Self-Esteem among Malay Children of Parents with Schizophrenia in Kelantan, Malaysia.

Nor Azwani Che Yusoff, Zahiruddin Othman, Maruzairi Husain, Sharifah Zubaidiah Syed Jaapar, Mohd Azhar Mohd Yasin, Mohd Jamil Yaacob

Full text: http://dx.doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.2588299

Find on Google Scholar

---

Abstract

Background: Studies have demonstrated that children of parents with schizophrenia have low self-esteem. However, only scant data exist for the local population. Objectives: The objective of this study was to evaluate self-esteem of Malay children of parents with schizophrenia and to determine the associated socio-demographic and clinical factors. Methods: A total of 118 children of parents with schizophrenia who attended Hospital Universiti Sains Malaysia (HUSM) between May-September 2012 participated in the study. The children's self-esteem was measured using the Malay version of Rosenberg self-esteem scale (RSES). Patient's psychopathology and level of functioning were measured using the positive and negative syndrome scale (PANSS) and global assessment of functioning (GAF), respectively. Results: The RSES mean score was 23.86 ± 5.31 and low self-esteem (RSES score < 20) was reported by 32.2% subjects. In multivariate analysis, the independent factors associated with low self-esteem were girls (OR 6.29), poor academic achievement (OR 5.49), school attendance/ stopped schooling (OR 9.43), awareness of parental mental illness (OR 5.12) and parent was divorced/widow/separated (OR 3.56). Psychopathology and level of functioning of parents were not significantly associated with self-esteem of the children. Conclusion: Malay children, particularly girls, of parents with schizophrenia had low self-esteem. Children with school problems and whose parents divorced/separated also had low self-esteem.

---

---