Identifying and developing strengths may serve as an intervention to improve selfconcept.
The power of positive psychology is the foundation for recent studies in
strengths-development research. Positive psychology is based on the premise that, if
people are taught to capitalize on their strengths and to be resilient and optimistic, they
will lead happier, more productive lives. The purpose of this research was to measure the
effects of a positive psychology intervention on students’ self-concept. Based on positive
psychology principles, the intervention was designed to help students learn both about
positive psychology and about their personal strengths. This intervention was designed to
serve a population of children, ages 10 to 15 years old, in Victoria, Canada. A sample
size of 26 students diagnosed with learning disabilities were randomly assigned to either
the experimental or control group. The intervention group participated in a 3-week
intervention course about positive psychology, and they completed the VIA (Values in
Action Inventory of Strengths – Youth)( Park& Peterson, 2003) to identify their
individual strengths. Before and after the intervention program, students were assessed
using the Self Description Questionnaire (SDQ-1; Marsh, 1992). Using a pre and post test
design, t-tests indicated there was no statistically significant difference between the
groups gains. There was, however, a small effect for the intervention group in the selfconcept
domains of Math (d=0.30), Reading (d=0.22), and Total Academic Self-Concept
(d=0.20) following the positive psychology intervention.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:uvic.ca/oai:dspace.library.uvic.ca:1828/1251 |
| Date | 12 November 2008 |
| Creators | Short, Stacey |
| Contributors | Harvey, Brian |
| Source Sets | University of Victoria |
| Language | English, English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Thesis |
| Rights | Available to the World Wide Web |
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