The effects of a group guidance programme on the self esteem of newly arrived children from the Chinese Mainland to Hong Kong

Abstract

The present study investigated the effects of a school-based group guidance programme on the self-esteem of newly arrived children from the Chinese Mainland to Hong Kong. A sample of 31 subjects (19 male, 12 female) from a primary school was selected for participation in this study. Among the 31 subjects, 16 joined the programme which was designed and implemented according to the Enhancing Adolescents' Self-Esteem: Facilitator's Manual for ten 90 minutes sessions over a 7-week period. The other 15 newly arrived children acted as the comparison group. The self-esteem of the participants was measured by the Self-Description Questionnaire - 1 (SDQ-1) (Marsh et al., 1983) and follow-up interviews were conducted. Results showed that the subjects in the experimental group had significantly higher peer relationship self-esteem than subjects who received no treatment. The subjects also reported that the programme was a valuable social skills learning experience for them.