Vol. 10, Special Issue 8 (2021)

Author(s):
Sana Bari, G Swarupa Rani, M Sarada Devi and R Geetha Reddy

Abstract:
The coronavirus (COVID-19) disease spread globally, generating intense fear of infection and death, may lead to enduring anxiety. At the same time measures like lockdown, quarantine and physical isolation can exaggerate feelings of loneliness due to disconnection from others which can trigger intense anxiety leading to low self-esteem. The aim of the current study was to find the effect of intervention on levels of self-esteem during the COVID-19 pandemic. A sample of 60 rural adolescent girls were selected for the study. An experimental design was used with a self-esteem scale which was developed to measure the self-esteem levels of the rural adolescent girls during pre-test and post-test. The results of the study revealed that the COVID-19 pandemic had adversely affected the self-esteem levels of the rural adolescent girls with its various measures like closure of educational institutions, ceasing the classroom activities, lockdown, isolated learning environment, absence of teacher who is the greater resource for these children. The results of the study depicted that, the self-esteem levels of the majority of the rural adolescent girls have significantly improved during the post-test. Further the findings also found the paired t-test value was 26.23** which indicates a high significant difference in pre and post-test scores at 0.01 level of probability. Therefore, it was concluded from the results of the study that the intervention on self-esteem levels was effective during the COVID-19 pandemic.