The mental health struggles of youth worldwide in the post pandemic era has been well documented in recent literature. Significant increases have been seen in rates of depression and anxiety, along with a deepening sense of social isolation and general despair. Yet, not all youth appear to be subject to these negative trends. For some, the post pandemic era has signaled an opportunity to prosper both socially and emotionally and, importantly, appears to offer opportunities to better serve the needs of others. In this presentation, Dr. Tripathi will discuss his work on the Life assets Scale, a self-report measure of youth well-being and the ecosystem in which they exist. He will focus specifically on his theory of social immunization among Thai youth and how this may manifest in enhanced morality and character development within this group. Dr. Smith will discuss recent empirical findings utilizing the Social and Emotional Health Scale with samples of middle and high school students from the United States. His presentation will focus on the little researched area of school boredom and how, for some, this seems to progress to a more general pattern of boredom with life in general. In keeping with his positive psychology roots, however, Dr. Smith will also discuss boredom as an often-predictable situational response which offers the opportunity to practice modes of engagement.

Douglas Smith is a practicing clinical psychologist and professor of psychology at Southern Oregon University in Ashland OR. Prior to this, he held academic posts at the University of Hawaii and the University of Illinois. He is a prolific researcher with publications mainly related to positive youth development. He is a long-time reviewer for several academic journals and was the Associate Editor of Psychology in the Schools.