“We are the flowers that go underwater and still blossom:” Defining and facilitating wellbeing during youth participatory action research

The current study explored youth participatory action research (YPAR) as a multi-level intervention to promote young adults' wellbeing within a virtual National Young Adult Wellbeing Network. The research questions were: 1) how did young adults conceptualize wellbeing?; 2) how did young adults describe the impact of YPAR on their wellbeing? Fifteen racially and economically diverse 18-23 year olds from three states participated. Phase one included creating art as data (research), critical reflection, and action planning in YPAR. Phase two involved a qualitative follow up to create a collective definition of wellbeing. Field notes, arti(facts), and post-interviews were coded and reflexive thematic analysis was used to answer the research questions. Young adults' conceptualization of wellbeing centered the impact of structural forces on individual and group functioning. YPAR facilitated the young adults' wellbeing across five domains. Combining positive psychology and community psychology in YPAR can improve individual and collective wellbeing.