ACTION RESEARCH
Project Title & Prospectus
Research Question:
Can a counseling intervention focused on building self-esteem increase self-esteem in a random sampling of 7th grade girls?
This study will evaluate the efficacy of a small group intervention focused on enhancing self-esteem in 7th grade girls. Middle school is a time where students experience a great deal of change; school becomes more complex and challenging, students undergo the tremendous biological, and emotional changes associated with puberty, and in the social sphere, peers replace adults as the arbiters of self-worth. Research indicates that the various challenges faced by females during adolescence make it the most pivotal and vulnerable time in their lives. Studies show that during middle school, girls experience a decline in body image and self-esteem that they may never recover from, while boys often experience gains in self-esteem. The impact of decreased self-esteem in adolescent girls produces a 2:1 ratio of depression when compared to boys of the same age.
This study is will utilize a counseling group to nurture the growth of self-esteem within each participant while providing them a sense of connectivity, power, and uniqueness, increasing their self-esteem and self-perception, promoting resiliency, and developing their ability to make healthy choices in response to life stressors.
The group will utilize lesson plans based on the Girl Power: Self-Esteem Group curriculum created by Erin A. Camp & Anny Y. Wu, California State University, Sacramento. The sessions consist of an icebreaker, then an activity, and conclude with a discussion. Prior to the first session, a computerized self-esteem pre-test will be administered individually. Each session will be 50 minutes long, meeting once a week for 8 weeks. During the last session a computerized post-test will be given to assess any changes in self-esteem over the course of the 8 weeks.
Subject Recruitment
Students will be randomly selected by inputting all 7th grade girls’ student numbers in to a computer program that will randomly select 20 participants. The first 10 numbers generated will be selected to participate. The other 10 numbers will be held in reserve in the event that any of the first 10 participants elect not to participate.
Upon completing the list of the 10 participants selected, the researcher will meet with each potential participant individually and explain the purpose of the group, review the informed consent form with them, and offer them the opportunity to participate in the group. Should they decide to participate in the group, an informed consent form will be sent home for their parents/guardians to sign.
Informed Consent
For those students that have opted to participate in the group research study, informed consent forms will be sent home with them. In addition to sending the forms home with them, the researcher will call each parent/guardian to further inform them of the group’s purpose, to answer any questions they may have, and to facilitate the forms being signed and returned expeditiously.
See Appendix
First-Person Scenario
A student runner came to class with a slip asking me to come to the counseling office to meet with Ms. Zaklan. When I got to the office, Ms. Zaklan asked me to sit down and told me she wanted to speak with me about joining her self-esteem group. She told me that the group was part of a research study she was conducting as school project for her Master’s degree program at Portland State University. She told me the computer had randomly picked my number and that I didn’t have to participate if I didn’t want to because it was completely voluntary. Then Ms. Zaklan told me what the group was about, and that it would meet during my flex class time every Tuesday for 8 weeks. She asked me if I felt comfortable participating and sharing information about myself in a group like this. I told Ms. Zaklan that I thought I would be okay sharing, and that I would like to be in the group because I feel like I am not good enough sometimes. Ms. Zaklan then read the informed consent form with me and answered any questions I had. Ms. Zaklan sent the form with me to take home and go over with and sign with my parent/guardian if they consented to my participating.
Once I filled out the consent form and returned it, Ms. Zaklan had me take a self-esteem pre-test on the computer. The following week was the first week of the Esteem Team: self-esteem group. There were 10 girls in the group total. Ms. Zaklan explained that research shows that girls struggle with self-esteem more than boys do in middle school and that is why there were only girls in our group. It felt good to be important enough for us to have our own group. At the end of 8 weeks, we took the same test again, but this time Ms. Zaklan called it a post-test. I liked being in the group. It helped me feel better about myself and now I value more all the unique things about myself.
Potential Risks and Safeguards
Potential risks in this study include participants disclosing information and other participants in the group sharing it outside of the group, and participants sharing and over exposing themselves in a manner they feel uncomfortable with later.
To create a safe and respectful environment, these concerns will be addressed to the group at the start of the first session and ground rules will be established by the group as safeguards to protect each participant in the group.
The participants will be screened to see if they are a good fit during the initial individual meeting with each student where they will be informed by the researcher about the group and given the informed consent forms to sign.
Potential Benefits
Potential benefits of this study include increased self-esteem, psychological health, including self-efficacy, locus of control, social support, positive body image, increased resiliency, and better decision making in face of life’s stressors, as well as decreased rates of depression and at-risk behaviors.
