, & Diener, 2005), and applied

positive psychological intervention to a person which has been effectively used in the

examination of subjective well-being (Giannopoulos & Vella-Brodrick, 2011).

Towards positive. Harnessing skills to prevent negative emotion, feelings, and

behavior and promote positives is an important part of positive psychology intervention.

A common misconception in Psychology is that the absence of something wrong is being

equated to presence of something right. Which is why, harnessing skills that let a person

see the positive in life if vital because happiness is learned and does not only come from

our genes and it is not just a state but a skill (Victoria, 2018). Having a conscious

decision towards happiness also exercise our positive outlook in life that helps achieve

authentic happiness.

Achieving Happiness. Happiness or well-being is more than just about having

elevated mood, things such as hope, satisfaction and success are good contributors of

happiness. Of which, the path to develop hope, hopefulness, and goal attainment can be

through having a clear, defined, and practical pathways (Burns, 2017; Snyder,1994,2002).

Changing the way, a person thinks about itself and knowing its true potential can improve

itself which help a person realize the potential to success (Throop & Castellucci, 2011) can

be helpful in achieving happiness as well.

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Figure 3. PERMA Model of Well-being

In Seligman’s model called PERMA (refer to Figure 3), the life fulfillment,

happiness and meaning can be achieved through five elements which includes Positive

Emotion, Engagement, Positive Relationship, Meaning and Achievement (Pascha, 2019;

Seligman, 2000). It proposes that having to experience all three would give a person a

greater chance n achieving happiness. Positive emotions refer to the person’s ability to

remain optimistic and view their past, present, and future from a constructive perspective.

It is beneficial to a person because having an optimistic view helps a person enjoy the

things that happen every day to a person. Engagement is the person’s ability to enjoy and

focus on an activity a person finds engaging resulting to a “flow”. Flow is blissful

immersion into the task or activity that positively affects body through a release of positive

neurotransmitters and hormones that elevate one’s sense of well-being. The R in PERMA

refers to relationship, although, Seligman reiterated that not all relationships are vital to

happiness, it must be positive. People thrive in social connections and relationships that

promotes love, intimacy, and a strong emotional and physical interaction with other
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humans can be directly beneficial to a person’s well-being. In a 10-year long Harvard’s

longitudinal study of happiness, research found out that it is good relationships that keeps

people happier and healthier (Waldinger, 2015). Meaning on the other hand, is directly

advantageous toward fulfillment. The ability to find meaning connects a person in a

spiritual level that helps a person find self-worth and purpose. Lastly, the achievement, a

person who reach life mini goals tend to push their selves to thriving and flourishing. A

sense on accomplishment can be achieved through having a realistic goal and ambition in

life (Pashca, 2019).

Local Researches on Positive Psychology. There are studies inclined to Positive

Psychology in the Philippines of which one explored the Filipino adolescents' conception

of happiness. The study found out in a qualitative study that Filipino adolescents are

particular with satisfaction of wants, absence of worries, expression of positive emotions,

motivational drive, and fulfillment of relational needs when it comes to happiness (Datu &

Valdez, 2012).

Another research attempted to look on the correlations between Meaning, Search

for Meaning, and Happiness Among Filipino College Students in a cross-sectional research

design of which they found out that presence of meaning and search for meaning in life are

both significantly related to subjective well-being (Navarez, 2017). There is also a study

linking concept of happiness to morality and moral development of Filipinas in the

academic setting as it discovered that as a Filipina grows older, her concept of happiness

became more intrinsic (Mallari, Ebreo, & Pelayo III, 2015).

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Positive Psychology Interventions. Applying Positive Psychology Interventions

to school counseling has been evident only recently (Burke & Minton, 2014). PPIs are

empirically derived, purposeful activities designed to raise levels of positive emotion and

promote the use of consequent actions and thoughts that facilitate flourishing. PPIs are set

of actions that emulates the action of a happy people which produces positive effect in the

person’s well-being (D’raven &Pasha-Zaide, 2014). Below are some of the regularly used

Positive Psychology Interventions:

Character Strengths. The intervention targets working on these six character

strengths, Wisdom and knowledge, Courage, Love, Justice, Temperance and

Transcendence (Peterson & Seligman, 2004). This is based on Professors Chris Peterson

and Martin Seligman named the Character Strengths test as the VIA Classification of the

CSV Model, VIA standing for Values in Action. Using VIA Classification of Strengths

improve approach to treatment and interventions focused on enhancing strengths. The VIA

classification system was primary commissioned by Mayerson Foundation to answer two

problems: “How can one define the concept of strengths and highest potential?” and “How

can one tell that a positive youth development program has succeeded in meeting its

goals?”.

