The influence of gender of the self-perception of disturbed children
Description
This investigation examined the interrelationship between gender, psychopathology and self-perception. The specific research questions posed in this exploratory study were: (1) How are the various aspects of self-perception related to the sex of the child? (2) What is the nature of the interrelationship between number of symptoms, as reported by mother and child, self-perception and gender? The sample consisted of 24 boys and 24 girls, along with their mothers. All children were involved in psychotherapy for behavioral and/or emotional problems. Self-perception was measured using The Self-Perception Profile (Harter, 1985). Psychopathology was reported by mother and child using a structured interview (Child Assessment Schedule, 1985). Several background variables were also measured Results indicated that boys and girls did not differ in their mean scores for any of the measures. The children reported relatively high levels of self-perception and acknowledged a magnitude of symptomatology that was similar to that reported by their mothers. There were significant gender differences, however, in the way in which the variables were interrelated. It was found that the various components of self-perception were strongly interrelated for girls and not for boys. Furthermore, age was inversely related to overall self-perception for girls. The number of child-reported symptoms was the strongest predictor of overall self-perception for all children. While mothers and children reported similar numbers of symptoms, in general, the actual agreement between mother and daughter assessments of psychopathology was relatively low. Thus, it appears that mothers and children acknowledge different types of problems and that girls and their mothers are more divergent in their appraisal than mothers and sons From these results, it was concluded that the self-perception of girls is more tenuous, both in its construction and maintenance. Boys are able to maintain both positive and negative appraisals of their competency in various areas while still reporting a positive sense of global self-worth. Girls, however, had to perform well in all areas in order to maintain a sense of global self-worth. Furthermore, it was observed that development exacts a greater toll on the self-perception of girls than it does for boys