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How WEIRD are positive psychology interventions? A bibliometric analysis of randomized controlled trials on the science of well-being
Open accessAbstract
The past two decades have witnessed a rapid rise in well-being research, and a profusion of empirical studies on positive psychology interventions (PPIs). This bibliometric analysis quantifies the extent to which rigorous research on PPIs that employ randomized controlled trials (RCTs) reaches beyond Western Educated Industrialized Rich Democratic (WEIRD) populations. A search was conducted through databases including PubMed, PsycINFO, and Scopus for studies from 1998 to 2017. In total, we found 187 full-text articles that included 188 RCTs from 24 countries. We found that RCTs on the efficacy of PPIs are still predominately conducted in western countries, which accounted for 78.2% of the studies. All these countries are highly industrialized and democratic, and study populations are often highly educated and have a high income. However, there has been a strong and steady increase in publications from non-Western countries since 2012, indicating a trend towards globalization of positive psychology research.
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“Firstly, it is expected that majority of participants will be mothers, limiting the generalizability of conclusions to fathers.”
From Effectiveness of a positive psychology and mindfulness-based app on mental health for parents of children with a neurodevelopmental disorder: study protocol of a pragmatic international randomized controlled trial (2024) · cites this paper as [41]
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“Indeed, some research has found that Western-derived interventions for psychological problems can conflict with norms of nonWestern populations. 70-72”
From Randomized Controlled Trials of Mindfulness and Acceptance-Based Interventions Over the Past Two Decades: A Bibliometric Analysis. (2021) · cites this paper as [71]
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“Further, as existing literature has raised concerns about the dominance of studies on the effects of positive psychological interventions in WEIRD countries (Hendriks et al., 2019), this study provides evidence on the effectiveness of specific positive interventions in a non-WEIRD society.”
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“However, research in the field of positive psychology interventions in non-Western countries is still in its infancy, and researchers urge articles from non-Western countries, even when there is a finding of no effect, as this is likely to reduce the publication bias in positive psychology intervention research [28,29…”
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Grand Challenges for Positive Psychology: Future Perspectives and Opportunities
van Zyl, L. E., & Rothmann, S. (2022) · Frontiers in Psychology · doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2022.833057 · Cited by 75
“Wong and Roy (2017) emphasize that positive psychology over-relies on scientism and the belief that the positivist paradigm is the only scientific approach to examining psychological phenomena.”
BackgroundInfluentialFrom Deficit to Strength-Based Aboriginal Health Research—Moving toward Flourishing
Bullen, J., Hill-Wall, T., Anderson, K. M., Brown, A. D. H., Bracknell, C., Newnham, E. A., Garvey, G., & Waters, L. E. (2023) · International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health · doi:10.3390/ijerph20075395 · Cited by 62
“While positive psychology has generated meaningful outcomes for many populations, there are critiques of both the heterogenous population sampled and impacted, and the context and settings most positive psychology interventions have been conducted within [40].”
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Questioning Contemporary Universalist Approaches to Human Flourishing
Fowers, B. J., Novak, L. F., Kiknadze, N. C., & Calder, A. J. (2022) · Review of General Psychology · doi:10.1177/10892680221138230 · Cited by 54
“This may have escaped notice partly because flourishing measures have been developed by WEIRD scholars and based primarily onWEIRD samples (FernándezRı́os & Novo, 2012; Hendriks et al., 2019).”
Backgrounddu Toit, A., Thomson, R. J., & Page, A. (2022) · International Journal of Wellbeing · doi:10.5502/ijw.v12i2.1897 · Cited by 61
The Value of Pretend Play for Social Competence in Early Childhood: A Meta-analysis
der Nat, M. S.-V., van der Wilt, F. M., Meeter, M., & van der Veen, C. (2024) · Educational Psychology Review · doi:10.1007/s10648-024-09884-z · Cited by 71
“That is, most studies included in this meta-analysis were conducted in countries that are western, educated, industrialized, rich, and democratic (i.e., WEIRD countries; Hendriks et al., 2019).”
When COVID-19 exacerbates inequities: The path forward for generating wellbeing
Warren, M. A., & Bordoloi, S. D. (2020) · International Journal of Wellbeing · doi:10.5502/ijw.v10i3.1357 · Cited by 44
“…on wellbeing has leaned heavily toward individual actions and behaviors to generate wellbeing, given the underlying assumption that individuals have the autonomy to choose activities, engage in experiences, and take measures to enhance their own wellbeing (Hendriks et al., 2019; Lyubomirsky, 2008).”
