Effectiveness of feminist theory based empowerment intervention in improving female adolescents' self-esteem

Abstract

This study examined the impact of feminist theory based empowerment focused group on female adolescents’ self-esteem using a comparison group pretest posttest pre-experimental design case study. Secondary data collected by a residential therapeutic treatment program, that treats adolescent females with a mental health diagnosis was given to researcher for analysis. The Making Decisions Empowerment (Rogers, Chamberlin, Ellison & Crean, 1997) and Rosenberg Self-Esteem (Rosenberg, 1979) scales were administered pre and post participation in the feminist based empowerment focused group intervention. Another group of residents who did not participate in the intervention group were designated the comparison group and scores were compared with the experimental group. The subjects from both the groups continued to receive other therapeutic treatments such as Dialectical Behavior Therapy psychoeducational groups, individual therapy, and adjunctive therapies. Results from the experimental group data indicates a positive Pearson correlation of 0.829 between the pre and post intervention Making Decisions Empowerment and Rosenberg Self-Esteem scales scores, and a mean gain of 1.09 on the Making Decisions Empowerment scale and mean gain of 1.27 on the Rosenberg Self-Esteem scale from pre to post intervention. From pre to post intervention the Rosenberg Self-Esteem scale scores indicate a mean gain increase of 0.91 in the experimental group. Statistical significance could not be established due to sample size and the data suffers other threats to its internal validity, such as trauma history, maturation, client drop out from program and testing effects. The researcher recommends study replication with larger sample and with an extended experimental period.