ConnectMore: A Relationship-building Curriculum for First-year College Students

With ever-increasing depression rates, particularly in the young adult population who are the most at-risk age group for developing depression (Brunwasser, Gillham, & Kim, 2009), there is a great need for innovative approaches to prevention and treatment. Confronted with the challenge to implement programs that will work to combat this epidemic, universities can apply the insights and interventions offered by the field of positive psychology. From the lens of positive psychology, positive relationships are some of the greatest sources for cultivating well-being and are therefore of great interest. This paper proposes and outlines a college course, ConnectMore, based on interventions and principles of positive psychology. The course will present the evidence-based interventions borne out of the field of positive psychology. The overarching objective is to increase the quality of the participants’ relationships and thus, their overall life satisfaction while simultaneously lowering overall rates of depression.