The Effects of a Self-esteem Improvement Program on Self-esteem, Depression, and Interpersonal Relationships in Community Dwelling Patients with Chronic Schizophrenia

The purpose of this study was to determine the effects of self-esteem improvement program on self-esteem, depression, and interpersonal relationship in chronic schizophrenia patients living in the community. Methods: The research design was a non-equivalent pre and post control group design. One of two community mental health centers was randomly assigned to receive the intervention and the other served as a control. Eight patients in the intervention group and ten in the control group participated. For the intervention group, the self-esteem improvement program was provided in 60-minute session once a week for 12-weeks. Measurements were Korean version of self-esteem scale (SES-K), Korean version of beck depression inventory (BDI-K), and Korean version of interpersonal relationships (IR-K). Results: The only statistically significant difference between the experimental and control group was for interpersonal relationships. For the experimental group, there were statistically significant differences in self-esteem and interpersonal relationships. Conclusion: The results indicate that this type of program has a positive effect on self-esteem and interpersonal relationships and can be a feasible type of intervention program for community dwelling patients with chronic schizophrenia.