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BackgroundTRENDS AND PATTERNS IN COSO-RELATED AUDITING RESEARCH: A BIBLIOMETRIC STUDY
Qabajeh, M., Qubbaja, A., Jebreel, M., AlQudah, M. Z., & Alkhatib, F. S. F. (2024) · EDPACS · doi:10.1080/07366981.2024.2371537 · Cited by 41
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InfluentialDatu, J. A. D., & Mateo, N. J. (2020) · Children and Youth Services Review · doi:10.1016/j.childyouth.2020.105649 · Cited by 52
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BackgroundA Decade of Green Economic Literature: An Analysis-Based Bibliometric
Alqudah, H. M., AlQudah, M. Z., Huson, Y. A., Lutfi, A., Alrawad, M., & Almaiah, M. A. (2024) · International Journal of Energy Economics and Policy · doi:10.32479/ijeep.15579 · Cited by 38
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Alcohol-impaired Walking in 16 Countries: A Theory-Based Investigation
Oviedo-Trespalacios, Ó., Çeli̇k, A. K., Bertolín, A. M.-B., Włodarczyk, A., Demant, D., Nguyen-Phuoc, D. Q., Rubie, E., Oktay, E., Argandar, G. D., Rod, J. E., et al. (2021) · Accident Analysis & Prevention · doi:10.1016/j.aap.2021.106212 · Cited by 36
“Research on the application of psychosocial models in non-Western and/or low and middle-income countries is still needed, and it is an on-going focus of concern among researchers (Hendriks et al., 2019).”
Donaldson, S. I., Cabrera, V., & Gaffaney, J. (2021) · Frontiers in Psychology · doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2021.739352 · Cited by 42
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Regan, A., Radošić, N., & Lyubomirsky, S. (2022) · Trends in Cognitive Sciences · doi:10.1016/j.tics.2022.08.006 · Cited by 46
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“Researchers have urged the scientific field to expand their research beyond a western-centric focus (Arnett, 2016, Cole, 2006; Hendriks et al., 2019; Jahoda, 2016; Pollet & Saxton, 2019).”
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“This is different in the traditional PPIs, which are often adapted to specific populations (Hendriks et al., 2018).”
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Kiknadze, N. C., & Fowers, B. J. (2023) · Journal of Happiness Studies · doi:10.1007/s10902-023-00677-9 · Cited by 42
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Positive memory intervention techniques: a scoping review
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Basurrah, A. A., Baddar, M. K. A.-H., & Blasi, Z. D. (2022) · Frontiers in Psychology · doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2021.793608 · Cited by 46
“While the ratio of non-Western toWestern randomised controlled trials (RCTs) evaluating PPIs has improved quite dramatically in the past decade, most of these studies (82%) remain narrow in focus in terms of the culture of their participants, having been developed and tested inWestern Educated Industrialised Rich Demo…”
BackgroundThe association between sensory processing and stress in the adult population: A systematic review
Harrold, Á., Keating, K., Larkin, F., & Setti, A. (2024) · Applied Psychology Health and Well-Being · doi:10.1111/aphw.12554 · Cited by 38
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Editorial: Positive psychological interventions: How, when and why they work: Beyond WEIRD contexts
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“…psychology is not only limited to publications originating from Western countries; a quarter to a third of the studies in the field of positive psychology now originate from non-Western countries (Donaldson, Dollwet, & Rao, 2015; Hendriks et al., 2018b; Kim, Doiron, Warren, & Donaldson, 2018).”
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Mishra, H., & Venkatesan, M. (2022) · Management and Labour Studies · doi:10.1177/0258042x221117960 · Cited by 48
Measuring ACT in context: Challenges and future directions
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“Critical Positive Psychology Some researchers have described an elitist approach to positive psychology, which focuses on WEIRD (Western, Educated, Industrialized, Rich, and Democratic) groups, with little recognition of the influence of social context, and social determinants of health and well-being (e.g., Banicki,…”
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“This issue relates to a broader concern on the preponderance of studies about positive psychological interventions in WEIRD societies (Hendriks et al., 2019), which may not be applicable to people in non-WEIRD and collectivist societies who are more likely to prioritize socially oriented strategies to achieve happines…”
BackgroundPredictive Power of Positive Mental Health: A Scoping Review
Margraf, J., Teismann, T., & Brailovskaia, J. (2024) · Journal of Happiness Studies · doi:10.1007/s10902-024-00788-x · Cited by 31
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Psychotherapy Trainee Humility and Its Impact: Conceptual and Practical Considerations
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“Consistently, previous studies in the West also revealed the positive associations between SWB (e.g., negative affect) and PWB (e.g., autonomy) indicators among university students (Goodman et al., 2018).”
