Self-Esteem and Quality of Life in mild cerebral palsy : a cross cultural study

Abstract

Self esteem has been reported to be low in individuals with physical disabilities like cerebral palsy. This in turn is known to affect their quality of life. The purpose of this study was to investigate self-esteem and quality of life (QOL) among individuals with mild spastic cerebral palsy in a cross cultural study across India and United States of America. 60 participants aged twelve to twenty five years (30 from India, 30 from USA) were subjects of the study. They were administered the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale and the World Health Organization-Quality Of Life Brief Scale to measure the study variables. Data was collected using the method of convenience sampling. The results were analysed using multivariate analysis of variance. As hypothesized, there was no significant difference between self-esteem and quality of life among cerebral palsy adolescents in India and Unites States of America. Results suggested that the type of cerebral palsy has an effect on self-esteem but not quality of life. The country of one’s residence also showed no effect on one’s self esteem and quality of life.