Values Narratives for Personal Growth Formative Evaluation of the Laws of Life Essay Program

Evidence that even very brief writing exercises can change the way people see themselves and promote more positive mental and physical health has led to increased interest in their use in school settings and elsewhere. To date, however, research designs rely heavily on samples of college students and experimental studies of writing tasks carried out in the lab. There has been less investigation of the potential impact of more naturally occurring expressive writing exercises that exist in places like schools and that focus on adolescents. The current study was a process evaluation of the Laws of Life Essay, a values-based narrative program that was part of participants’ secondary school experience. It examined participants’ views of the impact of the program on their personal growth and, given the age range of participants, allowed for process evaluation of its perceived short- and long-term effects. Qualitative, semistructured interviews with 55 adolescent and adult participants were collected. Themes in ...