A Creative Writing Program to Enhance Self-Esteem

and Self-Effica cy in Ad olescents

Genevieve E. Chandler, PhD, RN

PURPOSE. To describe the rationale, content, and Genevieve E. Chandler, PhD, R N , is Associate Professor
and Director, Center for Nursing Advancement,
results of a group creative writing program to University of Massachusetts, Arnherst, M A .
increase adolescent self-esteem and self-@cacy.
O n e of the primary goals of transition from childhood
METHODS. Subjects were low-income, at-risk minor- to adulthood is to develop a positive sense of self. Miller
ity youth (N = 11).Free writing in response to spe- (1991) maintained that a person’s self-concept is the sin-
gle most important factor that affects behavior.
cific exercises, sharing their own stories in their own Meisenholder (1985) acknowledged that self-esteem and
self-efficacy are key components in the restoration and
language, and responding to their peers were used maintenance of health. In 1992, Hardin, Carbaugh,
Weinrich, Pesut, and Carbaugh reported that one of the
daily for 2 weeks as part of the high school English most important stressors for teens was threat to self. The
authors concluded that because adolescents identified
class. The program was oriented toward health negative coping strategies that were life-threatening,there
is a vital need to develop interventions that reinforce ado-
rather than problems, with the content created by lescents’ healthy coping and a solid sense of self. It is criti-
the adolescents. cal to provide the next generation with knowledge and
skills that will faditate internal strength and resilience.
FINDINGS. The opportunity to tell their own story, in To date, the majority of interventions with adolescents
have been problem focused and administered through
their own language in a safe, structured setting verbal techniques such as lectures and discussion, with
the content determined by adults. This author designed
with positive feedback led to higher self-@cacy and a nursing intervention, Writing for Resilience to Increase
Self-Esteem (WRITE),that was oriented toward health
self-esteem. rather than problems, using material that came from the
adolescents themselves, with the goal of enhancing self-
CONCLUSIONS.This study suggests that a writing esteem and self-efficacy.
intervention focused on building self-in-relation self-
Literature Review
esteem and the four aspects of self-#cacy resulted
Sorrell (1994) documented that traditionally, research
in increased sense of zoell-being. on composition has focused on the written product. In
the 1960s, however, the focus shifted to the writing pro-
Key words: Adolescents, self-efficacy, self-esteem, cess. Observations have shown that in this process there
is a complex interplay between thinking and writing in
writing which initial ideas are reworked into new meanings and
unformed thoughts are given form and clarity (Sorrell).
Writing then enhances thinking and has value as part of
Joumcil of Child arid Adolescent Psychiatric Nursing, the learning process. Emig (1983) observed that writing
Volirme 12, Number 3, pp. 70-78. slows down thinking, transforming the passive thinker

