Group psychotherapy for the enhancement of intimate friendship and self-esteem among troubled elementary-school children

The effect of group psychotherapy on self-esteem and close friendship was examined by a pre/post-test comparison group design. The study included 52 experimental students (in six small therapy groups) from one elementary school and 52 control students matched by age, gender and similarity of problems, from a school in the same neighborhood. Treatment consisted of approximately twenty weekly 45-minute sessions. Results indicate significant gains for the counseling group on two variables studied: intimacy in a close friendship and self-esteem. No significant gender-by-treatment interaction effect was revealed. Intimate friendship and self-esteem were found to be intercorrelated, both in the pre-scores of control and experimental groups, and in the gains of the treated children.