Date of Award

Spring 5-1-2020

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP)

First Advisor

Sallie Coke

Second Advisor

Krystal Canady

Third Advisor

JOy King-Mark

Abstract

Self-esteem varies throughout an individual’s life and influences a person’s overall wellbeing and self-efficacy. A reduced self-esteem is associated with depression, anxiety, and substance abuse amongst other negative outcomes that impact the individual’s quality of life. A known decrease in self-esteem occurs in early adolescence and is more pronounced in females. There is an abundance of factors that influence self-esteem, such as body image, social support, and physical activity. Programs such as Free Being Me have been created to improve body image and self-esteem in young adolescent girls. The Free Being Me program was implemented in the afterschool program at Dodge County Middle School in Eastman, Georgia. This 5-session program provided activities for students to do in an effort to build self-esteem and body confidence. Students completed pre- and post-surveys of body image and self-esteem along with a demographic to determine the effects of the program. Overall, the program improved both self-esteem and body image, however not with statistical significance. Upon additional examination, there was a statistically significant finding of improved self-esteem in the non-African American participants. Sample size was a limiting factor in this research. Future studies would benefit from a larger sample size.

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