Kindness Boosters. For children, their acts of kindness are likely to take place

within the immediate school community, according to recent study the school as a whole

stands to profit with a notable increase in both positive school affect and climate (Binfet,

2015). Fowler and Christakis (2010) have written of the ‘ripple effect’ arising when
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prosocial activities are encouraged. Acts of kindness have a way of encouraging a person

to do more kindness. In school, a teacher has the power to encourage prosocial behavior

in students, offering more than academic advancement to the student or content mastery

to education of skills that will safeguard students social and emotional well-being and yet

still have the corollary effects of benefiting curricular engagement, student development,

and class and school community enrichment (Binfet, 2015).

Gratitude Interventions. Gratitude interventions in all forms are an essential part

of PPIs anywhere. Its main objective is to enhance self-contentment and joy to the

person. Gratitude Intervention can be use alone or in combination with other intervention.

Some effective gratitude interventions include Gratitude journaling, Group gratitude

exchange sessions, Sending gratitude notes, Self-gratitude exercises and Guided gratitude

meditation.

Mindfulness. Mindfulness, as a single variable, was a highly significant predictor

of satisfaction with life (Kokinda, 2010) study on the effects of meditation on openness,

awareness, and acceptance: A correlational study by Kokinda. Another technique of

Mindfulness is breathing exercise. From a study titled, Maifones: A Mindfulness-Based

Educational Intervention for Orphaned Youth in Atlixco, Mexico, the breathing exercises

were used for reducing stress and overall calming, which helps especially in trying to

deal with non-pleasurable emotions (Martinez-Oronoz, 2018).

Flow. Character strengths and flow significantly predicted symptoms and self-

perceived competency over and above Big-5 personality characteristics. This finding
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indicates that, while significant overlap occurs between Big-5 traits and measures of

character strengths, the latter offer novel information about the resiliency and adaptability

of individual trainees as they encounter stress in doctoral training and modulate the

experience of depression. Individuals who experience flow on a regular basis are highly

adaptable, which is consistent with the notion of “broadened thought/action repertoires”

in the Broaden-and-Build Hypothesis. In particular, the current study demonstrated

character strengths and dispositional flow are strongly related to self-perceived

competency. This is an important finding as those who display character strengths may be

more apt to experience flow, and the experience of flow in doctoral training in

psychology would most likely manifest feelings of competency development (Johnson,

2012).

Positive Relationships Intervention. This intervention is a flexible and

straightforward techniques to make children realize the importance of positive relationship

and learning how to keep one. This intervention may involve structured open-ended

questions that even students or children can answer. Some key points can be their insights

on how they think of a family member you admire and mention why, their perceived

strength of a friend, peers who has struggled in life and have come out of it successfully

Effectivity of PPIs. Based on previous researches, there are factors that might

affect the effectivity of PPIs such as personality, gender, and other individual difference

might affect the engagement of a person to continue the change in behavior lead by PPIs

(Venieris, 2017) and the fit between the PPI techniques and the person’s context such as
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the ability to identify positives. Evidences such as a significant increase in result of well-

being after completing their values and strengths prior to listing their goals in a study

conducted by Aylett (2004) supported the effectivity of PPIs. In this study, treatment

group participants listed more goals that they rated as taking them towards intrinsic

possible futures of Self-acceptance and personal growth: Being happy and having a very

meaningful life, Intimacy and friendship: Having many close and caring relationships

with others; and Societal contribution: Making the world a better place (Aylett, 2004).

On another study, Participants in this study report that positive psychology

activities to be enjoyable, helpful and useful for everyday life in health-care facility for

middle-aged patients (Phillips, 2018) Depression is three to four times more prevalent in

long-term care residents (Nazemi and Skoog, 2013). Providing activities that enhance

positive emotions among younger nursing home residents may decrease their isolation

and reduce their levels of depression and anxiety (Watts, 2015) Using PPIs and cognitive-

behavioral approach, teaches emotional competence, the cognitive behavioral model,

problem-solving skills, social and communication skills, empathy, gratitude, hope, self-

esteem and strengths, and goal setting to increase well-being and prevent depression (The

Hong Kong Jockey Club Centre for Suicide Research and Prevention, 2016). Positive

psychological intervention has been effectively used in the examination of subjective

well-being (Giannopoulos & Vella-Brodrick, 2011).

Effectivity of PPIs to children. A study conducted by Dr. Harlan in 2016,

resulted an increase in happiness of the students after participating in a 1-week long

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positive intervention. The on-site posttest of the studies also yielded greater positive

affect while the online posttest yielded a lower negative affect score. As a means of

enhancing student’s success, college retention, and well-being (Harlan, 2016).

