Comparison of the Effectiveness of the “Worthy Me” Educational Program and Self-Esteem Training on Decision-Making and Friendship in Children

Abstract

This study aimed to compare the effectiveness of the “Worthy Me” educational program and self-esteem training in improving decision-making and friendship among children aged 10–12 years. This quasi-experimental study employed a pretest–posttest design with a two-month follow-up and a control group. The statistical population consisted of 10- to 12-year-old upper-primary-school students in Isfahan during the 2024–2025 academic year. Sixty eligible students were purposively selected and randomly assigned to three groups of 20: the Worthy Me training group, the self-esteem training group, and the control group. The two experimental groups received their respective interventions over eight weekly sessions, whereas the control group received no intervention. Data were collected using the Akhbarizadeh Decision-Making Quality Questionnaire and Hudson’s Index of Peer Relations. Repeated-measures analysis of variance and Bonferroni post hoc tests were conducted using SPSS version 27. Significant effects of time, time × group interaction, and group were found for decision-making (F=1158.912, η²p=0.953; F=300.483, η²p=0.913; and F=14.998, η²p=0.345, respectively; all p<0.001). Both interventions significantly improved decision-making compared with the control group; however, self-esteem training was significantly more effective than the Worthy Me program (p=0.016). For friendship, the effects of time, time × group interaction, and group were also significant (F=562.286, η²p=0.908; F=134.845, η²p=0.826; and F=10.345, η²p=0.266, respectively; all p<0.001). Both interventions significantly improved friendship compared with the control group, while no significant difference emerged between the two intervention groups (p=1.000). Improvements in decision-making were maintained at follow-up, whereas friendship scores declined significantly from posttest to follow-up (p=0.015) but remained improved relative to baseline. Both the Worthy Me program and self-esteem training appear effective as school-based interventions for enhancing children’s decision-making and friendship. The greater effectiveness of self-esteem training for decision-making suggests that strengthening self-worth, self-acceptance, and independence from external evaluation may be particularly important for improving children’s decision-making competence, whereas both approaches appear comparably effective in improving friendship.