Self-esteem in asthmatic children.

This study investigated the hypotheses that asthmatic children would score lower on a self-report inventory of self-concept than either the normative sample or a comparison group of emotionally disturbed children, and that severe asthmatics would report poorer self-concepts than less severe asthmatics. The Piers-Harris Children's Self-Concept Scale was administered to 36 asthmatic children (22 severe and 12 less severe) and 32 emotionally disturbed children. Contrary to expectations, no significant differences in overall self-concept were found among these groups, but the severe asthmatics saw themselves as generally less anxious than the emotionally disturbed group (P less than 0.05) and exhibited a slight tendency toward seeing themselves as happier (P less than 0.1).