70 JCAPNVolume 12,Number 2, April-June,1999

into one who is actively, physically engaged with the cre- cannot name the sensations, fears, injustices and simple
ative process. Fulwiler (1987) noted that writing facili- facts of daily life because no one corroborates it. Reality
tates the thinking process, thus allowing the writer to becomes unreal because no one experiences it but you”
think something through completely. Brown and (p. 38). When Baldwin read the work of another black
Stephens (1995) support the notion that writing is a valu- author, he commented, ‘When circumstances are made
able vehicle for reflecting on one’s thoughts, feelings, real by another testimony, it becomes possible to envi-
and reactions. They contend that authentic writing is the sion change” (p. 38).
merger of thought and feeling; when students have both
cognitive and affective responses to subject matter, they
construct important connections. This construction of
meaning is personally transformative, growth produc- There are three categories of writing:
ing, and essential to the learning process (Brown &
Stephens). Atwell (1987) observed that writing can pm- transactional, expressive, and poetic.
vide a neutral way to solve problems, capture feelings
and inner experience, exercise power and freedom, and
know one’s own voice. Pipher (1994) argued that “know-
ing one’s own voice” (p. 5) is a critical part of the process According to Nicolini (1994), ”the writer is on a search
of learning who one is. Writing thoughts and feelings for himself. If he finds himself, he will find an audience,
can strengthen one’s voice and sense of self. because all of us have a common core” (p. 60). Onu-
There are three categories of writing: transactional, wami, a storyteller, felt that bringing stones out into the
expressive, and poetic. Transactional writing is the typi- public realm is transformative and healing, reminding
cal language of science-factual, impersonal-and the people of their commonality and creating community.
main mode used in most school curricula. Expressive Santiago-Welch (1995) believed that sharing one’s self
writing is the written form of everyday speech, the lan- through creative writing and receiving positive criticism
guage of the personal narrative, the mode in which new are therapeutic. The writing process gives power to the
ideas are tentatively explored and from which more spe- writer in a community of people coming together for the
cialized writing can be developed. Poetic writing evokes purpose of writing, to be heard and affirmed. Writing is
feeling. A piece of expressive writing that recollects a sig- a tool that can bring people to a place where they feel
nificant past experience often emerges as poetic writing empowered. Writing can give access to one’s own self,
in a story or poem. knowledge, experience, imagination, and voice. Most
The personal poetic narrative is an ideal mode for theorists agree that writing has great potential to con-
refledion. It is a fundamental way to search for meaning, tribute to the mental, emotional, and social development
value, and truth, all of which become clearer when set in of the writer (Nicolini;Sorrell, 1994).
written form (Nicolini, 1994; Sorrell, 1994).Exploring and Nicolini (1994) observed: ”Teachers can’t inject self-
defining the self and its relationship with others, becom- esteem, can’t inject a self-concept serum . . . but through
ing aware of structuring one’s thinking processes, and success in writing students’ sense of self-esteem improves
recognizing how the past has influenced and will con- naturally” (p. 61). Based on these theoretical notions, the
tinue to affect one’s life are the benefits of writing the WRITE program was designed to help students use cre-
personal, poetic, narrative (Nicolini). ative writing to know the self and know others, with the
The poet James Baldwin (1991) wrote of his child- goal to increase self-esteem and self-efficacy.
hood, “Growingup in a certain kind of poverty is grow- Baker (1996) suggested that the process of reflective
ing up in a certain kind of silence . . . in the silence one learning leads to an increased sense of self-awareness

JCAPNVolume 12,Number 2, April-June, 1999 n

A Creative Writing Program to Enhance Self-Esteem and Self-Efficacy in Adolescents

and self-esteem and a change in conceptual perspective. Self-in-relation theory suggests that individuals
Experts recognize that language alone does not lead to develop a distinct identity and sense of their own capa-
reflective, abstract thought. From their study of knowl- bilities in relation to others. The self-in-relation construct
edge development, Belenky, Clinchy, Goldberger, and is a shift from traditional theories of self-esteem, which
Tarule (1986) concluded that “in order for reflection to stress separation and autonomy rather than connection
occur, oral and written forms of language must pass and relationship. In self-in-relation theory, self-esteem is
back and forth between persons who both speak and lis- described as the intimate connection between the growth
ten or read and write-sharing, expanding and reflect- and development of the individual self and the interac-
ing on each other’s experience” (p. 26). The authors sug- tional development of self and others.
gest such interchanges lead to ways of knowing that
enable individuals to enter into the social and intellec-
tual life of their community. Without these interchanges,
people remain isolated from others and, even more The development of supportive
important, without tools for symbolizing, representing,
and sharing their experiences, individuals remain iso- relationships through positive feedback and
lated from themselves. Vygotsky (1962),an expert in lin-
guistics, explained that exterior dialogues are a neces- sharing written work provided a relational
sary precursor to inner speech and an awareness of
one’s own thought processes. Linesch (1988) described context to develop connections to others.
the writing process as a way to communicate personal
experience, engage in social participation, and explore
and experiment with identity. In the traditional school
curriculum, there is little opportunity for students to Self-esteem, then, is an evaluation of self (Rosenberg,
focus on the development of self. 1965) and cumulative feelings about the self (Cooper-
smith, 1967) that evolve in the context of relationships. In
Methods the creative writing program, the development of sup-
portive relationships through positive feedback and
Purpose sharing written work among students and facilitators
provided a relational context in which to develop con-
The purpose of the WRlTE intervention was to intro- nections to others to compare self-concept, values, and
duce creative writing as an opportunity for adolescents goals.
to tell their own story in their own words and to be Bandura (1977)defined self-efficacy as evaluative feel-
respectfully heard and responded to without criticism. ings about one’s ability to carry out a behavior to a suc-
The goal was to provide a positive behavioral alternative cessful outcome. Perceived self-efficacy determines the
for anger, stress, substance abuse, and violence. initiation of a particular coping behavior as well as the
persistence of that coping behavior in the face of obsta-
Conceptual Framework cles. Self-efficacyis based on four sources of information:
performance accomplishments, vicarious experience,
The conceptual framework underlying the design of verbal persuasion, and emotional arousal. Personal mas-
the program incorporated the self-in-relation construct of tery of particular experiences that results in a sense of
self-esteem (Jordan, Kaplan, Miller, Stiver, & Surrey, accomplishment is the most influential aspect of deter-
1991)and Bandura’s (1977) theory of self-efficacy. mining self-efficacy.

