The self-concept of physically handicapped children and their non-handicapped siblings: an empirical investigation.

Following a brief review of studies devoted specifically to the self-concept of the child with a physical handicap and the non-handicapped sibling, 20 pre-adolescent physically handicapped children attending normal schools and their siblings nearest in age were administered the Piers-Harris Self-Concept Scale for Children. Their responses were then compared with those of 13 physically handicapped children attending special schools and their siblings, and with 18 non-handicapped children and their siblings. It was found that mean total scores were lower for both groups of physically handicapped children when compared to mean scores for the non-handicapped controls, with similar results amongst the groups of siblings, the mean scores for siblings of handicapped children being generally lower than those of the controls. The same results were found when the handicapped children's groups were pooled and analysed according to diagnosis. It was also found that there were few significant differences between pairs of target children and siblings, irrespective of their groupings.