The Effectiveness of a Group Counseling Program in ‎Improving Self-Assertion and Optimism among a Sample ‎of High-School Female Students

Abstract

This study sought to investigate the effectiveness of a group counseling program in improving self-assertion and optimism among a sample of high-school female students in the Directorate of Education of Marka Brigade in Amman city in Jordan. Participants were selected based on their low scores on both self-assertiveness and optimism scales, and were randomly assigned to either the experimental group, which received the group counseling program based on cognitive behavioral therapy and psychoeducation strategies or to the control group, without any intervention and on the waiting list. Results showed that the experimental group, compared to the control group, was significantly more likely to have, in the post-tests, higher levels in the total score of self-assertion scale and its seven sub-scales: Assertion in dealing with others, grumbling to get rid of injustice, self-expression without sensitivity, argumentation, spontaneity, verbal fluency and avoiding confrontation and the optimism scale. Moreover, results of the experimental group on the study scales  indicated that, while there were significant differences in optimism scale, in favor of the follow-up test, there were no significant differences between post-and follow-up test scores on the total self-assertion scale and its sub-scales except for the argumentation sub-scale