The effects of peer social interaction and support on the self-esteem of young people with spina bifida.

The purpose of this study was to assess self-esteem and self-concept in a group of children with spina bifida (mean age 9) before and after involvement in a youth support program which employed and combined social support, and social skills instruction. The hypotheses were: (a) after 8-10 bi-weekly group meetings there would be an improvement in the children\u27s self-esteem with respect to various aspects of their self-concept, (b) the control group would be more stable than the treatment group for self-esteem and self-concept, and (c) due to improved self-esteem there would be an improvement on a number of adaptive behaviors. Due to the attrition rates in the treatment group the focus of this study changed from the hypotheses stated above to a number of empirical questions. These questions included: (a) Were the measures utilized reliable for this sample? (b) Were the children in this study similar to or disparate from non-disabled children on the measures? and (c) In a case by case investigation did the children in the treatment group improve their self-esteem as a result of the intervention? (Abstract shortened by UMI.)Dept. of Psychology. Paper copy at Leddy Library: Theses & Major Papers - Basement, West Bldg. / Call Number: Thesis1997 .W34. Source: Masters Abstracts International, Volume: 37-01, page: 0370. Adviser: R. Robert Orr. Thesis (M.A.)--University of Windsor (Canada), 1997