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Self‐concept: comparison between school‐aged children with congenital heart disease and normal school‐aged children
Author(s) -
Chen ChiWen,
Li ChungYi,
Wang JouKou
Publication year - 2005
Publication title -
journal of clinical nursing
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.94
H-Index - 102
eISSN - 1365-2702
pISSN - 0962-1067
DOI - 10.1111/j.1365-2702.2004.01068.x
Subject(s) - heart disease , medicine , disease , self concept , pediatrics , developmental psychology , physical therapy , psychology , clinical psychology
Aims and objectives. The aim of this study was to evaluate and compare the self‐concept of school‐aged children with congenital heart disease to those of normal school‐aged children. The primary objective was to analyse results of the Self‐Concept Scale questionnaire administered to children with congenital heart disease aged 9–12 years. Sixty‐four children with congenital heart disease (study group), and 71 without congenital heart disease (control group), completed the questionnaire. Background. Little attention has focused on school‐aged children with congenital heart disease who are in the important stages of developing self‐concept. Results. The mean score on the Physical self‐concept of the Self‐Concept Scale was significantly lower for the study group than the control group ( P < 0.05). No significant differences were observed between children with congenital heart disease and normal children in terms of family self‐concept, school self‐concept, appearance self‐concept, emotional self‐concept and general self‐concept for the Self‐Concept Scale. Conclusions. Nurses should use the study findings to encourage positive self‐concept development and improve their patient education about physical activity before the child is discharged. Thus, children with congenital heart disease could leave the hospital with a clear understanding of their body and condition, and how it affects daily life. Relevance to clinical practice. The results of this study may provide more holistic views on self‐concept for clinical nurses working with children who have congenital heart disease and their families and for school nurses working with elementary school children.