Predictors of Self-Esteem

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Abstract
This study examined the relative influence on children's self-esteem of academic achievement, maternal self-esteem, maternal acceptance, and children's perception of their parents' acceptance of them. Subjects were students with learning disabilities in a self-contained class (n=31), similarly diagnosed students in resource room (n=35), students in compensatory education (n=30), and nondisabled students (n=30) from Grades 3 through 6. Results showed that for the self-contained group, a child's perception of maternal and paternal acceptance plus the child's academic achievement score accounted for 58% of the variance in the child's self-esteem. None of the independent variables accounted for a significant proportion of the variance in the compensatory education and regular class groups. The self-esteem of the regular class students was significantly higher than that of the resource room students and the compensatory education students, but not significantly higher than that of the self-contained students.