Escobar-Soler C, Berrios R, Peñaloza-Díaz G, Melis-Rivera C, Caqueo-Urízar A, Ponce-Correa F, Flores J. Effectiveness of Self-Affirmation Interventions in Educational Settings: A Meta-Analysis.
Healthcare (Basel) 2023;
12:3. [PMID:
38200909 PMCID:
PMC10779329 DOI:
10.3390/healthcare12010003]
[Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/11/2023] [Revised: 11/30/2023] [Accepted: 12/15/2023] [Indexed: 01/12/2024] Open
Abstract
School and university can be stressful contexts that can become an important source of identity threats when social prejudices or stereotypes come into play. Self-affirmation interventions are key strategies for mitigating the negative consequences of identity threat. This meta-analysis aims to provide an overview of the effectiveness of self-affirmation interventions in educational settings. A peer-reviewed article search was conducted in January 2023. A total of 144 experimental studies that tested the effect of self-affirmation interventions in educational contexts among high school and university students from different social and cultural backgrounds were considered. The average effect of self-affirmation interventions was of low magnitude (dIG+ = 0.41, z = 16.01, p < 0.00), with a 95% confidence interval whose values tended to lie between 0.36 and 0.45 (SE = 0.0253). In addition, moderators such as identity threat, participants' age, and intervention procedure were found. Through a meta-analysis of the impact of self-affirmation interventions in educational contexts, this study suggests that interventions are effective, resulting in a small mean effect size. Thus, self-affirmation interventions can be considered useful, brief, and inexpensive strategies to improve general well-being and performance in educational settings.
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