PARENTAL EXPECTATIONS AND CHILDS SELF-CONCEPT IN SPINA-BIFIDA

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 .