72 JCAF” Volume U,Number 2, April-June,1999

 A sense of self-efficacy gained from performance and professional writing groups. Sneider comments on
accomplishments tends to generalize to other situations the low-income women's group: "All have gained confi-
in which performance may have been stunted by preoc- dence, are working together and acting as role models for
cupation with personal inadequacies. Self-efficacy is gen- their children in the struggle against poverty" (personal
erated through vicarious experience, defined as seeing communication, November 10,1995). The author, who
others perform threatening activities without adverse served as the faculty facilitator of the WRITE program, is
consequences. Negative emotional arousal, such as fear certified as a group facilitator by the Amherst Writers and
of the impending situation, can inhibit successful perfor- Artists Institute. The co-intervenors participated in 8
mance. Fear-provoking thoughts about ineptitude can be hours of training to implement the program.
diminished when individuals are persuaded verbally WRITE was introduced to the high school students by
that they have the capabilities to master a task and are the faculty facilitator as a creative writing workshop,
provided with the knowledge through modeling and with the goal being to "tell their own story in their own
skills development (Bandura, 1977).The WRITE pro- language." The students were assured the workshop
gram created the opportunity for performance accom- was not concerned with technical writing, punctuation,
plishment through writing, vicarious experienceby hear- or spelling. Following a brief description of creative writ-
ing others read their writing, and verbal persuasion from ing, students were asked to "free write" by putting their
both peers and facihtators. pen to the paper and writing for 10 minutes, whatever
When the program was introduced at the English came to mind in response to an exercise. The exercises
department faculty meeting at an urban New England (Table 1)used topics ranging from objects placed on a
vocational high school of 1,600 students, several teachers table (eg, a clock, toy car, rosary beads, hammer) to lines
volunteered to participate. Participation was based on of poetry read aloud. Following the written part of the
the ability to match the schedules of the high school stu- exercise, students and facilitators were asked to read
dents and graduate student facilitators. their writing aloud. After each person read, class mem-
bers provided positive feedback by commenting on what
Subjects they liked and what they remembered. Table 2 outlines
the specific steps to the writing/reading process.
The setting had a high-risk population of minority
adolescents. The school has the largest percentage of low- Analysis
income children (51%)in the city, with the student body
mix being Hispanic (41%),African American (35%),and To assess students' response to the program, mid and
white (24%). Participants in this pilot program were boys end evaluations were conducted in the form of a paper in
(3) and girls (8) in an 11th grade English class. which the students were asked to write for 1minute to the
question, 'What is this experience like for you?" (Angel0
The Intervention & Cross, 1993). The evaluations were anonymous to
encourage students to write both positive and negative
The WRITE program uses the creative, narrative, reactions. Table 3 summarizes the student's midpoint and
poetic writing method developed by Sneider (1993) in finalevaluations.
which individuals write in a group with the purpose of
"developing their voice." This creative writing method Results
has been used for more than 10 years with a variety of
populations, including low-income women, English as a The content written in response to the exercise fell
second language students, adolescents, bereaved parents, into three categories: memories, affect, and ideas.

