title: The self-concept of young people with spina bifida: a population-based study.
abstract: Seventy-nine young people with spina bifida were given a psychological, medical, carer and occupational therapy assessment. 79 matched able-bodied young people received the psychosocial interview. The disabled group felt themselves to be less competent in academic, athletic and social aspects of self-concept, less supported by classmates, equally supported by parents and friends and more supported by teachers than the able-bodied group. Disabled subjects did not discount the importance of any area of personal-social functioning, and experienced greater discrepancies between competence and importance in most academic, athletic, social and physical appearance aspects of self-concept. Disabled girls assigned very high importance to physical appearance. Physical appearance was more strongly associated with general self-esteem than any other area of self-concept.
authors.affiliation: Wrexham Maelor Hospital, Clwyd, Wales, UK.
authors.forename: P L
authors.initials: PL
authors.lastname: Appleton
authors.forename: P E
authors.initials: PE
authors.lastname: Minchom
authors.forename: N C
authors.initials: NC
authors.lastname: Ellis
authors.forename: C E
authors.initials: CE
authors.lastname: Elliott
authors.forename: V
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Böll
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Jones
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D002648:Child; D004185:Disability Evaluation; D006233:Persons with Disabilities / Q000523:psychology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D006849:Hydrocephalus / Q000150:complications / Q000601:surgery; D007361:Intelligence Tests; D008297:Male; D010555:Personality Inventory; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012649:Self Concept; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D012737:Sex Factors; D012944:Social Support; D016135:Spinal Dysraphism / Q000150:complications / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000523:psychology*; D017287:Ventriculoperitoneal Shunt