In this study, I examined parental expectations of a child with spina
bifida and the child's self-concept, and I explored the relation betwe
en expectations and self-concept. The Predictive Adaptive Ability Ques
tionnaire and the Piers-Harris Self-Concept Scale were used to measure
parental expectations and the child's self-concept in 30 able-bodied
and 30 spina bifida parent-child dyads. Expectations were significantl
y different for the two groups; however, self-concept scores were not
different, with no significant relation between the two. The results s
uggest that parents have different expectations for a child with a dis
ability, and those expectations primarily reflect physical limitations
.