The Effects of Strength Note Program on the Self-Esteem and Self-Efficacy of University Students: A Longitudinal Study

Abstract

In this study, a program for enhancing strengths of university students was longitudinally applied to 50 male and female university students in G area for 3 years. The same university students were asked to start writing the strengths notes at the beginning of the semester and submit at the end of the semester, and data were gathered for 3 years by measuring Self- Esteem and Self-Efficacy at the end of the semester each year. For analysis of the collected data, frequency and percentage analysis and paired-t-test were conducted using SPSS WIN 20.0. As the result, the Strength Note Program had a significant effect on the continued increase in Self-Esteem and Self-Efficacy of university students each year. Also, the first-year Strength Note Program had the biggest effect on the improvement in Self-Esteem and self-efficacy of university students, and it was followed by the second-year program and the third-year program. In conclusion, it was found that the Strength Note Program positively influenced the improvement in Self-Esteem and Self-Efficacy of university students. Therefore, there is a need to provide a specific and systematic Strength Note Program to help university students get over diverse problems. It is considered that this will help mental health, academic achievement and career search of university students and contribute to the enhancement in happiness and the quality of life.