Confidentiality, Records & Distribution
The surveys administered in the course of this research study do not contain any particularly sensitive information, but will be kept for a minimum of 3 years by the researcher in a secured cabinet and will be transported to the cabinet via a secure lock box by the researcher. Once the records are deemed no longer necessary they will be destroyed.
Training and Experience
The researcher, Brandeis Zaklan, is qualified to conduct this research study. The researcher is currently in her third and final year of study as a School Counseling graduate student in Portland State University’s Counselor Education program. This program is accredited by the Council for Accreditation of Counseling and Related Educational Programs (CACREP). The accreditation from CACREP ensures thoroughly evaluated and found to meet the standards determined necessary by the counseling profession. In fulfilling course requirements for the Counselor Education program, the researcher has successfully completed courses on At Risk Youth, Diversity, Assessment, Group Counseling, Research Methods, and Ethics.
Additionally, the researcher completed a Master’s in the Art of Teaching degree from National University in La Jolla, California, and she has six years teaching experience working in both Title I and private schools with diverse populations.
The researcher is fully competent in her ability to minimize any potential risks while conducting this research study.
Appendices Forms
Project Title & Prospectus
Research Question:
Can a counseling intervention focused on building self-esteem increase self-esteem in a random sampling of 7th grade girls?
This study will evaluate the efficacy of a small group intervention focused on enhancing self-esteem in 7th grade girls. Middle school is a time where students experience a great deal of change; school becomes more complex and challenging, students undergo the tremendous biological, and emotional changes associated with puberty, and in the social sphere, peers replace adults as the arbiters of self-worth. Research indicates that the various challenges faced by females during adolescence make it the most pivotal and vulnerable time in their lives. Studies show that during middle school, girls experience a decline in body image and self-esteem that they may never recover from, while boys often experience gains in self-esteem. The impact of decreased self-esteem in adolescent girls produces a 2:1 ratio of depression when compared to boys of the same age.
This study is will utilize a counseling group to nurture the growth of self-esteem within each participant while providing them a sense of connectivity, power, and uniqueness, increasing their self-esteem and self-perception, promoting resiliency, and developing their ability to make healthy choices in response to life stressors.
The group will utilize lesson plans based on the Girl Power: Self-Esteem Group curriculum created by Erin A. Camp & Anny Y. Wu, California State University, Sacramento. The sessions consist of an icebreaker, then an activity, and conclude with a discussion. Prior to the first session, a computerized self-esteem pre-test will be administered individually. Each session will be 50 minutes long, meeting once a week for 8 weeks. During the last session a computerized post-test will be given to assess any changes in self-esteem over the course of the 8 weeks.
Subject Recruitment
Students will be randomly selected by inputting all 7th grade girls’ student numbers in to a computer program that will randomly select 20 participants. The first 10 numbers generated will be selected to participate. The other 10 numbers will be held in reserve in the event that any of the first 10 participants elect not to participate.
Upon completing the list of the 10 participants selected, the researcher will meet with each potential participant individually and explain the purpose of the group, review the informed consent form with them, and offer them the opportunity to participate in the group. Should they decide to participate in the group, an informed consent form will be sent home for their parents/guardians to sign.
Informed Consent
For those students that have opted to participate in the group research study, informed consent forms will be sent home with them. In addition to sending the forms home with them, the researcher will call each parent/guardian to further inform them of the group’s purpose, to answer any questions they may have, and to facilitate the forms being signed and returned expeditiously.
See Appendix
First-Person Scenario
A student runner came to class with a slip asking me to come to the counseling office to meet with Ms. Zaklan. When I got to the office, Ms. Zaklan asked me to sit down and told me she wanted to speak with me about joining her self-esteem group. She told me that the group was part of a research study she was conducting as school project for her Master’s degree program at Portland State University. She told me the computer had randomly picked my number and that I didn’t have to participate if I didn’t want to because it was completely voluntary. Then Ms. Zaklan told me what the group was about, and that it would meet during my flex class time every Tuesday for 8 weeks. She asked me if I felt comfortable participating and sharing information about myself in a group like this. I told Ms. Zaklan that I thought I would be okay sharing, and that I would like to be in the group because I feel like I am not good enough sometimes. Ms. Zaklan then read the informed consent form with me and answered any questions I had. Ms. Zaklan sent the form with me to take home and go over with and sign with my parent/guardian if they consented to my participating.