J W NVolume 12, Number 2, April-June,1999 73

 ~ ~

A Creative Writing Program to Enhance Self-Esteem and Self-Efficacy in Adolescents

Table 1. Exercises for Creative Writing Program for Table 2. The WRITE Program Procedure
Adolescents
Day Stimulus Object
1. The facilitator mtroduced a wnting exercise with an idea
1 Respond to a collection of objects (e.g.,toy car, old about creative writing.
watch, shell). 2. Participants were told to write whatever came to mind in
response to the exercises.
2 Draw a map of a remembered place (e.g., room, 3 Partiapants were reminded not to stop and think, but to
house, neighborhood, and write to what you recall). keep writing. Even if they had nothing to say, write that
3 Respond to one of these lines from a poem: they had nothing to say.
"I've never seen the place I was born "
4. At 9 minutes, the facilitator announced 1minute left to the
"Among my mother's things I found . . "
exercise.
"My soul is like a well of deep water." 5. At the end of 10 minutes, participants stopped writing and
"You are asking me where am I gomg wth those were asked to volunteer to read.
sad faces." 6. After each reading, participants were asked to comment on
"what they like" and "what they remember" from the writ-
4 Write about something from your childhood that you mg. Criticism was not permitted.
had and don't have now.
5 Respond to, "If I woke up tomorrow and I was the
opposite sex . "

6 Wnte down three things you're afraid of and three participant drew a map of a beach and began his story
tlungs you are comforted by, and write about one or with "sea shells remind me of my family's last trip to
several of them. Puerto Rico," and ending with "life in Vieques (Puerto
7 Write to "In the summer when I was . . . " Rico) is very simple."
8 Respond to a collection of objects (e.g.,checkers,
rosarybeads, spatula). Affect
9 Pick a postcard and write about where it takes you.
In the affect category, participants tapped into a whole
range of feelings, from sadness to disappointment to
delight. In response to the statement, 'Write about some-
Memory thing in your childhood that you don't have now," a par-
ticipant started with, "Something I had in my childhood
In the memory category, students generally wrote and I don't have now is a father . . . me, 1love and hate
about happier, simpler times of the past, such as going to him at the same time and that's because when I was 11
the beach, a trip to their home country, or special family years old he walked out on my mother, sister, and I."
moments. For example, in response to the stimulus The participant ended with, "I wish everything could go
object, "Draw a map of a remembered place," one partic- back to around when my sister was born, everything
ipant drew a map of a labor room and wrote, 'When I seemed so perfect then."
think about the birth of my brother, I will never forget
that moment. It was very funny to me, my mom was Ideas
very noisy," and she went on to describe a scene of her
mother telling her father it was time to go to the hospital Writings in the creative idea category were poems,
and her father going crazy, jumping in the car and leav- short stories, and commentaries that came from the
ing the writer and her mother on the front steps. Another heart. One student started her poem with, "Words can

74 JCAPNVolume 12,Number 2, April-June,1999

Table 3. Student Evaluations of WRITE Program
Time Category
I _

Self-Esteem Self-Efficacy

Mid-eval I like: I like:

’Writing what‘s on our minds.” “To write, and it‘s helping me to write at home.”
‘Writing what we want to write.” “I never thought of myself as a writer, I like leam-
ing about myself.”
“Not being told a topic.”
”I hate to write, but I am trymg.”
“Getting to know each other like this.“
”I wish it wasn’t just two weeks.”

