Self-esteem of abused children.
Thirty-seven children admitted to hospital with a diagnosis of abuse at an average of 5.5 years previously were compared with 37 non-abused children matched for age, sex, ethnic group, school and social class. The mean age of the children with 8.9 years (range 4.6-14.0 years). Self-esteem in the children was assessed by means of a structured interview with the child and the Piers-Harris Self-Concept Scale. The abused children saw themselves as having significantly fewer friends than the comparison children and they played with friends less often. They were less ambitious than the non-abused children with regard to the sort of occupation they would like as adults and were significantly lower in self-concept on the Piers-Harris Self-Concept Scale. These results show that, as well as providing treatment for abusive parents, a long-term program which aims at improving interpersonal relationship skills and self-esteem is required for abused children.
D000293:Adolescent; D002648:Child; D002649:Child Abuse; D002675:Child, Preschool; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D010553:Personality Development; D011581:Psychological Tests; D012649:Self Concept