Year: 2026
Type: article
Study design: Clinical Trial
Abstract: This study addressed students’ low self-esteem, which is often maintained by negative and irrational self-evaluations, and examined whether cognitive restructuring can improve self-esteem among Grade IX students at SMPs Ad-Dhuha Jember. The objective was to determine the level of students’ self-esteem before and after the intervention and to test the effectiveness of cognitive restructuring. A quantitative pre-experimental method with a one-group pretest–posttest design was used. The population consisted of 30 students, and 20 students who completed both measurements were included as research subjects (purposive). Self-esteem was measured using a 50-item Likert scale developed from Coopersmith’s four aspects (significance, competence, power, and virtue). The intervention was delivered through four group counseling sessions implementing cognitive restructuring steps (identifying negative thoughts, disputing irrational beliefs, developing rational alternatives, and strengthening adaptive thoughts through affirmations and action plans) from 7–28 September 2026, with pretest on 31 August 2026 and posttest on 5 October 2026. Results showed an increase in the mean self-esteem score from 169.50 (pretest) to 182.15 (posttest). However, the paired-samples t-test indicated no statistically significant difference (t = 0.971; p = 0.344), consistent with the Wilcoxon Signed-Ranks Test (p = 0.341). Thus, at the group level, cognitive restructuring was not proven significantly effective, although descriptive gains were larger among students with lower baseline scores.
Institution: Universitas PGRI Argopuro Jember
Language: English
Subfield: Clinical Psychology
Field: Psychology
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: diamond
OpenAlex ID: W7225004227