Positive Psychology Research in the Middle East and North Africa

Abstract

Since the original call by Seligman and Csikszentmihalyi (2000) for a new science of happiness, excellence, and optimal human functioning, there has been considerable momentum in the research in positive psychology (see Donaldson, Dollwet, & Rao, 2014).  A systematic review of the literature explicitly linked to the positive psychology movement assessed the extent of authorship, empirical and theoretical publications, and engagement of local samples in the indigenous research emerging from the Middle Eastern and North African regions.  An in-depth review of these articles (n = 53) was conducted to examine the trends in publication, author locations, sample locations, key topics, research approaches and findings from exemplary articles that attend to key issues.  Highlights from cross-national comparisons, cross-cultural validations and replications, research on positive constructs, and research on issues particular to the Middle East and North Africa are reviewed.  Finally, unique trends of the research emerging from the Middle Eastern and North African regions are discussed and future directions for growth are explored.