G-2388

The effectiveness of positive training on adolescents' self-esteem and self-efficacy

 Parnia Mardiha ¹ ℗, Abbas Mokhtari ¹ ©   

 
Abstract

Introduction: Adolescence is a critical period of physical, cognitive, and emotional change, during which behaviors develop that impact future health. Positive psychology focuses on strengths like self-esteem, self-efficacy, and creativity, which are vital for adolescents’ mental health and resilience. While previous studies examined these factors separately, this study explores the combined effect of positive psychology interventions on adolescent girls’ self-efficacy and self-esteem growth. The aim of this study is to investigate the effectiveness of positive intervention on adolescents' self-esteem and self-efficacy. Methods and Materials: This study employed a quasi-experimental design featuring a pre-test and post-test with a control group. The statistical population consisted of female middle school students attending public schools in Isfahan during the 2024-2025 academic year. From this population, 30 students were randomly assigned to either the experimental or control group. The instruments used to measure the variables included the General Self-Efficacy Scale developed by Sherer et al. (1982) and the Coopersmith Self-Esteem Inventory (1967). Participants in the experimental group received eight sessions of positive training, while the control group received no therapeutic intervention. Data were analyzed using multivariate analysis of covariance (MANCOVA) with SPSS software version 25. Additionally, Box's test was applied to assess the equality of covariance matrices, Levene’s test was used to examine the homogeneity of variances, and the Kolmogorov–Smirnov test was conducted to verify the normality of score distributions as prerequisites for the use of parametric tests. Results: The results of the study indicated that the positive intervention had a statistically significant impact on adolescents' self-esteem and self-efficacy (p 0.005). The training in positive significantly affected self-efficacy. The effect size for the self-efficacy variable in the post-test was 0.943 (p 0.01). The findings also showed that approximately 99.1% of the variance in self-esteem between the two phases of the study could be attributed to differences between the two groups. Additionally, the relationship between pre-test and post-test scores was statistically significant (p 0.01). Conclusion and Discussion: This study showed that positive training significantly improved adolescents' self-esteem and self-efficacy. Activities that focused on strengths, gratitude, and social interaction. The findings are consistent with previous research and highlight the value of positive psychology in adolescent development. Considering the effectiveness of positive therapy in increasing the self-esteem and self-efficacy of adolescents in the experimental group compared to the control group, this training can be used as an intervention method for adolescents.

Keywords: positive intervention, self-esteem, self-efficacy, adolescents