title: Self-esteem in children with psychosomatic symptoms: examination of low self-esteem and prognosis.
abstract: Self-esteem is the evaluative feelings one holds for oneself and the sense that one has essential worth. It is evaluated as the difference between the actual self and the ideal self. Healthy self-esteem supports psychological stability and positive social activity and is an essential element in the psychological development of children. The purpose of this study was to evaluate self-esteem in children with psychosomatic symptoms and elucidate a strategy for using such evaluations in therapy. We evaluated self-esteem in 56 patients at the Department of Pediatrics of Okayama University Hospital who were undergoing outpatient therapy for psychosomatic symptoms, using Pope's 5-scale test of self-esteem for children. We examined patient attributes, course of therapy, and social adjustment. Patients with low self-esteem on multiple scales at the first visit were all female, and these patients had a significantly higher frequency of family function problems, such as a family member with a psychiatric disorder, economic hardship, or experience of child abuse. Moreover, the prognosis for these patients was poor regardless of their social adjustment at the first visit.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pediatrics, Okayama University Graduate School of Medicine, Dentistry and Pharmaceutical Sciences, Okayama 700-8558, Japan. hozumi@kc4.so-net.ne.jp
authors.forename: Mizuho
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Hosogi
authors.forename: Ayumi
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Okada
authors.forename: Eriko
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Yamanaka
authors.forename: Keiko
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Ootyou
authors.forename: Chiaki
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Tsukamoto
authors.forename: Tsuneo
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Morishima
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D002648:Child; D002649:Child Abuse; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D011379:Prognosis; D011602:Psychophysiologic Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000523:psychology*; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012649:Self Concept; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D012727:Sex Characteristics; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors