On March 18, a webinar was held as part of the “Co-Authored Reading” book club series within the “Science in Publications” project (Moscow State University of Psychology and Education). The event focused on a new instrument for assessing adolescent psychological well-being — the Russian-language version of the EPOCH questionnaire (Engagement, Perseverance, Optimism, Connectedness, Happiness).
The speaker was Elena N. Volkova, Doctor of Psychology and Professor at the Federal Scientific Center for Psychological and Interdisciplinary Research (Moscow).
The event brought together 85 participants from across Russia — from Lugansk to Kamchatka — as well as from Minsk and Tashkent, highlighting the strong professional interest in the topic.
At the beginning of the webinar, the speaker introduced a key conceptual distinction: psychological well-being should not be understood simply as a “good mood” or a subjective experience of happiness. Drawing on the work of Norman Bradburn, Ed Diener, and Martin Seligman, she emphasized that psychological well-being is not merely an emotional state but rather a set of psychological resources that enable individuals to function effectively across different areas of life.
Elena N. Volkova noted that until recently Russian psychologists did not have a valid instrument for measuring adolescent psychological well-being. In international practice, the EPOCH questionnaire is widely used as a diagnostic tool for this purpose. It is based on the model of psychological well-being developed by Margaret L. Kern (2016) and includes five scales: engagement, perseverance, optimism, connectedness with others, and happiness.
Elena N. Volkova presented a study conducted to analyze the psychometric characteristics of the EPOCH questionnaire. The sample included 230 adolescents aged 13–16 years. The results of confirmatory factor analysis confirmed the five-factor structure of the questionnaire.
The meeting also discussed a unique profile of adolescent well-being in Russia. It was found that Russian adolescents place high value on relationships with others and generally feel happy. These indicators are comparable to data from China and Scandinavian countries. At the same time, levels of engagement and perseverance were lower than in the United States, Germany, and Asian countries.
A gender aspect was also presented: girls demonstrated statistically significantly higher scores in optimism, connectedness, and overall well-being. Age and place of residence did not have a significant effect on the overall level of well-being, although some interesting nuances were identified: younger adolescents were slightly happier than older ones, and adolescents from rural areas demonstrated higher connectedness.
The meeting generated lively discussion. Participants asked a number of substantive questions. In particular, attention was drawn to the gender distribution in the sample (36% boys and 64% girls). A comment was also made regarding the connectedness scale: items referring to a “loss of sense of time” may produce false-positive results in children with ADHD, since impaired time control in this group is associated not with engagement in an activity, but with deficits in executive self-regulation.
Several participants expressed their readiness to implement the questionnaire in their practice, and one participant reported that she had already chosen EPOCH as a tool for her master’s research.
The study results are presented in the article:
Volkova, E.N., Volkova, I.V. (2025). The EPOCH questionnaire for assessing psychological well-being in Russian adolescents: psychometric properties and applications. Psychological Science and Education, 30(4), 109–119. https://doi.org/10.17759/pse.2025300408
Another article is currently in press:
Volkova, E.N. Psychological well-being of Russian adolescents: strengths and areas for development within the EPOCH model. Psychological Science and Education, 2026, No. 2.
A video recording of the webinar is available on the PsyJournals portal’s VK Video and Rutube channels.
The event was supported by the MSUPE “Boiling Point” platform.
The speaker’s 
presentation is also available.
The 2026 calendar of webinars and events for the “Science in Publications” project is now available.