The SEHS–Higher Education is a tool for assessing well-being in higher education. The SEHS-HE has been shown to have a solid and robust structure through confirmatory factor analyses. With items covering belief in self, belief in others, emotional competence, and engaged living, this survey provides a comprehensive understanding of covitality in the higher education setting.
Furlong, M. J., You, S., Shishim, M., & Dowdy, E. (2017). Development and validation of the social emotional health survey–higher education version. Applied Research in Quality of Life, 12, 343-367.
The SEHS–Secondary is a 36-item self-report tool for identifying adolescents' strengths. It uses 12 subscales, grouped into four second-order traits: belief in self (self-awareness, persistence, self-efficacy), belief in others (school support, family coherence, peer support), emotional competence (empathy, self-control, behavioral self-control), and engaged living (gratitude, zest, optimism). These traits together form a higher-order latent trait called covitality. The SEHS-S-2020 is the validated version to be used in research and applied educational contexts.
Furlong, M.J., Dowdy, E., Nylund-Gibson, K. et al. (2021). Enhancement and Standardization of a Universal Social-Emotional Health Measure for Students’ Psychological Strengths. Journal of Well-being Assessment 4, 245–267.
The SEHS–Primary is a self-report tool for primary school children. It assesses gratitude, optimism, zest, and persistence with specific items. For gratitude, students respond to statements like "I am lucky to go to my school," showing appreciation for their school. Optimism is measured with items such as "I expect good things to happen at my school," reflecting a positive outlook. Zest is gauged by prompts such as "I get excited when learning something new at school," which show enthusiasm. Persistence is evident in statements such as "I keep working until I get my schoolwork right," which indicate commitment. These items together capture students’ positive psychological strengths in school by revealing their attitudes, motivations, and behaviors toward learning and participation.
Chan, M-K., Furlong, M.J., & Ruff, E. (2025). Dual-Factor Mental Health Screening in Elementary Schools: Implications in Mental Health Classification. Contemporary School Psychology, 39, 334–345.
Development & History
Development & History
Development & History