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A creative writing program to enhance self-esteem and self-efficacy in adolescents

Journal of Child and Adolescent Psychiatric Nursing, Apr-Jun 1999 by Chandler, Genevieve E

PURPOSE. To describe the rationale, content, and results of a group creative writing program to increase adolescent self-esteem and self-efficacy.

METHODs. Subjects were low-income, at-risk minority youth (N = 11). Free writing in response to specific exercises, sharing their own stories in their own language, and responding to their peers were used daily for 2 weeks as part of the high school English class. The program was oriented toward health rather than problems, with the content created by the adolescents.

FINDINGS. The opportunity to tell their own story, in their own language in a safe, structured setting with positive feedback led to higher self-efficacy and self-esteem.

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CONCLUSIONS. This study suggests that a writing intervention focused on building self-in-relation selfesteem and the four aspects of self-efficacy resulted in increased sense of well-being. Key words: Adolescents, self-efficacy, self-esteem, writing

One of the primary goals of transition from childhood to adulthood is to develop a positive sense of self. Miller (1991) maintained that a person's self-concept is the single most important factor that affects behavior. Meisenholder (1985) acknowledged that self-esteem and self-efficacy are key components in the restoration and maintenance of health. In 1992, Hardin, Carbaugh, Weinrich, Pesut, and Carbaugh reported that one of the most important stressors for teens was threat to self. The authors concluded that because adolescents identified negative coping strategies that were life-threatening, there is a vital need to develop interventions that reinforce adolescents' healthy coping and a solid sense of self. It is critical to provide the next generation with knowledge and skills that will facilitate internal strength and resilience.

To date, the majority of interventions with adolescents have been problem focused and administered through verbal techniques such as lectures and discussion, with the content determined by adults. This author designed a nursing intervention, Writing for Resilience to Increase Self-Esteem (WRITE), that was oriented toward health rather than problems, using material that came from the adolescents themselves, with the goal of enhancing selfesteem and self-efficacy.

Literature Review

Sorrell (1994) documented that traditionally, research on composition has focused on the written product. In the 1960s, however, the focus shifted to the writing process. Observations have shown that in this process there is a complex interplay between thinking and writing in which initial ideas are reworked into new meanings and unformed thoughts are given form and clarity (Sorrell). Writing then enhances thinking and has value as part of the learning process. Emig (1983) observed that writing slows down thinking, transforming the passive thinker into one who is actively, physically engaged with the creative process. Fulwiler (1987) noted that writing facilitates the thinking process, thus allowing the writer to think something through completely. Brown and Stephens (1995) support the notion that writing is a valuable vehicle for reflecting on one's thoughts, feelings, and reactions. They contend that authentic writing is the merger of thought and feeling; when students have both cognitive and affective responses to subject matter, they construct important connections. This construction of meaning is personally transformative, growth producing, and essential to the learning process (Brown & Stephens). Atwell (1987) observed that writing can provide a neutral way to solve problems, capture feelings and inner experience, exercise power and freedom, and know one's own voice. Pipher (1994) argued that "knowing one's own voice" (p. 5) is a critical part of the process of learning who one is. Writing thoughts and feelings can strengthen one's voice and sense of self.

There are three categories of writing: transactional, expressive, and poetic. Transactional writing is the typical language of science-factual, impersonal-and the main mode used in most school curricula. Expressive writing is the written form of everyday speech, the language of the personal narrative, the mode in which new ideas are tentatively explored and from which more specialized writing can be developed. Poetic writing evokes feeling. A piece of expressive writing that recollects a significant past experience often emerges as poetic writing in a story or poem.

The personal poetic narrative is an ideal mode for reflection. It is a fundamental way to search for meaning, value, and truth, all of which become clearer when set in written form (Nicolini, 1994; Sorrell, 1994). Exploring and defining the self and its relationship with others, becoming aware of structuring one's thinking processes, and recognizing how the past has influenced and will continue to affect one's life are the benefits of writing the personal, poetic, narrative (Nicolini).

The poet James Baldwin (1991) wrote of his childhood, "Growing up in a certain kind of poverty is growing up in a certain kind of silence. . . in the silence one cannot name the sensations, fears, injustices and simple facts of daily life because no one corroborates it. Reality becomes unreal because no one experiences it but you" (p. 38). When Baldwin read the work of another black author, he commented, "When circumstances are made real by another testimony, it becomes possible to envision change" (p. 38).

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A creative writing program to enhance self-esteem and self-efficacy in adolescents

Journal of Child and Adolescent Psychiatric Nursing, Apr-Jun 1999 by Chandler, Genevieve E

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