End-eval “I really enjoyed opening up and telling people a little ’These writing assignments were p a t . It made
about myself.” me express myself better on paper, it makes my
schoolwork easier.”
“It helps me remember fun things.”
“My writing skills have improved, it has helped
“I’ve learned to write about my feelings, express myself, it me be more creative.”
also brought back years of memories.”
“It makes me understand myself more and look back on
some of the things I did wrong. It makes me realize how
much I love my son and how precious memories can be.”
”It‘s given me a chance to talk about my life. I also like
listening to the other students writing and learning a little
about them.”

hurt, words can wound, words can break a heart in two, response to the second session, a co-facilitator wrote, ”I
when we speak before we think.” think it’s good to have something unstructured like
this. I think most of their classes are probably very
Facilitators‘Response structured. I wonder how much they are encouraged to
use their imaginations, to be creative and, most of all,
Throughout the 2-week period, there was one consis- have fun with it?” Following the third session, another
tent facilitator, with a different graduate student co-facil- facilitator commented, ”The group as a whole was
itator every session. The overall responses of the co- quite a bit more interactive than I expected. I was,
facilitators were very positive. After our first meeting, frankly, surprised to see that all of the students engaged
the co-facilitator wrote, ”At first the students were not themselves in reading in front of their peer group. This
impressed, but as the session progressed they were experience made me realize how this alternative method
relaxed, liked what they were doing, and were feeling of instruction would enable these adolescents to feel
good. By the end, the students were all buzzing with more in control of their life. It afforded them the oppor-
curiosity and excitement about the next day’s exercise. tunity to reflect on what had and is happening to them.”
Something good is definitely happening here.” In The fourth facilitator observed, “Most of the kids gave

JCAPNVolume 12, Number 2, April-June,1999 75

A Creative Writing Program to Enhance Self-Esteem and Self-Efficacy in Adolescents

each other positive feedback. They laugh at each other a time with the kids, get to know them. It was neat to hear
little but it seems all in good humor, and no one seems a little snippet of their lives: being sad, proud, uncom-
off ended .” fortable, excited.”
In the second week of the program, facilitator The co-facilitators’ responses indicated that over the
responses included not only a reaction to the individual 2-week period, the group interaction went from students
writings but also several observations of the collective being withdrawn and reticent to participate to a cohesive
experience of the group: ’Writing came easily, (students) group that responded enthusiastically to each exercise
were very eager and excited about sharing. I was while competing to read and respond to their peers.
impressed with the sensitivity to each other’s writing
and feehgs of closeness that came through when com- Teacher Evaluation
menting on their peers.” After the second day, the f a d -
tator had a similar response: “Overall, I thought they Irutially, it was not anticipated that the teacher would
did great! They seemed very enthusiastic and anxious to be present in the room during the intervention; however,
read; I was amazed how quickly they responded with she chose to work quietly at her desk for the 40-minute
their input. They appeared to be such a tight group and sessions. An unexpected benefit was her daily verbal
seemed to enjoy each other.” The writing was affecting support and the final written evaluation.Before the inter-
not only the individual, but also the group dynamics of vention she reported that attendance in class was very
the class. Group cohesion had increased markedly. erratic. In fact, the day the program was initiated only
“I have read articles about adolescents who think 25% of the class was present, with additional students
they will never live until they are 20, so they live dan- attending every day, so by the last week there was 100%
gerously because they feel they are going to die early attendance. After the final session, she commented:
anyway. Reading about it is one thing, but listening to
an adolescent say this is more shocking,” was the obser- It was good for them, they came to understand
vation of another facilitator. A facilitator on the follow- themselves. These kids have a plethora of problems
ing day observed, ”I was struck by the responsibilities in their personal life and no one to talk to. They
these adolescents have. One 16-year-old worried about want to talk,writing gives them the opportunity. . .
her baby’s father taking h away, while another wrote when they write about their personal life, they begin
about paying regular household bills.” The eighth facili- to reflect, they look back and gain an understanding
tator related her knowledge of the literature to the expe- of themselves . . . it brings back stuff from the past
rience: “I was startled that very young people had a fear that you might not remember . . . it helps to free
of death. It was interesting to hear both boys and girls write to get thoughts down. . . it relieves frustration.
list embarrassment as something they were afraid of.
Additionally, each sex spoke of their fears equally, When asked if there was anything that surprised her, she
which goes contrary to the assumption that boys would said, ”I was amazed that there was no resistance at all. . . .
not talk about feelings or admit them.” All the facilita- The kids looked forward to it every day, they enjoyed it a
tors recognized that the literature suggested there lot. . . . One girl, who never talked before, told another
would be a gender difference in level of participation as teacher that she loved thisclass!”
well as the content of the writings. Throughout the pro-
gram, however, there was no discernible gender differ- Discussion
ence in writing or responding. Following the final ses-
sion, the facilitator wrote, “It felt like it went too fast, it The purpose of this program was to pilot a creative
was over before it got started. I wanted to spend more writing intervention program designed to enhance self-