Once I filled out the consent form and returned it, Ms. Zaklan had me take a self-esteem pre-test on the computer. The following week was the first week of the Esteem Team: self-esteem group. There were 10 girls in the group total. Ms. Zaklan explained that research shows that girls struggle with self-esteem more than boys do in middle school and that is why there were only girls in our group. It felt good to be important enough for us to have our own group. At the end of 8 weeks, we took the same test again, but this time Ms. Zaklan called it a post-test. I liked being in the group. It helped me feel better about myself and now I value more all the unique things about myself.
Potential Risks and Safeguards
Potential risks in this study include participants disclosing information and other participants in the group sharing it outside of the group, and participants sharing and over exposing themselves in a manner they feel uncomfortable with later.
To create a safe and respectful environment, these concerns will be addressed to the group at the start of the first session and ground rules will be established by the group as safeguards to protect each participant in the group.
The participants will be screened to see if they are a good fit during the initial individual meeting with each student where they will be informed by the researcher about the group and given the informed consent forms to sign.
Potential Benefits
Potential benefits of this study include increased self-esteem, psychological health, including self-efficacy, locus of control, social support, positive body image, increased resiliency, and better decision making in face of life’s stressors, as well as decreased rates of depression and at-risk behaviors.
Confidentiality, Records & Distribution
The surveys administered in the course of this research study do not contain any particularly sensitive information, but will be kept for a minimum of 3 years by the researcher in a secured cabinet and will be transported to the cabinet via a secure lock box by the researcher. Once the records are deemed no longer necessary they will be destroyed.
Training and Experience
The researcher, Brandeis Zaklan, is qualified to conduct this research study. The researcher is currently in her third and final year of study as a School Counseling graduate student in Portland State University’s Counselor Education program. This program is accredited by the Council for Accreditation of Counseling and Related Educational Programs (CACREP). The accreditation from CACREP ensures thoroughly evaluated and found to meet the standards determined necessary by the counseling profession. In fulfilling course requirements for the Counselor Education program, the researcher has successfully completed courses on At Risk Youth, Diversity, Assessment, Group Counseling, Research Methods, and Ethics.
Additionally, the researcher completed a Master’s in the Art of Teaching degree from National University in La Jolla, California, and she has six years teaching experience working in both Title I and private schools with diverse populations.
The researcher is fully competent in her ability to minimize any potential risks while conducting this research study.
Appendices Forms
- Informed Consent Form
- Pre/Post-survey
- Session Lesson Outlines
Final Data
The Results
Once the data from the assessments was converted it indicated a slight increase in Self-Esteem from the pre-test to the post-test, with and mean difference of -2.ooo.
The best indicator of change was the exit interiew I conducted with was plotted using a scale of 1 t0 10 (1 being low self-esteem and 10 being high self-esteem) where each group member was asked to indicate where they felt their self-esteem was on the scale at the beginning of the group and where it was at the end of the group. The average on a scale of 1 to 10 at the beginning was 5.375 and at the end it was 8.8125 with an increase in self-esteem of 3.4375. In addition to this each group member indicated they felt the increase of self-esteem was 100% a lasting change. One student's self-esteem was altered dramatically and was evidenced in her academic performance going from C's and D's to all A's and B's the rest of the year; she also had no further referrals and had ceased to be involved in peer drama. That was a much better result than I expected!
In addition to the data, all of the group members felt more connected to one another and that whether or not they were close outside of the group or not, that if they needed support they could turn to any member of the group for support.
Once the data from the assessments was converted it indicated a slight increase in Self-Esteem from the pre-test to the post-test, with and mean difference of -2.ooo.
The best indicator of change was the exit interiew I conducted with was plotted using a scale of 1 t0 10 (1 being low self-esteem and 10 being high self-esteem) where each group member was asked to indicate where they felt their self-esteem was on the scale at the beginning of the group and where it was at the end of the group. The average on a scale of 1 to 10 at the beginning was 5.375 and at the end it was 8.8125 with an increase in self-esteem of 3.4375. In addition to this each group member indicated they felt the increase of self-esteem was 100% a lasting change. One student's self-esteem was altered dramatically and was evidenced in her academic performance going from C's and D's to all A's and B's the rest of the year; she also had no further referrals and had ceased to be involved in peer drama. That was a much better result than I expected!
In addition to the data, all of the group members felt more connected to one another and that whether or not they were close outside of the group or not, that if they needed support they could turn to any member of the group for support.