On December 18th, the Greater Princeton Branch of AYLUS (GPA) hosted its first public discussion panel regarding “Positive Psychology in Raising Teens”. GPA invited Dr. Xie Gang, a school psychologist, to discuss the better ways to deal with the relationship while raising teens at home. AYLUS National Honorary President Cassie Tammy Wang and GPA Development Minister Steven Li, and more, attended as co-host and/or panelists.
In addition to the insightful discussions on positive psychology, the panel can also delve into the role of personality typology, such as the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI), in understanding and fostering healthy relationships with teenagers. It is highlighted that recognizing and appreciating the eight cognitive traits of MBTI can offer valuable insights into teenagers’ behaviors and preferences. By understanding their unique cognitive styles, parents can tailor their approach to communication, discipline, and support, ultimately nurturing a more harmonious parent-teen relationship.
Dr. Gang Xie, Master of Educational Psychology, Beijing Normal University, USA Ph.D. in School Psychology at Temple University. Since 2000, she has worked as a school psychologist at the Fremont Unified Campus in California, USA, and a lecturer in positive psychology at the Graduate School of Sofia University. The author of “I am a School Psychologist in the United States”.
“Positive psychology is the scientific study of what makes life most worth living”. It’s a scientific approach to studying human thoughts, feelings, and behavior, with a focus on strengths instead of weaknesses, building the good in life instead of repairing the bad, and taking the lives of average people up to “great” instead of focusing solely on moving those who are struggling up to “normal” (Peterson, 2008).
GPA volunteers to help host or promote the public discussion for awareness: Cassie Tammy Wang (12/18, 6 hrs), Steven Li (12/5, 3 hrs; 12/12, 3 hrs; 12/18, 3 hrs), George Chen (12/18, 3 hrs), Catherine Feng (12/18, 2 hrs), Ethan Xu (12/18, 2 hrs), Amber Yu (12/18, 2 hrs), Fangyi Chen (12/18, 2 hrs), Ryan Tian (12/18, 2 hrs), Fiona Fan (12/18, 2 hrs), Ricky Fan (12/18, 2 hrs), Sophia Song (12/18, 2 hrs), Pearl Song (12/18, 2 hrs), Sara Yu (12/18, 2 hrs), Sophia Yu (12/18, 2 hrs), Cosner Yang (12/18, 2 hrs), Shuchen Yu (12/18, 2 hrs), Zhihan Zhang (12/18, 2 hrs), Amy Lin (12/18, 2 hrs), Gina Shen (12/18, 2 hrs), Sarah Liu (12/18, 2 hrs), Shannon Liu (12/18, 2 hrs), Lan Cheng (12/18, 2 hrs), Annie Miao (12/18, 2 hrs), Elizabeth Ma (12/18, 2 hrs), Allan You (12/18, 2 hrs), Dawson Lin (12/18, 2 hrs), Maggie Yan (12/18, 2 hrs), Kevin Chen (12/18, 2 hrs), Jerry Chen (12/18, 2 hrs), James Wang (12/18, 2 hrs), Ian Xie (12/18, 2 hrs), Chloe Tan (12/18, 2 hrs), Andrew Yao (12/18, 2 hrs), Ruofei Olivia Mao (12/18, 2 hrs), Pennie Lu (12/18, 2 hrs), Harrison Lu (12/18, 2 hrs), Brendan Chen (12/18, 2 hrs), Sophia Feng (12/18, 2 hrs), Michael Feng (12/18, 2 hrs), Oliver Cai (12/18, 2 hrs), Beatrice Cai (12/18, 2 hrs), Alissa Wu (12/18, 2 hrs), Cynthia Jinghui Huang (12/18, 2 hrs), James Chen (12/18, 2 hrs), and more.
Positive psychology focuses on the positive events and influences in life, including:
- Positive experiences (like happiness, joy, inspiration, and love).
- Positive states and traits (like gratitude, resilience, and compassion).
- Positive institutions (applying positive principles within entire organizations and institutions).
As a field, positive psychology spends much of its time thinking about topics like character strengths, optimism, life satisfaction, happiness, wellbeing, gratitude, compassion (as well as self-compassion), self-esteem and self-confidence, hope, and elevation.
These topics are studied in order to learn how to help people flourish and live their best lives.
Here is a YouTube Link for the Webinar:
See below for some impressions of participants:
Attending the Positive Psychology Webinar in Raising Teens with my sister and parents made me more aware of the importance and influences of teenage mental health. We learned a lot about the psychology of children’s brains and their sensitivity to changes in mental health and to overreacting and experiencing stress. Listening to Dr. Xie’s lecture gave us a better understanding of teenage mental health, happiness, stress, education, freedom, self-awareness, and self-care (sleep and nutrition). In addition, I learned about different ways to improve teenage mental health and how parents could help reduce stress in their children through communication, tools, and books. The webinar conveyed the importance of communication between parents and teenagers, which is instrumental in both building a healthy relationship between the parent and teenager and maintaining a stable positive mental health for the teenager. Overall, I felt that the Positive Psychology Webinar was very helpful, not only for my family but for other AYLUS members’ families and beyond. It educated us about recovering from and reducing stress, improving families’ and teenagers’ mental health, and the psychology of children that allows for the several methods used to enhance mental health. — Sarah Liu
After listening to the webinar featuring Dr. Xie, I learned that as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, students and teenagers have experienced mental health issues such as increased stress and relationship problems. Teenagers are more emotionally unstable than older age groups due to their underdeveloped brains and mental health. Because of this, teenagers must engage in self-care routines, gain enough sleep, and seek help when necessary. In addition, I learned that since teenagers have not fully developed mentally, parents must be more aware and considerate of their feelings. Parents should support their children and their ambitions more, instead of rejecting their ideas. By being unsupportive towards their children, parents may cause their children to feel unintelligent. However, when parents criticize their children, it is not the parent’s intention of making their children suffer. The parents simply want to express their concerns for their children and their children’s future. I also learned that a healthy parent-to-child relationship results in a positive feedback loop of happiness, encouragement, and emotional care. Therefore, teenagers and parents should try to maintain a healthy relationship and solve any relationship challenges. —- Shannon Liu
After listening to Dr. Julie Xie’s lecture on positive psychology, I gained a deeper understanding of the dynamics of the relationship between parents and their children. I learned that even before the covid pandemic, a large proportion of teenagers experienced depression or anxiety. During their children’s teenage years, parents also exhibited depression and anxiety at the highest rates. While this in
large part can be attributed to genetic and environmental factors outside of one’s control, Dr. Xie notes how 40% can be alleviated through lifestyle changes. For children, sleeping for an adequate number of hours and exercising frequently is effective at lowering depression and boosting energy and self-esteem. Even smiling has a positive effect on a child’s disposition. She also emphasizes the
importance of establishing many connections with many people throughout one’s lifetime, citing a 75 year long longitudinal study that proved it was correlated with happiness and future earnings. After listening to Dr. Xie’s lecture, I’ll be sure to adopt some of these good habits into my daily life. Equally important in boosting a child’s happiness are their parents. Dr. Xie points out how parents are often apt to find faults in their children and overlook their accomplishments, which she called
“automatic negative thoughts.” To make matters worse, they might even use fear and display a harsh and disconnected tone towards their children. This inevitably engenders the distrust of children, and contributes to their depression and anxiety, Dr. Xie argued. To solve this, she proposes that parents take a more positive and proactive approach to parenting, which calls for parents to set an example for their children rather than forcing them to do something. In other words, parents should
give their children a reason why they should listen to them. Furthermore, they should be patient and empathetic with their children and encourage positive risk taking. —- Kevin Chen