76 JCAPNVolume 12,Number 2, April-June,1999

esteem and self-efficacy. A basic assumption of the inter- dents learned to trust the process through vicarious
ventions was that to maintain or enhance health, adoles- experience. For example, the majority of students were
cents need to develop a strong sense of self through self- not in the first session when the project was explained;
knowledge and the ability to express themselves. The however, as absent members joined and observed
goal of the intervention was to facilitate self-knowledge their colleagues immediately responding to the exer-
through relating to others in a structured safe environ- cise in writing and voluntarily reading their work, the
ment with positive feedback that would increase self- late-arriving students participated enthusiastically.
esteem and self-efficacy. Through their writing and The feedback method was designed to provide posi-
responding, participants combined cognitive and affec- tive verbal persuasion. As indicated in the evalua-
tive responses to construct important connections tions, through mastering the skills of free writing and
between themselves and others. having their stories ”heard through reading out loud
Sironkik (1983)recognized that most schools provide and responded to with genuine positive feedback, the
meager opportunities for dialogue. Verbal interchanges students’ potential negative emotional response was
tend to be teacher initiated and dominated, con- diminished.
strained, and unilateral. The WRITE program provided Both adolescence and poverty have the potential to
an opportunity for student-initiated voice and reflec- maintain a silence. The sharing of writing through
tion. Baker (1996) described reflection as a process of reading aloud and receiving positive feedback pro-
thinking and exploring an issue of concern, which is vided the students with a different way of knowing
triggered by an experience. In this case, the students’ each other, a new way of interacting. They heard each
concerns were triggered by the introductory exercises, other’s stories. Most adolescents, especially those at
followed by a 10-minute “free write.” When the stu- risk, believe they are alone in experiencing their pain,
dents read aloud, they heard their thought process confusion, and angst. Nicolini (1994) wrote, “How
describing their values, priorities, and preferences comforting then to discover they are not alone, that
expressed in their own voice. Voice in writing implies they and their classmates have a pool of shared expe-
words that capture the sound of the individual on the riences” (p. 60). In support of the self-in-relation con-
page. When people learn to use their real voice, it leads cept of self-esteem, which emphasizes the centrality
to growth and empowerment in using words and relat- of connecting to others as a way to enhance self-
ing to others as well as self. The student and teacher esteem, students reported an increased sense of well-
evaluations supported Atwell’s (1987) claim that writ- being from hearing about the lived experience of their
ing helps solve problems, capture feelings, and know peers.
one’s own voice. The WRITE intervention holds much promise in
enhancing adolescents’ self-esteem and self-efficacy. This
Conclusions project laid the groundwork for a study with an
increased sample size, which will obtain additional qual-
Through the writing process, students increased itative data as well as quantitative pre and post measures
their writing efficacy. The four sources of self-effi- of self-esteem and self-efficacy.
cacy -performance accomplishment, vicarious expe-
rience, verbal persuasion, and emotional arousal - Acknowledgments.The author expresses her appreciation to
the research team: Gail Blanchard, BSN, Sheila Christianson,
were part of the intervention. The students BSN, Christina Clark, BSN, Wende Graves, BSN, Margaret
experienced performance accomplishment once they Howarth, BSN, Evelyn Johnson, BSN, Anna Lea Kantor, BSN,
engaged in the exercise, voluntarily read aloud, and Lynda Fountain, BSN, Kristin McCarthy, BSN, Sharon
received interested, positive responses. Several stu- Shumway,BSN, Kiki Tipton, BSN, and Kathleen White, MSN.

JCAPNVolume 12, Number 2, April-June,1999 77

A Creative Writing Program to Enhance Self-Esteem and Self-Efficacy in Adolescents

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