What is REFOCUS?
REFOCUS is a lunchtime program specifically aimed at Years 7-9 secondary school students, designed to introduce evidence-based wellbeing principles in a high energy, fun-packed way.Recognising that what determines an individual's wellbeing is a multifaceted process, the REFOCUS program is constructed to educate students about specific mechanisms at work in their own lives influencing their wellbeing. This content is delivered in a simple and actionable format, empowering students to implement positive change in their lives.
WELLBEING
Psychological wellbeing operates like our body's core temperature (subjective wellbeing homeostasis), which is genetically set and designed to stay at or around the same level. We also know that people have robust mechanisms that protect their psychological wellbeing levels from increasing or decreasing to a level outside a healthy range.
However, while robust, the system is not impervious to threats. For example, a person's psychological wellbeing can drop below its healthy range when encountering significant or prolonged challenges.
The protective mechanisms that we focus on at REFOCUS are Self-Esteem, Perceived Control, Optimism, Personal Relationships and Achieving in Life.
Self-Esteem
Self-esteem is defined as an individual's overall sense of self-worth. People with higher self-esteem levels tend to display better resilience to detrimental external events. For example, if someone with low self-esteem fails a test, they may feel devastated, and their happiness may decrease. However, someone with high self-esteem is more likely to view failure as a temporary setback and maintain a positive outlook on life.
Literature is replete with studies concentrated on self-esteem. For example, in 2019, a search of the PsychInfo database yielded 50,781 results for self-esteem. Within many of these studies, self-esteem is described in line with Rosenberg’s (1979) definition as an attitude of self-worth held by an individual towards an object. In this case, the object is one’s self. According to Rosenberg, an individual’s attitude towards their self gives rise to either positive or negative feelings, and it is generally held that maintaining positive feelings towards one’s self is fundamental and ubiquitous to human beings (Kaplan, 1975; Rosenberg, 1979).
Perceived Control
Perceived control refers to an individual's belief in their ability to influence their environment and outcomes. People who perceive themselves as having high levels of control over their lives tend to have better subjective wellbeing homeostasis because they can better cope with stressful events. For example, if someone believes they have control over a work project, they are more likely to approach it positively and feel satisfied with the final outcome.
Optimism
Optimism is defined by Scheier and Carver (1985) as the expectancy held by individuals that future life outcomes are likely to be favourable. Further, these authors argue that an optimistic attitude regulates behaviours such as an initial willingness to engage with fearful activity and continued engagement. By contrast, those with lower levels of optimism are less likely to engage and quicker to disengage with fear-inducing activity. As a result, it is hypothesised that higher levels of optimism translate to successfully engaging in more positively valenced outcomes, increasing an individual’s overall psychological wellbeing (Diener et al., 1999).
Personal Relationships
When it comes to psychological wellbeing, having good personal relationships is important. These relationships provide support and intimacy, which can help people feel better about themselves and deal more effectively with problems. It's not just about having a relationship but also feeling satisfied with it. When people feel happy and secure in their relationships, it helps them cope with difficult situations and maintain their psychological wellbeing within the normal operating range.
Achieving in Life
Another mechanism that can help maintain someone's psychological wellbeing is a sense of achievement in life. This means actively engaging in activities that give their life meaning. Having a sense of purpose helps people set goals and motivates them to work towards those goals, which can improve their overall happiness.
REFOCUS effectively educates students about these five constructs through mediums such as games and talks.
PICTURE THIS... The lunchtime bell goes, and students enter a room set aside, especially for the REFOCUS program. They’re greeted at the door with introductory games designed to engage students with energy and fun. A themed games-based program is run that gives students a basic lesson in evidence-based wellbeing situated amongst five or six up-front style games.
An invaluable aspect of the success of the REFOCUS program is its intentional use of trained volunteers. The interpersonal connections that community-sourced volunteers, trained by the REFOCUS team, can form with students have the potential to foster long-lasting, positive consequences for individual student wellbeing outcomes. Research indicates that “relationships provide the emotional scaffolding to our lives” (Australian Unity, 2021, p. 24). See the button below to download the report. In response, REFOCUS can become a part of that structure for students and schools, facilitating significant connections among all involved.
The type of volunteering facilitated by REFOCUS has also been demonstrated to positively impact volunteers, helping to increase “purpose and meaning in life” (Mellor, D et al. 2008, p. 68). Indeed, results from “accumulated studies relating to volunteerism are that volunteers consistently report higher well-being than non-volunteers” (Mellor et al., 2008, p. 62). Furthermore, “participation in volunteer activities can provide many opportunities for increasing self-validation, building skills and confidence (psychological resources), and trying out new roles and expanding one’s social sphere (social resources)” (Mellor et al., 2008, p. 63). Recognising this, the REFOCUS program’s structured involvement of trained community volunteers is beneficial for the wellbeing of both students and volunteers beyond educational content alone.
Personal wellbeing’s important and influential role in an individual’s life cannot be overstated. However, according to the Australian Unity Wellbeing Report, research from around the world, including extensive research conducted by Deakin University as part of the Australian Unity Wellbeing Index, demonstrates that this importance extends beyond the individual. Personal wellbeing also greatly influences broader communities and the nation.” (Australian Unity, 2021, pg. 15). It is therefore hoped that the REFOCUS program can have positive implications for not just individuals, both student and volunteer, but also the broader social structures they are a part of, including the immediate school community.
The team at Youth Dimension will provide training, support, and resources to help you run the REFOCUS program in your local school.
Why REFOCUS’ “scattergun" approach is effective:
Programs like REFOCUS, promoting accurate information about mental health literacy to entire cohorts of students, foster some advantages over more individually oriented approaches. Whilst individual interventions are effective and often required, programs created to cater to entire classes or year levels quickly and effectively disseminate accurate information time-efficiently. This is particularly beneficial for students who may not have ready access to individual interventions for any number of personal or logistical reasons. Additionally, programs such as REFOCUS are usually a significantly more cost-effective method of delivering this information.
By creating a safe and supportive place for all students to receive this information, an important opportunity is created to shift attitudes and break down harmful stereotypes about mental health at the level of an entire school community (Marinucci, Grové, & Rozendorn, 2022; Patafio, Miller, Baldwin, Taylor, & Hyder, 2021; Seedaket, Turnbull, Phajan, & Wanchai, 2020). This has the added benefit of normalising help-seeking behaviour, potentially alleviating any social stigma felt by students deciding to pursue individual help. Given that mental health and wellbeing are already a priority for most schools (Allen, Kern, Vella-Brodrick, & Waters, 2018), school programs such as REFOCUS provide an effective opportunity to address the mental health needs and concerns of many students, with potential positive impacts to entire school communities and cultures.