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“A major limitation of much educational research is overreliance on studies from Western, Edu-cated, Industrialized, Rich, and Democratic (WEIRD) societies (Hendriks et al., 2019)—particularly the US and a few other industrialized countries.”
BackgroundAn Interdependent Approach to Happiness and Well-Being
Uchida, Y., & Rappleye, J. (2023) · Springer eBooks · doi:10.1007/978-3-031-26260-9 · Cited by 20
Lambert, L., Warren, M. A., Schwam, A., & Warren, M. T. (2021) · Current Psychology · doi:10.1007/s12144-021-02080-0 · Cited by 25
“…Christopher & Hickinbottom, 2008; Joshanloo, 2013; Yakushko & Blodgett, 2021), and use as the norm, WEIRD participants (i.e., Western, Educated, Industrial-ized, Rich, and Democratic), limiting their generalizability to other parts of the world (Hendriks, Warren et al., 2018; Henrich et al., 2010).”
InfluentialSelf-citationRetracted Article: Using bibliometrics to understand algorithmic finance
Qudah, H. A., Baqila, B. K. A., Albadienah, J. M. O., AlQudah, M. Z., Qudah, S. M. A. A., Alrahamneh, S., Ababne, A., & Qudah, I. (2024) · Journal of Applied Economics · doi:10.1080/15140326.2024.2389497 · Cited by 19
RetractedHoppen, T. H., & Nexhmedin Morina, B. (2021) · BMJ Open · doi:10.1136/bmjopen-2020-046017 · Cited by 19
Proverbial positive psychology: can we leverage African ancient wisdom to promote flourishing?
Appiah, R. (2023) · The Journal of Positive Psychology · doi:10.1080/17439760.2023.2282771 · Cited by 19
“Additionally, researchers would need to partner with local organizations and policy-makers to integrate the interventions into existing health and well-being initiatives (Appiah, 2022b; Hendriks & Graafsma, 2019; Schick et al., 2021; Van Zyl & Rothmann, 2019).”
InfluentialWieners, L., van Zyl, L. E., Radstaak, M., & Schotanus-Dijkstra, M. (2021) · International Journal of Wellbeing · doi:10.5502/ijw.v11i4.1489 · Cited by 19
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“Notably, there has been a gap with limited positive psychology research and practice in Malaysia (Hashim, 2013; Hendriks et al., 2019).”
BackgroundPeer Victimization: an Integrative Review and Cross-National Test of a Tripartite Model
Marsh, H. W., Guo, J., Parker, P. D., Pekrun, R. H., Basarkod, G., Dicke, T., Parada, R. H., Reeve, J., Craven, R. G., Ciarrochi, J., et al. (2023) · Educational Psychology Review · doi:10.1007/s10648-023-09765-x · Cited by 23
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“Although there has been a marked increase in the number of positive psychology intervention studies involving individuals from non-Western cultures [25], a more detailed understanding of how potential intervention targets relate to well-being outcomes in specific groups within this large,…”
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Lomas, T., Padgett, R. N., Pawelski, J. O., & VanderWeele, T. J. (2024) · Peace psychology book series · doi:10.1007/978-3-031-66928-6_2 · Cited by 15
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Self-citationForty years of context effect research in marketing: a bibliometric analysis
Adler, S. J., Schöniger, M. K., Lichters, M., & Sarstedt, M. (2023) · Journal of Business Economics · doi:10.1007/s11573-023-01167-3 · Cited by 16
“Our affiliation network showed that most context effect research originates in countries with Western, educated, industrialized, rich, and democratic (WEIRD; Hendriks et al. 2019 ; Henrich et al. 2010 ) societies.”
Ideal personhood through the ages: tracing the genealogy of the modern concepts of wellbeing
Joshanloo, M., & Weijers, D. (2024) · Frontiers in Psychology · doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2024.1494506 · Cited by 15
Masa’deh, R. M. T., AlQudah, M. Z., Shatnawi, A., Samara, H., Ghasawneh, D., Al-Majali, R. T., & Al-Rahamneh, A. (2024) · On the Horizon The International Journal of Learning Futures · doi:10.1108/oth-09-2024-0057 · Cited by 15
Straiton, D., Groom, B., & Ingersoll, B. R. (2021) · Autism · doi:10.1177/1362361321989911 · Cited by 15
“In addition, most of what we know about behavioral science is based on studies of upper-middle class White families from Western, educated, industrialized, rich, democratic societies (Hendriks et al., 2019).”
