Self‐concept research with school‐aged youth with intellectual disabilities: A systematic review

Abstract

Background Research on the self‐concept of youth with intellectual disabilities has not been summarized in more than four decades. The present systematic review addresses this gap. Method A systematic literature search was performed in nine databases and 21 studies, published between 1979 and 2017, met our inclusion criteria. Results Significant differences between the self‐concepts of youth with intellectual disabilities and typically developing (TD) youth were found in: (a) cognitive‐academic self‐concept in disfavour of youth with intellectual disabilities; (b) global self‐concept and cognitive‐academic self‐concept in disfavour of children with intellectual disabilities; and (c) global, behavioural, and cognitive‐academic self‐concept in disfavour of youth with intellectual disabilities schooled in a special class. Additionally, except for age, intellectual functioning and school placement, no significant relations were found between the self‐concept dimensions and academic achievement and sex. Conclusion Studies on self‐concept research with school‐aged youth with intellectual disabilities have several weaknesses that need to be advanced in future research.

Mindset and perseverance of adolescents with intellectual disabilities: Associations with empowerment, mental health problems, and self-esteem

“…First, youth with ID are likely to be aware that they are intellectually disabled, and may interpret this as synonymous with having low intellectual potential (Baird, Scott, Dearing, & Hamill, 2009). Second, the construct of self-concept has been extensively studied among persons with ID (Maïano et al, 2019 for a review). These studies have indeed shown that youth with ID are at risk to have little confidence in themselves due to the increased likelihood to experience negative life events (e.g., parental separation, financial crisis, serious illness within the family) and repeated failures (Hatton & Emerson, 2004;Koestner, Aube, Ruttner, & Breed, 1995;Maïano et al, 2019).…”

Factors influencing the self-esteem of children with a severe or profound learning disability: a pilot study

“…Fourth, again because of the small sample size and pre-existing nature of the data, only global self-esteem was included in the analyses. There are a number of different aspects of self-esteem that could be considered in future research (Maïano et al 2019). Fifth, while the questionnaire used to assess self-esteem has many items that are based on observable behaviour and therefore applicable to most children, others are likely to be influenced more by the level of intellectual ability of the child being assessed than their self-esteem, for example, the ability to initiate social activities.…”

“…Perceiving oneself to have a stigmatised identity has been found to be associated with negative social comparisons with others, low self-esteem (Paterson et al 2011) and lowered aspirations (Szivos-Bach 1993). Overall, research suggests that children with a learning disability have lower self-esteem compared to their typically developing peers, both globally and in respect of behavioural and cognitive-academic domains, whereas the picture is more mixed for adolescents and adults with a learning disability (Maïano et al 2019).…”

“…It remains unclear exactly which factors influence self-identity, with a recent review by Maïano et al (2019) finding no consistent relationships across studies between different aspects of self-concept and academic performance, age, gender, or level of intellectual ability.…”

“…The Education Endowment Foundation Toolkit (2019) reviewed interventions which aimed to increase the self-esteem, self-efficacy and aspirations of typically developing children and found very few studies in this area and a lack of clear evidence that specific interventions consistently achieved these aims. Much of the existing research in the area of self-esteem has been with people with a mild to moderate learning disability, or with those who have intellectual functioning in the borderline range (Maïano et al 2019). This is perhaps understandable, given that people with a more severe learning disability may not have the level of cognitive ability required to selfreport on the abstract concepts that relate to self-identity and self-esteem.…”