Leiden University Student Repository

Eijnde, Sanne van den (2022)

The relation between inhibition, social acceptance and self-esteem in children at risk for externalising behaviour problems

Master thesis | Education and Child Studies (MSc)

Children and adolescents with low social acceptance and low self-esteem are at a higher risk for multiple problems, including aggression, delinquency, and depression. If the underlying causes of low social acceptance and low self-esteem are known, children with these problems can be helped with specific intervention programs. Executive functions, like inhibition, could be part of the possible underlying causes. The current study focuses on the relation between inhibition and self-esteem and whether either objective or subjective social acceptance influence this relation. This study will also assess whether there is a difference between objective social acceptance (OSA) and subjective social acceptance (SSA) and whether there is a relation between inhibition and either objective social acceptance or subjective social acceptance. The measures inhibition speed, inhibition accuracy, SSA, OSA and self-esteem measured for 130 children and adolescents (6 – 18 years) at risk for...Show moreChildren and adolescents with low social acceptance and low self-esteem are at a higher risk for multiple problems, including aggression, delinquency, and depression. If the underlying causes of low social acceptance and low self-esteem are known, children with these problems can be helped with specific intervention programs. Executive functions, like inhibition, could be part of the possible underlying causes. The current study focuses on the relation between inhibition and self-esteem and whether either objective or subjective social acceptance influence this relation. This study will also assess whether there is a difference between objective social acceptance (OSA) and subjective social acceptance (SSA) and whether there is a relation between inhibition and either objective social acceptance or subjective social acceptance. The measures inhibition speed, inhibition accuracy, SSA, OSA and self-esteem measured for 130 children and adolescents (6 – 18 years) at risk for externalising problems were used to analyse these questions. The results showed that inhibition is not significantly related to self-esteem or SSA, but was related to lower OSA (p = .02). OSA does not moderate the relation between inhibition and self-esteem. However, SSA shows a trend of strengthening the relation between inhibition and self-esteem. Children with average SSA and better inhibition speed had lower self-esteem, similar to children with low SSA, children with worse inhibition speed had higher self- esteem, similar to children with high SSA (p = .08). For inhibition accuracy, children with a lower SSA had lower self-esteem when their inhibition was worse, while children with a high SSA had higher self-esteem when they had worse inhibition (p = .07). These results suggest that future social acceptance or self-esteem interventions should not focus on inhibition for children with externalising problems.Show less

Author

Eijnde, Sanne van den

Faculty

Faculty of Social & Behavioural Sciences

Specialisation

orthopedagogiek

Supervisors

Meijer, A.
Huijbregts, S.

ECTS Credits

20

Language

en