The Effectiveness of Positive Psychology Interventions in Enhancing Self-Esteem and Psychological Well-Being among School -Going Adolescents in Kampala Slums

Abstract

Adolescents living in Kampala’s slum communities face chronic poverty, insecurity, overcrowding, and social marginalization, placing them at elevated risk for poor mental health and diminished psychological well-being. However, most mental health interventions in such settings remain deficit-oriented, with limited emphasis on strength-based approaches that promote psychological flourishing. This mixed-methods study examined the effectiveness of Positive Psychology Interventions (PPIs) specifically resilience training, mindfulness practices, gratitude interventions, and character strengths identification in enhancing self esteem and psychological well-being among adolescents in Kampala’s slums, including Kagugube, Kisenyi, Nabutiti, Kanyogoga, Kikuba Mutwe, and Kamwokya. Guided by an explanatory sequential research design, quantitative data were collected from 424 adolescents (195 experimental group; 229 control group) across four time points using standardized measures of self-esteem, psychological well-being, positive and negative affect (PANAS), resilience, mindfulness, gratitude, and character strengths. For Hypotheses 1, 2, 3, and 4, multiple linear regression analysis was employed to examine the predictive effects of positive psychology intervention components on self-esteem and psychological well-being among school-going adolescents in Kampala slums. Longitudinal data were analyzed using repeated measures ANOVA and multilevel growth modeling to assess intervention effects over time while controlling for baseline differences and maturation effects. Results indicated that participation in the combined PPIs led to statistically significant improvements in self-esteem and psychological well-being compared to the control group. The intervention model accounted for a substantial proportion of variance in self-esteem (adjusted R² = .33, F = 123.46, p < .001) and psychological well-being (adjusted R² = .23, F = 14.20, p < .001). Additionally, the interventions significantly reduced negative affect (β = −0.49, p < .001) and increased positive affect over time. Among the intervention components, gratitude practices and character strengths identification emerged as the strongest independent predictors of positive psychological outcomes, while resilience and mindfulness demonstrated smaller but statistically significant effects. Qualitative data from 40 purposively selected school-going adolescents, obtained through focus group discussions and in-depth interviews, corroborated the quantitative findings. Qualitative data was analyzed using thematic analysis. Participants reported enhanced self-worth, improved emotional regulation, stronger coping abilities, increased social confidence, and greater optimism, illuminating the psychological mechanisms underlying the observed statistical effects. Integrating quantitative and qualitative evidence, the study proposes the Pillars of Psychological Flourishing (PPF) Model as a culturally responsive and scalable framework for strengthening adolescent mental health in resource constrained urban environments. Overall, the findings provide robust empirical support for the effectiveness of Positive Psychology Interventions in enhancing self-esteem and psychological well-being among school -going adolescents in Kampala’s slums, and highlight their potential for integration into school-based and community mental health programs in similar low resource contexts.