Enhancing Self-Awareness in Late Adolescents and Emerging Adults in Pakistan: A Randomized Controlled Trial of UNICEF’s Basic Life Skills Program

Background: Self-awareness is a core developmental competence that supports psy-chological adjustment, resilience, and adaptive functioning during late adolescence and emerging adulthood, a period characterized by identity exploration, academic demands, and increasing social responsibility. Strengthening domains such as self-esteem, stress management, emotional regulation, and positive thinking may re-duce vulnerability to psychosocial difficulties during this critical life stage. Methods: This study evaluated the effectiveness of the self-awareness module of UNICEF’s Basic Life Skills Training Program (BLSTP) using a randomized controlled design. Sixty Pa-kistani university students aged 18–24 years were randomly assigned to an experi-mental group or a waitlist control group. The intervention targeted four self-awareness subdomains through structured group sessions. Standardized measures were adminis-tered at pre-test, post-test, and follow-up. Data were analyzed using descriptive statis-tics, t-tests, chi-square tests, and repeated-measures ANOVA. Results: Compared to controls, participants in the experimental group showed significant improvements in self-esteem, stress management, emotional regulation, and positive thinking. Large ef-fect sizes were observed (partial η² = 0.46–0.84), and gains were maintained at fol-low-up, indicating sustained intervention effects. Conclusions: The BLSTP self-awareness module appears to be an effective and culturally appropriate preven-tive intervention for enhancing key psychosocial competencies in late adolescents and young adults. Its integration into educational and community-based youth programs may support resilience, adaptive coping, and psychosocial well-being among Pakistani adolescents and emerging adults.