Effects of a Psychological Intervention on Factors of Emotional Development During Adolescence1

Abstract

Abstract: The aim of this research was to design a program of psychological intervention for adolescents and to assess its effects on factors of emotional development. The study used a pretest-intervention-posttest design with control groups and a sample of 174 subjects aged 12 to 14. There were 125 experimental subjects and 49 control subjects. Before and after the program, six instruments were administered to measure: empathy, anxiety, self-concept, image of classmates, and ability to analyze feelings. The intervention program applied to the experimental subjects consisted of one 2-h intervention session per week throughout an academic year. Two activities and their corresponding debates generally took place in each session. Each one of the 60 activities stimulates communication and friendly and cooperative interactions, and their objectives are to improve self-concept, promote identification, understanding and expression of emotions, and develop empathic feelings. Results suggest that the program had a highly positive effect on factors of emotional development. A decrease in state-trait anxiety was observed and there was improvement in the ability for empathy, in self-concept, in image of others, and in the ability to analyze feelings. The results are discussed in terms of the possible beneficial effects of this kind of experience on personality development during adolescence.