The Actual and Ideal Self-concept in Disabled Children, Adolescents and Adults

The actual and ideal self-concepts of handicapped children, adolescents and adults were studied with the help of questionnaires to compare their responses to body image, skills/abilities, life experience, and social interaction. Results indicated that children had a more positive self-concept than adults and adolescents. Men had a more positive self-concept than females. Further, social interaction and abilities were rated more positively than body image and life experience. Correlations between the actual and ideal selves revealed a positive relation between the actual self and the desired ideal self for all the groups and there were no gender differences. Narrative analysis of the groups revealed that adults held a more positive view of life as compared to adolescents or children. The positive views of the self were a consequence of factors that are largely internal to the respondent, such as the use of mature ways of thinking and maintaining one's self-respect. The negative views of the self were rooted in external factors over which the individual had little or no control such as poverty and negative attitudes of others. Although the female disabled group had a lower selfconcept than males, there was a positive relationship between their actual and ideal selves indicating acceptance of their congenital defects as a challenge to integrate into the mainstream.