1. Emotional wellness is an infrequently discussed
health problem that affects college aged
students (ages 18-40) in the range of Erik
Erikson’s intimacy stage of psychosocial
development. “A Happy Heart is A Healthy
Heart” took place on February 22, 2015 from
6:00pm – 7:30pm in the Indiana State University
Cunningham Memorial Library Events Area. The
program focused on increasing emotional
wellness through developing skills for
maintaining healthy relationships. Students
engaged in multiple live skits pertaining to
common misconceptions of handling
relationships. The skits had four primary topics
of focus; conflict resolution, communication,
intimacy, and overall healthy intimate, personal,
and professional relationships. By the end of the
program, 80% of participants were able to
identify general components of incorporating
healthy relationships in all aspects of their lives.
“A Happy Heart is A Healthy Heart”
Williams, I.,Walson, C.,Farley, V.,Canas, A.,McDaniel, D.,Uselman, K., Berlin, K.
Department of Applied Health Sciences
As a result of this health program implementation, knowledge of
emotional wellness, intimacy, and conflict resolution was
increased by an average of 83%. Of the 28 participants, only 24
completed the assessments correctly and as a result, four were
thrown out. Six were males, and 18 were females. According to
the paired survey results, knowledge of emotional wellness
before the program (mean of 3.6 on a 5.0 scale) increased by
81% with the post test mean of 4.5. Knowledge of conflict
resolution was increased by 87% with a pre-test mean of 3.79
and a post-test mean of 4.38. Knowledge of intimacy was
increased by 80% with a pre-test mean of 3.71 and a post-test
mean of 4.63. The results of the participants rate of the
effectiveness of the program was a 4.46 out of a 5.0 scale
measuring increasing knowledge overall. Overall, the goals of
the program were met since knowledge of the health topics was
increased.
Although results were not significant due to our small sample
size, the predicted outcomes were met. Our program supported
Erik Erickson Stages of Psychosocial Development Theory since
emotional wellness was increased amongst the participants which
is supported by the results of the pre and post test. We had 28
students from the ISU community compared to our projected 70.
Out of the 28 participants only 24 filled out the pre-test and post-
test correctly. We threw out the four surveys that were filled out
incorrectly and we know this because the corresponding surveys
were incomplete. The only intended goal that was not completed
were the amount of participants. The low participant results were
due to lack of timely advertisement; flyers were not posted until
three days prior to the implementation. The overarching goals of
the program (gain more knowledge on emotional wellness and
conflict resolution) were met. “A Happy Heart is a Healthy Heart”
program resulted in increased knowledge of emotional wellness
and conflict resolution.
The program was held on Monday, February 22, 2016 in the ISU
Library Events area at Indiana State University (ISU) from 6:00-
7:30pm. The purpose of this program was to educate the student
body at ISU about emotional wellness, healthy relationships, and
conflict resolutions. Through collaboration with the Student Health
Promotion Office, Why You Laughin’, and the ISU Counseling Center
this program was made possible.
There were a series of improvised skits acted out by Why You
Laughin’ that focused on various health topics including:
professionalism, intimacy, and friendship. It displayed how these
factors can negatively affect emotional wellness. After each skit was
performed, the Student Counseling Center interacted with
participants by asking different questions about each scenario and
providing professional advice accordingly. They also educated the
audience on whether or not the scenarios displayed an effective
method of conflict resolution. In collaboration with Student Health
Promotion Office we were able to make a variety of incentives
available to our participants. These incentives were purchased from
Oriental Trading and included: four orders of conversation heart
stress balls, 24 plush monster hearts, 48 heart frog keychains, 48 red
spiral notebook and pen sets, 48 heart shaped tins with mints, 48 red
clappers, 48 neon water bottles, and 48 mini popcorn bags in
valentine treat boxes for a total budget of $408.There was a total of
28 participants which consisted of men and women from ages 18-40.
A pre and post-test was administered to participants and consisted of
the following questions; how would you rate your knowledge on the
following topics? On a scale from 0-5, how would you rate your
knowledge on the following topics after engaging in the program? On
a scale from 0-5, how would you rate the effectiveness of "A Happy
Heart is A Healthy Heart" program? The effectiveness and
knowledge was measured on a Likert scale from 0-5. 0 being no
knowledge and 5 being very knowledgeable. The data obtained from
the pre and post-test was analyzed through Qualtrics to find the
mean, median, and range of the participant’s answers.
