The Measured Self-Esteem of Children from Broken,Rejected, and Accepted Families

Three groups of children - those with divorced parents, those from intact but rejected families, and those from intact and accepted families - were evaluated for self-esteem levels on the Piers-Harris Children's Self-Concept Scale. Contrary to current clinical impressions, children with divorced parents were not found to evidence self-esteem levels lower than those of intact-accepted families. Children from intact-rejected families, however, evidenced self-esteem levels significantly lower than those of the two other groups.