A study titled, Maifones: A Mindfulness-Based Educational Intervention for

Orphaned Youth in Atlixco, Mexico, the breathing exercises were proven to reduce stress

and promotes overall calming, which helps especially in trying to deal with non-

pleasurable emotions (Martinez-Oronoz, 2018).

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Chapter II

Methodology

The purpose of this study is to examine the change in well-being of the children

ages 5-10 years old after the administration of Positive Psychology Interventions (PPI)

for three months. This study is an intervention research which evaluates the efficacy of a

technique based on the change it produces on average (Scheuller, 2011). To examine the

changes, a quasi-experimental design was used to compare the base line data gathered

before and after the application of PPI through the Flourishing Scale by Wirtz Diener et.

Al, 2009. The prefix quasi means “resembling” which indicates that a quasi-experimental

research resembles experimental research but not actually experimental.

Ethical issues that might arise in this kind of research can be when a participant

need instant intervention of which the experiment may not offer, although, the advantage

of a quasi-experimental design is that it allows the use of intact groups that are already

grouped in a particular setting (Heppner, Wampold & Kivlighnan, 2008). Also, all

participants will receive the same intervention program and the effect will be reflected

through pretest-posttest technique.

In a pretest-posttest technique, the dependent variable is measured once before the

treatment is implemented and once after it is implemented. Since the researcher did not

gain the permission to Randomized Control-Group Pretest Posttest Design which assigns

participants to a treatment group or a control group because the administration of ASVP

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wanted all the children and adolescents to undergo the PPI program, the researcher opted

for Nonrandomized Control Group Pretest-Posttest Technique. Nonrandomized Control

Group Pretest-Posttest is a quasi-experimental study which do not randomly assigned

participants into groups. Doing so can be more practical especially in dealing with groups

like children in the orphanage who are already in classes or departments of which

randomization could be more disruptive (Statistics How To, 2019).

Process
After planning the interventions, the researcher sought for permission to conduct

the study from the Head Sister of the Orphanage. Then, the participants will be informed

that the surveys and interventions included in three-month intervention program will be to

see the relationship between happiness and well-being and the interventions. Prior to

running the intervention, the researcher will gather baseline data through a pretesting of

The Psychological Flourishing Scale. Then, the Positive Intervention Program titled, FISH

or Flourishing Interventions in Seeking Happiness will be administered. Aside from its

meaning, a fish is also a symbol of happiness in different countries like Syria that

recognizes fish as a symbol of happiness and life (Gale Group Inc., 2003) and Japan and

China for happiness, wealth and luck. The program is consisted of five phases based on

Seligman’s Model of Well-being: Positive Emotion (P), Engagement (E), Positive

Relationship (R), Meaning (M), Accomplishments (A). Each phase will run for 2-3 weeks

reflected in the table below. At the end of each phase, the Children Apperception Test will
 28

be administered to randomly selected children ages 3-10 years old to have a regular data

based on the personality trait of the children.

Table 1

Timetable of Positive Psychology Intervention Program

Week Date Positive Psychology Intervention/ Program

0 September 1, 2019 Administering Flourishing Scale/ Gathering of
Demographics and Introduction
1 September 7, 2019 Positive Emotion: “Learning my Strength”
September 8, 2019 Positive Emotion: Kindness Boosters and
Gratitude Intervention
2 September 14, 2019 Positive Emotion: Optimistic Intervention
Routine Interview
September 15, 2019 Positive Emotion: Savoring Intervention –
Anticipation versus real Experience
3 September 21, 2019 Engagement: Exercise and Flow
September 22, 2019 Engagement: Doing what you like
4 September 28, 2019 Engagement: Mindfulness and Meditation
September 29, 2019 Engagement: Routine Interview/ Counseling
5 October 12, 2019 Positive Relationship: Recognizing your
neighbor (kapwa) and Forgiveness Intervention
October 13, 2019 Positive Relationship: Healthy Relationship
6 October 19, 2019 Positive Relationship: Making others happy
October 20, 2019 Positive Relationship: Routine Interview/
Counseling
7 October 26, 2019 Meaning: Writing (Purpose)
October 27, 2019 Meaning: Specific and Measurable Goal
8 November 3, 2019 Meaning: Attainable, Realistic, Time-bound
Goal
9 November 9, 2019 Meaning: New Hope
November 10, 2019 Meaning: Resilience
10 November 16, 2019 Accomplishment: Recognizing my
Accomplishments
November 17, 2019 Accomplishment: Our Accomplishments
11 November 23, 2019 Accomplishment: Individual Interview
November 24, 2019 Accomplishment: Recognition Day;
Listing Future Goals
12 January 4, 2020 Post-Testing of Flourishing Scale
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FISH (Flourishing Interventions in Seeking Happiness)

1. “Makulay ang Buhay!” (Learning my Strength)

Objective: To help children identify and realize their strengths.

