Redefining self-care through positive education: university student perspectives

Faced with innumerable stressors and responsibilities, university students are particularly susceptible to mental health and well-being challenges. Self-care practices have been shown to help mitigate stress and health problems. One way university students can learn self-care practices is through positive education, the teaching of positive psychology. However, minimal research has assessed the role positive education plays in students' self-care behaviours. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to explore the impact of an undergraduate positive education course on students' self-care practices and, in turn, their mental health, quality of life, and happiness. Five undergraduate students participated in a focus group to discuss their experiences in a positive education course offered at a large Canadian university. With 75 students across two sections, the course consisted of 12 weekly three-hour sessions, combining theoretical teachings in positive psychology with practical activities to foster student well-being and flourishing. Reflexive thematic analyses revealed that the course encouraged students to engage in self-care practices which, by extension, enhanced their mental health, quality of life, and happiness. There was a general consensus among participants that these improvements stemmed from increased self-kindness, slowness, awareness, and particularly social connection. In fact, the participants learned to prioritize both themselves and their social relationships as essential aspects of self-care. These findings support the importance of offering positive education courses in university settings and demonstrate the benefits of promoting self-care as both an individual and collective practice in these courses.