Document Type

Restricted

Advisor

Joan Chrisler

Publication Date

2017

Abstract

Adolescent girls face many physical, cognitive, and social changes that can negatively affect their self-concept. Mentoring and empowerment programs that address the specific needs of adolescent girls can provide them with the tools to lead more empowered and positive lives. STEPS, a local girls’ empowerment program, empowers local New London, CT and Groton, CT middle and high-school students at their weekly meetings. The present study is an evaluation of this program. It was hypothesized that self-esteem, body-esteem, self-efficacy, and perceived social support would increase from the original baseline scores. Sixteen adolescent girls participating in the program completed the pre-and post-measures over a 10-week period. This study’s findings reveal that self-efficacy increased over the time period, Wilks’ Lambda = .54, F(1,15) = 12.55, p = .003, multivariate partial eta squared = .46. Perceptions of self-esteem, body-esteem, and perceived social support did not change. Participants’ qualitative responses to open-ended questions include prominent themes of self-love, positivity, confidence, and awareness, which suggest that the measures might also reveal significant changes at the year’s end of the program. Findings also revealed that 100% of STEPS girls would recommend the program to a friend. The girls greatly value the program and believe that is truly does foster a “safe space” for them to learn about themselves and others. These findings illustrate the positive impact of the STEPS program and will hopefully lead to greater funding and increased enrollment.

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The views expressed in this paper are solely those of the author.