8. Discussion and conclusions
The investigated studies suggest that although there is evidence for the efficacy of PP in SB interventions to promote and utilise PP traits, the gaps in the data, accompanied by the scarcity of specific primary data, do not suggest that the evidence base is large enough to begin implementing wide-spread use of PP interventions in schools in the near future. The studies do however raise our awareness of further avenues to explore before promoting the wide-spread use of PP in schools. Terminology and definitions pose certain constraints within the
search for efficacy in PP SB interventions; many PP terms are over-lapping with similar concepts. Thus the
psychometric measurements used to assess these terms are not yet fully designed, nor are they distinct for each
term, making it difficult to create a strong evidence base to support an argument for PP in SB interventions. The
lack of clarity around some PP definitions may be due to a larger problem in creating an operational definition of
positive traits, which unlike diagnostic disorders lend themselves to subjectivity, as these are not measured by an
implicit or explicit level of impairment. For this reason, mental health disorders such as depression and anxiety
are therefore easier to define and measure than positivity. Another attribute of this may be due to the relatively
recent nature of conceptualisation and measurement of positive traits within psychology. Therefore whilst the
theory is still evolving, also is our ability to assess and quantify it.
It is important to question this data with regards to where it sits in