Effects of a Program to Enhance Ego-development on General Mental Health, Self-concept, and Depression in Elementary and Middle School Students from Low Income Families.

Sung,  Kyung Mi

doi:2015.24.2.73

J Korean Acad Psychiatr Ment Health Nurs > Volume 24(2); 2015 > Article

Original Article

Journal of Korean Academy of psychiatric and Mental Health Nursing 2015;24(2):73-81.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.12934/jkpmhn.2015.24.2.73 Published online June 30, 2015.

Effects of a Program to Enhance Ego-development on General Mental Health, Self-concept, and Depression in Elementary and Middle School Students from Low Income Families.

Kyung Mi Sung

¹College of Nursing, Gyeongsang National University, Jinju, Korea. sung@gnu.ac.kr
²Institute of Health Sciences, Gyeongsang National University, Jinju, Korea.

Abstract

PURPOSE
The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of a program to enhance ego-development for elementary and middle school students from low income families. METHODS: The study was a pretest-posttest design with a nonequivalent control group. The participants were 84 students who were admitted to after-school programs in three youth centers. Data were collected using questionnaires and analyzed using descriptive statistics, chi2-test, and t-test. RESULTS: Students who were in the intervention group (n=43) showed improvements from baseline to 10 weeks in aspects of general mental health, self-concept, and depression. CONCLUSION: The results of this study indicate that the ego-development enhancing program positively affects the mental health of students from low income families.

Key Words: Student; Low income; Mental health; Self-concept; Depression