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. 2018 Jun 1;13(6):e0197930.
doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0197930. eCollection 2018.

Smartphone delivery of a hope intervention: Another way to flourish

Douglas A Daugherty  1   2 , Jason D Runyan  1   2   3 , Timothy A Steenbergh  1   2   3 , Betty Jane Fratzke  1 , Brian N Fry  4 , Emma Westra  1
Affiliations

Smartphone delivery of a hope intervention: Another way to flourish

Douglas A Daugherty et al. PLoS One. .

Abstract

Positive interventions have shown promise for fostering hedonic (happiness) and eudaimonic (flourishing) well-being. However, few studies have focused on positive interventions that target hope as a means of increasing well-being, and none have examined the use of smartphone app-based systems for delivering interventions in the moments and contexts of daily life-an approach called ecological momentary intervention (EMI). We conducted a quasi-experimental pilot study using a pretest and posttest design to examine the feasibility and potential impact of a mobile app-based hope EMI. Participants appeared to engage with the intervention and found the experience to be user-friendly, helpful, and enjoyable. Relative to the control group, those receiving the intervention demonstrated significantly greater increases in hope; however, there were no between-group differences in hedonic and eudaimonic well-being. The authors recommend future research to examine the potential of EMI mobile apps to cultivate hope and promote flourishing.

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Conflict of interest statement

DAD, JDR, TAS and BNF are founding co-partners of LifeData, LLC, an experience sampling software company. The LifeData system and app were used in this study. This study was supported by an endowed grant that was funded by the Lilly Foundation, which is not-profit organization. There are no patents, further products in development or marketed products to declare. This does not alter our adherence to all the PLOS ONE policies on sharing data and materials.

Figures

Fig 1
Fig 1. Estimated marginal means for hope scores by condition.
Notes: Estimated marginal means are adjusted for pretest EWB and HWB.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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