Ongoing Research

The HappyB Project, which was created by Center Research Fellow Dr. Laura Marciano, investigates how digital media use, particularly smartphone and social media use, is linked, over time, to youth well-being conceptualized in a positive way. This project includes two longitudinal studies which follow approximately 1,600 students from four high schools in the Ticino region of Switzerland. Data is collected through the use of the Ethica app. The project, funded by the Swiss National Research Fund (SNF), started in January 2022 and will run for 24 months. The data collected in Switzerland is then analyzed at the Center for Health and Happiness in Boston.

Center Director Dr. K. “Vish” Viswanath is collaborating with the Salaam Bombay Foundation (SBF) to conduct a longitudinal study to track students over time, following them through their school years and beyond to determine how exposure to SBF programming and other life events impact their health and well-being. The purpose of the SBF longitudinal study is twofold: 1) to gather valuable data on the health communication behaviors, availability of assets, and resilience of youth to determine how these factors are associated with health and well-being, and 2) to directly chart how SBF programs impact outcomes for students who attended SBF-sponsored schools compared to those who did not.

Director Viswanath has begun working on an in-depth case study of the Lee Kum Kee company to determine how the company’s philosophy of “Si Ji Li Ren,” which roughly translates to “consider others’ interests before acting,” is operationalized and followed in practice. The case study will be used to teach students, providing an illustration of how the workplace could be a site for promoting well-being and happiness.