To make children know that they have different strengths.

Mechanics: The participants will be asked to raise their hands if they have skills or

talents that will be mentioned throughout the game. Each time they will raise their hand,

they will be given a strip of colored paper (each color represents an area strength).

Example:
1. Nagsasabi ako ng totoo palagi
2. Malakas at masigla ako
3. Marunong akong humingi ng tawad
4. Magaling ako kumanta
5. Mahilig akong magdrawing

2. “Action speaks louder than words” (Kindness Boosters)

Objective: Since kindness is a natural human response, the goal of this activity is

to practice kindness and recognize the acts of kindness.

Mechanics: Children will be grouped into 5-7 members per group. They will be

asked to make a 30 second skit based on a situation. Each group will have different

situation. Twist: Throughout the skit, the group will only use one word and let their actions

do the talking.

Sample Situations:
1. You are playing with your friends, you noticed one child at the corner is crying.
2. Your friend will be washing the dishes and you see him/her having a hard time
carrying all the plates.
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3. “Matsala! Salamat!” (Gratitude)

Objective: To practice attitude of gratitude. To make the children feel how good to

say thank you to others.

Mechanics: They will be given a cut-out drawing. They will be asked to color the

cut-out and at the end of the activity, they will be asked to give it to a person they are

thankful for. The children can get as much cut-out as they want.

Cut-outs legend:

 Heart – Salamat at kaibigan kita (Thank you because we are friends)

 Clouds- Salamat dahil napapagaan mo ang aking loob (Thank you for cheering
me up)
 Books- Salamat dahil may natututunan ako sayo (Thank you because I learned
something from you)
 Hand- Salamat dahil tinutulungan mo ako (Thank you for always helping me)
 Smiley Face- Salamat dahil pinapasaya at pinapatawa mo ako (Thank you for
making me happy/ smile)
 Bird- Salamat dahil mabait ka sa akin (Thank you for being kind to me)

5. “Little Chef” (Savoring)

Objective: To let children experience a moment of which they can savor

Mechanics: Cooking class: Make a fruit salad out of the ingredients. Children

should be the one preparing. Note: Close supervision to children using knife to cut fruits

etc. In the end, the children will enjoy the fruit salad together. The facilitator will then ask

the students about the experience to promote savoring of the moment.

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6. “PAWER!” (Exercise)

Objective: To achieve happiness and well-being, one must have a healthy body.

This intervention is complimentary to other intervention as it aims to help the children

energetic and healthy.

Mechanics: The teacher/counselor will facilitate exercise every week. After the first

two weeks, a child will be asked to lead the morning exercise each day.

7. “Everything Under the Sun” (Flow/ Doing what you like)

Objective: To encourage flow in the children. To know the interest/s of the children

and encourage them to be completely absorbed in a challenging but doable task (Oppland,

2016).

Mechanics: Put available activities on a table. Allow children to choose which

activity they want to work on. Let them settle on a place (inside the classroom) and let them

do their activity with minimal supervision. The key to this activity is allowing them to be

into the activity they chose. Note: The facilitator can put on some classical music to set the

concentration mood for the children.

8. “Yakap, Yapak” (Mindfulness)

Objective: Mindfulness gives children tools for self-regulating, which in turn

allows them to pause and reset when they are losing control or feeling overwhelmed. This

activity simple intervention intends to increase focus, decreased stress and anxiety, and

promote positive prosocial behavior of the children.

 32

Mechanics: There will be cut-out footprints in the floor. The children will be asked

to walk while dancing to the rhythm of the music playing. When the music stops, the

children must hug the person in front of them and take three deep breaths together (while

still hugging them).

9. “Kapwa ko” (Recognizing your neighbor/ Healthy Relationships)

Objective: To make students recognize that the community they are in to is their

“neighbor” and help the realize that having a healthy relationship with them is important.

Mechanics: Ask the children to draw their selves in the middle of a paper. Then,

ask them to draw the people they know. After the drawing time, the facilitator will ask the

children to explain their drawings. Note: It is important to ask the child the names of the

people included in her drawing.

10. “Say cheese!” (Making others happy)

Objective: To make children experience the feeling of intentionally making other

people happy.

