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Character strengths—such as wisdom, courage, humanity, justice, temperance, and transcendence—are positive psychological traits crucial for adolescent mental health and resilience (Peterson & Seligman, 2004). Character strengths are directly associated with positive mental wellbeing. Developing innovative, accessible, and cost-effective interventions to cultivate these strengths is essential in contemporary social work practice. An emerging and promising strategy, known as "cinematherapy," uses films' emotional and narrative power to support psychological development beyond traditional therapeutic approaches (Niemiec, 2023; Madden et al., 2011; Proctor et al., 2011; Quinlan et al., 2015; Rashid et al., 2013). However, rigorous scientific evidence regarding its effectiveness and efficacy remains in scarcity, demanding further investigation.
To address this gap, we conducted a multi-site quasi-experimental study involving 529 adolescents aged 12–18 from Hong Kong secondary schools. Our goals were twofold: (1) to evaluate the effectiveness of a structured cinematherapy intervention (the "24F Program") focused on 24 character strengths for enhancing adolescents' self-efficacy, hope, and future outlook; and (2) to identify character strengths valued by Hong Kong youth, providing insights to guide psychosocial services.
Methods:
Participants were systematically assigned to four groups based on intervention intensity: Type 1 (one 90-minute session; n=331), Type 3 (three sessions over separate days; n=133), Type 4 Experimental (eight sessions over four weeks; n=34), and Type 4 Control (no intervention; n=31). Each session included warm-up activities, character strengths interventions, and reflective group discussions. Validated questionnaires measuring character strengths, self-efficacy, hope, and outlook were administered before and after interventions.
Results:
At baseline, no significant differences existed between groups. Adolescents identified curiosity, kindness, and humor as their strongest character strengths, while self-control, love of learning, and social intelligence were reported as weakest.
Post-intervention analyses revealed clear dose-response effects. Adolescents receiving more intensive interventions showed significantly greater improvements in self-efficacy, hope, and future outlook than the control group. The Type 4 Experimental group showed the largest gains, achieving a medium effect size (0.528). Within-group improvements were also notable: Type 3 participants improved significantly after the third session, and Type 4 participants demonstrated substantial progress by the eighth session. Across intervention groups, participants reported high satisfaction and strongly agreed the program fostered positive life perspectives.
Conclusions and Implications:
The findings demonstrate the effectiveness of cinematherapy-based character strengths interventions, highlighting their potential to significantly improve adolescent mental health outcomes. From a policy perspective, prioritizing innovative, culturally relevant, and scalable psychosocial interventions in school-based and community settings can meaningfully address adolescent mental health challenges. Practically, integrating structured film-based programs into youth services offers an engaging, accessible, and cost-effective approach to enhancing adolescents' resilience and psychological well-being. Our study highlights the transformative potential of cinematherapy, advocating its broader integration into school curriculum, policy development, and frontline practice.