The Flourish Research Lab seeks to promote global research on the flourishing of children, youths, and families in disadvantaged environments. Flourishing refers to the presence of positive mental health beyond the absence of mental illness, i.e., the ultimate status of well-being across all dimensions of human functioning such as positive emotions (feeling happy), engagement, human relationships, meaning, accomplishments, and more. We conduct innovative research that contributes to redefining the concept of mental health with an emphasis on prevention and the promotion of positive mental health, i.e., flourishing beyond symptom reduction for people living in diverse cultural and geographical contexts. The following initiatives are central to the mission of the Flourish Research Lab:
- Promote research focused on the prevention of adverse conditions and the promotion of flourishing beyond symptom reduction.
- Develop culturally sensitive and globally informed measures of flourishing through stakeholder-engaged research
- Employ and further develop innovative research methods, including the methods of Dissemination and Implementation (D&I) science, realist inquiries, and community-based participatory research, to identify and strengthen the contexts and mechanisms that are associated with human flourishing.
- Cultivate future generations of scholars who are capable of leading transdisciplinary, transnational, and cross-cultural research on human flourishing using innovative research methods.
