The case for modifying adolescents' cognitive self-statements

The purpose of this study was to develop, implement, and evaluate a cognitive-behavior modification program designed to change adolescents' self-statements and increase their levels of self-esteem. Subjects were 27 ninth graders, 18 in the experimental group and 9 in the no-contact control group. Students in the experimental group were given 14 hours of training designed to modify their self-statements to be more positive. Results indicated a significant increase in positive self-statements for the experimental group as compared with the control group immediately after training and three months following training. There were no significant changes in self-esteem. Discussion focused on the relative merits of the program and on the implications of the findings for future research.