Mechanics: The group will be divided in to three. Each group must plan or

strategies how they will make the other group laugh (may it be through a joke, skit etc, but

not by tickling). If they make a person laugh from the other group, they earn 1 point. They

will be given three tries.

 33

Instruments

Psychological Flourishing Scale (PFS). To be able to know the effectivity of the

program, a pretest and posttest of Psychological Flourishing Scale (PFS) will be

administered to the children of ASVP. PFS is an 8-item Likert scale that provides a

psychological well-being scale. It measures self-perceived success in relationship, self-

esteem, purpose and optimism of an individual. The scale’s psychometric properties are

tested in a research administered to Egyptian students (Salama-Younes, 2017). The scale

has 22 translations including Chinese, Arabic, Japanese and Korean. The Filipino version

of FPS is translated by Dr. Myrna Joyce Sanchez, a Registered Counselor and Accredited

Specialist in Developmental Psychology from Center for Family Ministries (CEFAM) in

Ateneo de Manila University.

The Flourishing Scale (FS) measure psychosocial flourishing, based on recent

theories of psychological and social well-being. The FS is designed to measure social-

psychological prosperity, to complement existing measures of subjective well-being. A

number of psychological theories of human flourishing have been developed, and the

authors devised a brief measure to capture major aspects of this type of “prosperity.” Ryff

(1989; Ryff & Singer, 1998) and Ryan and Deci (2000), based on earlier humanistic

psychology theories, suggest that there are several universal human psychological needs,

such as the need for competence, relatedness, and self-acceptance, and several of these

characteristics are assessed by the Flourishing Scale.

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Children Apperception Test (CAT). The apperception test for children is a

projective test developed by psychiatrist and psychologist Leopold Bellak and Sonya

Bellak for three to 10 years old is based on the Henry Murray’s Thematic Apperception

Test (TAT) which is originally for 10 years old above. Unlike TAT that used pictures of

people, CAT used animals as subject in the picture as it encourages children to tell stories

(Advameg, 2019). Since CAT is a projective test, scoring it the responses is not based on

an objective scale of which the interpreter or scorer must look on the child’s primary

theme in their stories such as the hero or heroine, the needs or drives of the hero or

heroine; the environment in which the story takes place; the child's perception of the

figures in the picture; the main conflicts in the story; the anxieties and defenses expressed

in the story; the function of the child's superego; and the integration of the child's ego

(Bellak & Bellak, 1947). The researcher sought for advise of a Child Psychologist in

validity of using this projective test to children to measure their happiness.

Participants

Asilo de San Vicente de Paul (ASVP), formerly known as Casa de San Vicente de

Paul, was founded on 26 July 1885 by Sr. Asuncion Ventura. ASVP caters girls who were

orphans or homeless. Later on, it expanded its services into providing education and

training to young girls. Currently, there are 100 girls homed in ASVP, ages from infant to

17 years old. All participants are stay-ins at ASVP. For demographic record, the researcher

will get data such as: Age, Grade level and Reason of Staying in the Orphanage.
 35

Analysis

After gathering the needed data during the testing and the quasi-experimental

stages, it will be subjected to a statistical treatment for analysis. Primary data collected

during the pretest and posttest administration of Psychological Flourishing Scale will be

analyzed using SPSS version 24. The computed scores of PFS from posttest and the

demographic sub-group of the children (eg. Reason of staying in the orphanage) will be

compared with the use of Analysis of Covariance (ANCOVA) having the pre-test scores

as the covariate.

The CAT result will be analyzed through thematic analysis guided by its procedure

manual. For the sake of classifying the responses of the children, the researcher will group

the response through low well-being,

All the analysis from quantitative and qualitative data will be treated equally and

will be triangulated together with the researcher’s observations to answer the research

problems.
 36

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Curriculum Vitae

FERNANDEZ, ROCHELLE T.

Lot 1 Block 11 Milestone Executive Homes

Karuhatan Valenzuela
0917-1508743
roctfernandez@gmail.com

EDUCATIONAL BACKGROUND
March 2020 DE LA SALLE ARANETA UNIVERSITY
Victoneta Ave., Malabon City
Masters of Arts in Education
major in Guidance and Counseling

April 2015 PAMANTASAN NG LUNGSOD NG MAYNILA

Intramuros, Manila
Bachelor of Science in Psychology

April 2011 LAKAN DULA HIGH SCHOOL

Tondo, Manila
Secondary Education

AFFILIATIONS
2015-2020 PSYCHOLOGICAL ASSOCIATION OF THE
PHILIPPINES (PAP)
Philippine Social Science Center, Commonwealth Avenue,
corner Central Avenue, Diliman, Quezon City, 1109 Metro
Manila