BackgroundAppiah, R. (2022) · Culture & Psychology · doi:10.1177/1354067x221118916 · Cited by 19
“In their study examining the efficacy of PPIs from nonWestern countries in 2018 that involved 28 studies conducted using the randomized controlled trial (RCT) design, Hendriks and colleagues only retrieved one study from Africa that met the inclusion criteria (Hendriks et al., 2018).”
BackgroundResultInfluentialSelf‐connection and well‐being: Development and validation of a self‐connection scale
Klussman, K., Nichols, A., Curtin, N., Langer, J., & Orehek, E. (2021) · European Journal of Social Psychology · doi:10.1002/ejsp.2812 · Cited by 16
Social and emotional learning for the greater good: Expanding the circle of human concern
Chowkase, A. A. (2023) · Social and Emotional Learning Research Practice and Policy · doi:10.1016/j.sel.2023.100003 · Cited by 28
Al‐Thani, H. (2025) · Frontiers in Psychology · doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2025.1549863 · Cited by 14
A bibliometric review of positive psychology and well-being research in Africa
Fadiji, A. W., Khumalo, I. P., Wissing, M. P., & Appiah, R. (2024) · Frontiers in Psychology · doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2024.1384362 · Cited by 13
Systematic review of character development in low- and middle-income countries
Jeffery, D., Li, J., Nagpal, P., & Lomas, T. (2024) · The Journal of Positive Psychology · doi:10.1080/17439760.2024.2322464 · Cited by 13
“For example, Hendriks et al. (2019) conducted a bibliometric analysis of randomised controlled trials of positive psychology interventions, and found that although 78.2% of the 188 studies identified were conducted in Western countries, there was ‘a strong and steady increase in publications from…”
InfluentialGorbeña, S., Marroquín, I. G., Govillard, L., Sarrionandia, S., Macía, P., Penas, P., & Castillo, I. I. (2021) · Psychology and Health · doi:10.1080/08870446.2021.1936520 · Cited by 14
Tabassum, U., Amjad, A. I., Ahmed, T., & Xing, Q. (2023) · International Journal of Mental Health Promotion · doi:10.32604/ijmhp.2023.024130 · Cited by 13
Lee, A., Datu, J. A. D., Chan, D. K. C., Lau, E. Y. H., Fung, W. K., Cheng, R. W., Cheung, R. Y. M., & Chung, K. K. H. (2023) · Educational Psychology · doi:10.1080/01443410.2023.2189649 · Cited by 13
“, 2016), which further reflects issues regarding the predominance of positive psychological intervention research in Western, educated, industrialised, rich, and democratic (WEIRD) societies (Hendriks et al., 2019).”
BackgroundRelational humility and clinical supervision: on hypotheses, method, and measurement
Watkins, C. E., Jr. (2020) · The Clinical Supervisor · doi:10.1080/07325223.2020.1744056 · Cited by 13
Hoult, L. M., Wetherell, M. A., Edginton, T. L., & Smith, M. (2025) · PLoS ONE · doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0308928 · Cited by 21
“PPIs have previously been critiqued for largely being a Western, Educated, Indus-trialized, Rich and Democratic (WEIRD) enterprise [76], which limits current understanding of the efficacy of such interventions across different cultures and underrepresented groups.”
Positive Psychological Interventions in African Contexts: A Scoping Review
Guse, T. (2022) · Cross-cultural advancements in positive psychology · doi:10.1007/978-3-030-85924-4_16 · Cited by 12
Family interventions and armed conflict
de Jong, J. T. V. M. (2020) · Elsevier eBooks · doi:10.1016/b978-0-12-815493-9.00015-6 · Cited by 14
Taking “Thanks” for Granted: A Cross-Cultural Exploration of Gratitude in the UK and Australia
Morgan, B. E., Gulliford, L., & Waters, L. E. (2021) · Cross-Cultural Research · doi:10.1177/10693971211067048 · Cited by 15
Neuhaus, M., Young, T., Ferris, L. J., Grimmel, C. L. M., & Reid, N. (2022) · International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health · doi:10.3390/ijerph19138065 · Cited by 15
“This reflects broader observations made of the field as a whole [87] but may be an artefact of our inclusion criteria, such that only studies that were published in English were considered.”
