Assessment of self‐reported self‐esteem in healthy and diabetic children and adolescents in Greece

Abstract

Background: The aim of the present study was to evaluate any possible negative effect of diabetes on the self‐esteem of children and adolescents with diabetes. Methods: Self‐esteem was evaluated using the Culture‐Free Self‐Esteem Inventory (CFSEI‐2) in 144 patients with Type 1 diabetes mellitus (T1DM; 7–18 years of age) treated in a diabetes center and compared against that of 136 healthy children and adolescents. Results: Self‐esteem was correlated with age (P = 0.017), but not with diabetes (P = 0.886). The median CFSEI‐2 score for both healthy and diabetic children was 22. There was no significant correlation between self‐esteem and sex, body mass index (BMI), physical exercise, HbA1c or parental educational level. According to Spearman’s rank correlation coefficient (rs), there was a significant association between age and self‐esteem (rs = −0.15). Conversely, although BMI (rs = −0.09) and treatment duration (rs = −0.107) had a slight negative effect on self‐esteem and the duration of physical exercise (rs = 0.11) and parental education (rs = 0.07) seemed to have a positive effect, the associations did not reach statistical significance. Conclusions: Self‐esteem in diabetic children is mainly affected by their age, level of physical activity and level of family support. These findings emphasize the need to discriminate between glycemic control and diabetic adjustment.

Ti̇p 1 Di̇yabeti̇ Olan Ergenlerde Fi̇zi̇ksel Akti̇vi̇te Sevi̇yesi̇ İle Depresyon, Anksi̇yete, Yaşam Kali̇tesi̇ Ve Benli̇k Saygisi Arasindaki̇ İli̇şki̇

“…This may be due to chronic stress factors and short duration of the disease, which may not allow depression and anxiety to decrease with PA. Consistent with previous studies (18)(19)(20), there was no relationship between PA level and self-esteem in adolescents with T1DM, reflecting the possibly limited contribution of PA level to them regarding a balance among social acceptance, social devaluation, and rejection.…”

“…In adolescents with T1DM, compared to healthy controls, previous studies reported higher depressive symptoms (41), while another study found no differences in depressive and anxiety symptoms (42). Moreover, previous studies found that adolescents with T1DM reported higher physical abilities score and similar scores for self-esteem, physical appearance, and general self-concept, compared to healthy controls (18)(19)(20). In line with precedent mentioned findings, the present study revealed no difference in depression and anxiety levels, and self-esteem between adolescents with T1DM and healthy controls, indicating that these patients might adapt well to the disease.…”

The connection between chronic diseases and self-image and self-esteem

“…Carrol et al (28) found, in a study of 125 women with diabetes, the connection between dissatisfaction with one's self-image and a lower level of self-esteem. Vlachioti et al (29), however, not found such connection and also did not find the influence of diabetes on physical activity.…”

Self-esteem in adolescents with chronic physical illness vs. controls in Northern Russia

“…Several comparative studies between children with diabetes and controls reported encouraging results. Greek children with diabetes exhibited high self-esteem, similar to that of the healthy control group (9). Furthermore, in a Turkish study, children with diabetes reported higher self-esteem scores than the control group (10).…”