During adolescence, one becomes less dependent on parents, more reliant on peers, and more focused on education and career development. Youth with cerebral palsy (CP) may not be as able to reduce dependence on their parents, rely as much on their peers, and have as many career options.  Given this, self-esteem of teens and preteens with CP could be adversely affected. 

Fifty adolescents with CP (chosen because their cognitive and communication abilities were adequate to understand a questionnaire) were interviewed.  Subject ages ranged from 9 to 18 years (mean 13 years).  Fifty-seven percent had diplegia, 27% had hemiplegia, 14% quadriplegia, and 2% monoplegia.  The Rosenberg Self-Esteem scale was used to assess self-esteem. 

Adolescents and pre-adolescents surveyed had mean self-esteem scores comparable to samples of healthy adolescents and young adults with chronic illness. Nevertheless, 30% of these youth scored below a cut-point for low self esteem.  Girls had lower scores of self-esteem, on average.  Perceived impact of the disability was significantly associated with self-esteem  -- with those perceiving a greater impact of the disability reporting lower self-esteem. 

(Manuel JC et al.  J Adolesc Health 2003; 32:456-458.)                         -- H.T.