BackgroundShim, Y., Scotney, V. S., & Tay, L. (2021) · The Journal of Positive Psychology · doi:10.1080/17439760.2021.1913642 · Cited by 14
Lomas, T., Padgett, R. N., Lai, A. Y., Pawelski, J. O., & VanderWeele, T. J. (2024) · The Journal of Positive Psychology · doi:10.1080/17439760.2024.2370538 · Cited by 11
Leader(ship) Identity Development and Meaning Making: A Scoping Review
Sunderman, H. M., & Orsini, J. M. (2024) · Journal of Leadership Studies · doi:10.1002/jls.21905 · Cited by 28
Hendriks, T., Pritikin, J. N., Choudhary, R., & Danyluck, C. M. (2021) · International Journal of Applied Positive Psychology · doi:10.1007/s41042-021-00052-0 · Cited by 12
Self-citationThe Psychological Meaning of Self-Forgiveness in a Collectivist Context and the Measure Development
Hsu, H.-P. (2021) · Psychology Research and Behavior Management · doi:10.2147/prbm.s336900 · Cited by 12
“25”
Chen, G., Chen, W. W., Qi, S., & Shek, D. T. L. (2024) · International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health · doi:10.3390/ijerph21121576 · Cited by 15
“Although a large number of PYD intervention projects have been or are being implemented globally, the vast majority of projects are in WEIRD countries [17].”
20 Years of Character Strengths: A Bibliometric Review
Feraco, T., & Casali, N. (2025) · Journal of Happiness Studies · doi:10.1007/s10902-025-00869-5 · Cited by 13
“Indeed, documents on character strengths, similar to positive psychology in general (Hendriks et al., 2019), were mainly published by authors from WEIRD countries during the first decade of research on the topic (see Fig.”
Gaffaney, J., & Donaldson, S. I. (2025) · Frontiers in Psychology · doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2025.1548612 · Cited by 10
Lomas, T., Padgett, R. N., Ritchie‐Dunham, J. L., Lee, M. T., Pawelski, J. O., Shiba, K., Johnson, B. R., & VanderWeele, T. J. (2025) · Journal of Happiness Studies · doi:10.1007/s10902-024-00822-y · Cited by 10
Positive Psychology Intervention for Families of Hospitalized Children
da Silva, D. G., & Giacomoni, C. H. (2020) · Paidéia (Ribeirão Preto) · doi:10.1590/1982-4327e3036 · Cited by 10
Developing Positive Psychological Interventions: Maximizing Efficacy for Use in Eastern Cultures
Ng, S. H., & Lim, W. S. (2019) · Springer eBooks · doi:10.1007/978-3-030-20020-6_12 · Cited by 12
Metadata
- Authors
- Hendriks, T., Warren, M. A., Schotanus-Dijkstra, M., Hassankhan, A., Graafsma, T., Bohlmeijer, E., & de Jong, J.
- Affiliations
- Anton de Kom University of Suriname (SR)
- Western Washington University (US)
- University of Twente (NL)
- Amsterdam Institute for Social Science Research (AISSR), University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, the Netherlands
- Corresponding author
- Hendriks, Tom
- ORCID
- Venue
- The Journal of Positive Psychology
- Publisher
- Informa UK Limited
- Published
- 2018-08-29
- Volume
- 14
- Issue
- 4
- Pages
- 489-501
- ISSN
- 1743-9760 (ISSN-L)
- 1743-9779
- OpenAlex
- W2889446527
- Cited by
- 280
- References
- 99
- Citations by year
- 2026: 31 · 2025: 55 · 2024: 48 · 2023: 34 · 2022: 51 · 2021: 34 · 2020: 16 · 2019: 11
- FWCI
- 20.65
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- green
- research.utwente.nl
- Licence
- other-oa
- Locations
- The Journal of Positive Psychology (publishedVersion)
- University of Twente Research Information (acceptedVersion, other-oa)
- University of Twente Research Information (submittedVersion, other-oa)
- Data Archiving and Networked Services (DANS) (submittedVersion)
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Social Psychology › Psychological Well-being and Life Satisfaction
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Experimental and Cognitive Psychology › Psychology Research and Bibliometrics
- Social Sciences › Decision Sciences › Statistics, Probability and Uncertainty › Meta-analysis and systematic reviews
- Keywords
- positive psychology interventions, WEIRD populations, research generalizability, cross-cultural research, randomized controlled trials, well-being, globalization of science, publication trends
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