“A Happy Heart is A Healthy Heart” was a public health
program geared towards emotional wellness. The program
consisted of the audience watching skits performed by Why
You Laughin’, a comedy group that focuses on
improvisation. The skits topics included professionalism,
intimacy, and friendship. The actors performed the negative
aspect of a relationship, and the ISU Student Counseling
Center critiqued the skits and gave positive feedback
throughout the program. The goal was to increase student
knowledge of emotional wellness, and to have a better
understanding of conflict resolution strategies. The overall
program was a success, based off the results of the pre and
post-test, the participants knowledge increased overall. To
improve the outcomes, the location of the event should be
changed to attract more participants and increase the
sample size. For future research the sample size can be
increased for better results.
Mental health can be affected by the relationships that
people establish with one another. The impacts that the
relationships can have on mental health can start in
childhood and continue through adult hood. The effects of
these relationships can lead to positive or negative
outcomes on a person’s mental health (Kilian, 2016).
Students at Indiana State University decided this was
important and awareness need to be increased about the
correlation of relationships and mental health. That is when
the Grant, “A Healthy Heart is a Happy Heart” was rewarded
by the Student Health Promotion office (ISU).The grant
specifically focused on intimate relationships and
communication with family, friends, roommates,
professionally, and the relationship that a person has with
themselves. Researchers have found that people can have
positive and negative relationships within any given
relationship (Vaughn, Drake, & Haydock, 2016). Along with
increasing awareness the grant also increase the
participant’s knowledge on how to handle the negative
relationships and provided them with resources to utilize. In
order to increase the participant’s knowledge about mental
health the group wanted to create a grant that was a little
different from the rest. There were a series of skits that were
performed by the group Why Laughing, which is a comedy
group. Although there is nothing funny about mental health
the goal was to create an atmosphere that was light hearted
that would grab the participant’s attention. The group Why
You Laughing performed skits based on emotional intimacy,
communication, professional relationships, conflict
resolution, friendship intimacy, and overall healthy
relationship. After each skit was performed the Student
Counseling Center interacted with participants by asking
different questions about the skit along with providing them
with resources in order to create a healthy relationship.
Mental Health is important for a person overall health it helps
increase our ability to maintain healthy relationships, make
good choices, maintain physical health and grow as a
person. Continuing research about mental health is
important so we can increase the knowledge about the
outcomes of positive and negative effects in life.
INTRODUCTION METHODS AND MATERIALS
Reference U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Office of the Director, Office of Strategy and Innovation. Introduction to program evaluation for public health programs: A self-study guide.
Atlanta, GA: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2011.
Counseling Services. (n.d.). Retrieved February 2, 2016, from http://www2.indstate.edu/cns/counselingServices.htm
Kilian, R. (2016, July). Social Relationships and Mental Health and Illness. In Third ISA Forum of Sociology (July 10-14, 2016). Isaconf.
Janet Weatherly. (n.d.). Retrieved February 28, 2016, from http://www.indstate.edu/faculty-staff/janet-weatherly
Meet The Staff. (n.d.). Retrieved February 28, 2016, from https://www.indstate.edu/student-affairs/student-health-promotion/meet-the-staff
Tapia, R. (2012). Integrated Theories of Developmental Psychology. In Child psychotherapy integrating developmental theory into clinical
practice (pp. 21-24). New York: Springer Publishing Company.
Rosenberger, E. W. (2011). Where I end and you begin: the role of boundaries in college student relationships. About Campus, 16(4), 11-19.
Vaughn, A. A., Drake Jr, R. R., & Haydock, S. (2016). College student mental health and quality of workplace relationships. Journal of
American College Health, 64(1), 26-37.
CONCLUSIONS
DISCUSSION
RESULTS
REFERENCES
ABSTRACT
contact
Ishaiah Williams
Email: iwilliams2@sycamores.indstate.edu
Phone: (812) 239-5857
This program was made possible with the
funding from Janet Weatherly and the
Student Health Promotion Office.
Acknowledgements
Participant incentitives
Communication Skit
Sample Pre-test Qualtrics analyzed results
Student Implementers