The Effects of Multimedia-Based Puberty Health Education on Male Students’ Self-Esteem in the Middle School

BACKGROUND: Adolescents, as a large group of the world population, face many physical and psychological changes in their puberty period. They struggle with adjusting to the intensive changes that can lead to the development of low self-esteem. This study was conducted to determine the effect of multimedia-based puberty health education on male students’ self-esteem in the middle school. METHODS: It is a quasi-experimental study by using multi-stage sampling method which was done on 118 boys from two middle schools in Ilam (an Iranian city) from November 2017 to April 2018. Students were divided into two intervention (N=58) and control (N=60) groups. Then, the intervention group students were trained using a multimedia application. Data were gathered using a demographic questionnaire and Rosenberg’s Self-Esteem Scale completed by students in three phases including before, immediately after, and three months after the end of the educational program. The collected data were analyzed using independent t-test, Chi-square, Fisher’s exact test, post hoc test, and repeated measures ANOVA. Statistical analysis was performed using SPSS 16, and P<0.05 was considered significant. RESULTS: Mean and standard deviation of the self-esteem scores in the intervention and control groups were 28.37±3.58 and 27.89±3.82 before the education, 32.17±3.12 and 27.50±3.56 immediately after the education, and 33.83±3.32 as well as 27.32±4.37 three months later, respectively. Mean self-esteem scores were significantly different post-intervention (P<0.001) and three months later (P<0.001) between the two groups. CONCLUSION: Education on puberty health assisted by multimedia application can increase self-esteem in adolescent boys.