SELF-GROWTH AND SUSTAINABILITY FOR DIFFERENTLY- ABLED STUDENTS BELONGING TO RURAL AREA

ABSTRACT

Background : The differently-abled persons are an integral part of our society. Many studies reported that supportive parental attitudes and family support serve as a strong resiliency factor against poor mental health outcomes. It is found that inequality and less or no familial support felt by the differently-abled students belonging to rural area lead them to develop low self-esteem as well as low self-confidence, which eventually keep them away from main stream of society. Objective : The present study aimed to investigate the relationship of family support with self-esteem and self-confidence among differently-abled students belonging to rural area, whose  orthopedic disability ranges between 40 to 70 percent. Another objective of the present study was to find out gender difference in family support, self-esteem and self-confidence among them. Method : To fulfill the aims,50 disabled students (25 males and 25 females, age range=18-20 years, Mage=19 years) were selected from Dr. Ambedkar institute of Technology for Handicapped, Kanpur. Family support scale by Rajneesh, self-esteem scale developed by Rosenberg and self-confidence inventory developed by Gupta were administered on participants after their consent. Data analysis was done by applying Pearson’s Product Moment correlation and ‘t’ test in SPSS software. Results: Findings revealed a significant positive correlation in family support with self-esteem and self-confidence among the participants, whereas no significant difference was found between male and female differently-abled students in terms of family support and self-confidence. Significant difference was found between male and female differently-abled students in terms of self-esteem. Conclusion : It is concluded that adequate familial support enables the differently-abled students coming from rural area in developing self-esteem and self-confidence, which is essential for self-growth, sustainability and decent living.

Keywords: Family support, Self-esteem, Self-confidence, Differently-abled students. 

INTRODUCTION 

The differently-abled persons are an integral part of our society but disablement is one of the hardest effect as differently-abled persons seriously don’t understand why each person else is normal in which they aren’t. Disablement affects a person in different ways-it impacts his mental/Physical health, social relationship with family, friends & neighbors’ and also his independence in performing normal activities eg. walking, driving etc. Physical disabilities may cause difficulty with dexterity, movement, hearing and vision (Rokach,et.al.2006). Research has proven that adolescents and youths with disabilities may face many social difficulties, including stigma, unrealistic  attitudes; and prejudice (Glover, et.al,2011; Groce, 2004). Support from family and friends have been found to reduce the impact of psychological problem among differently-abled students. (Calvete and connor-smith,2006). Many studies reported that supportive parental attitudes and family support serve as a strong resiliency factor against poor mental health outcomes. It is found that inequality and less or no familial support felt by the differently-abled students belonging to rural area lead them to develop low self-esteem as well as low self-confidence, which eventually keep them away from main stream of society. Self-esteem may be positive or negative depending on how one perceives himself and the way s/he is treated by the significant others with whom one interacts. The significant others include parents, family members, friends etc. It is observed that if parents treat their children in a negative manner, the results may be serious .As a consequence of it ,lack of self-confidence, low self-esteem etc. is observed in them. Consistent finding was reported by Shultz (1993). He conducted a comparative study on self-esteem among physically disabled and normal adolescents. Females with physical disabilities were found to be lower in self-esteem. Erkki,Taina,et.al, (1999) researched on social support and self-esteem among young people with impairment in visual that include blind and have low vision. This particular study says that relationships with pals contributed to a greater extent to the enhancement of the level of self-esteem of the young people with non-sighted individuals. Hence it is evident that peers play an important role here because it has been found that many adolescents with visual impairments have problems relating to peers and they may be completely isolated from friends-list and from smaller social networks by the sighted young teens so this study clearly shows that with the help of friends, the self of visually impaired young people can really be moulded and it can enhance the self-esteem. United states census bureau (2003) reported that about 5.2 million American youth, aged 5 to 20 had some long term physical, mental or emotional disabling condition, and apart from it low self-esteem was found among those disabled. Nair& Anuradha (2014) found no gender difference in self-esteem of physically disabled late adolescents. Consistent finding was reported by Jamadar& Manjula (2013). Liqqat&Akram(2014) found significant difference in the level of self-esteem among male and female physically handicapped and results showed that physically handicapped male scored higher in self-esteem as compared to physically handicapped females. Nemcek (2013) studied people with different kind of disability and reported higher self-esteem in women than men. Parents’ and teachers’ role in the development of identity, moral judgment, social interaction, and physical self-behaviour among children with visually impaired was found to be important (Bowen,2010;Pinquart & Pfeiffer, 2013). Shawareb (2005) found high level of self-esteem associated with higher level of social support among visually impaired students. Hence it is evident that self-esteem and self-confidence are important psychological attributes for personal growth in the quest to become productive citizen in society; therefore attaining and keeping self-esteem and self-confidence is highly valued (Cast & Burke,2002). Components of self-esteem include self-confidence ( Owens,1993).Without self-esteem and self-confidence the possibility of leading a successful productive life decreases. For children with disabilities, self-esteem and self-confidence are crucial elements for their success, as these feelings of frustration and experiences of reported failure, students with disabilities may experience low self-esteem and lack of self-confidence, since it is generally believed that self-esteem and self-confidence results from successful experiences. Mishra and Singh (2012) found significant lower self-concept among students with visually impaired. No significant differences in self-concept between boys and girls was found .The majority of students with visually impaired had average self-confidence in comparison to greater self-confidence among sighted participants. A study conducted by Kumar & Verma (2019) reported positive significant relationship between emotional maturity and self-confidence among physically disabled students. 

                                                       It is evident from literature review that family support plays a significant role in improving the self-esteem and self-confidence level in people with disabilities. But very few studies on orthopedically disabled persons belonging to rural area has been done so far. Hence the present study aimed to investigate the relationship of family support with self-esteem and self-confidence among differently-abled students belonging to rural area, whose orthopedic disability ranges between 40 to 70 percent. Another objective of the present study was to find out gender difference in family support, self-esteem and self-confidence among them.

HYPOTHESES OF THE STUDY

1- There is a significant relationship between family support and self-esteem of differently-abled students.

2- There is a significant relationship between family support and self-confidence of differently-abled students.

3- There is a significant difference between male and female differently-abled students in relation to family  support.

4- There is a significant difference between male and female  differently-abled students in relation to self-esteem.

5- There is a significant difference between male and female  differently-abled students in relation to self-confidence.

METHOD

Research Design: An Ex-post facto research design was used.

Sample: A total number of 50 differently-abled students (25 boys and 25 girls; age range:18-20 years ;Mage=19 years ) was purposively drawn from Dr. B.R. Ambedkar Institute of Technology for Handicapped , Kanpur. After the consent of the sample, data collection was done.

Tools:

Family  Support  Scale (2004) :Family  support  scale  developed  by  Rajneesh is  a  self-report  measure. It  consists  of  45  items  related  to  five  dimensions  of  family  support i.e Academic Support , Motivational  Support , Emotional  Support , Financial  Support , Other  Kinds  of  Support . The  reliability  of  the  scale  is  0.94 .The  scale has  been  found  to  be  highly  significant  and  satisfactory  in  validity .

Rosenberg Self Esteem Scale (1965) : This scale is a ten  item likert scale with items answered on a four point rating scale from strongly agree to strongly disagree. The scale has positive as well as negative scoring. Test-retest reliability for the RSE scale range from 0.82 to 0.85.Internal consistency for the Rosenberg self esteem scale is from 0.77 to 0.88. Higher the score, higher the self esteem.

Self-Confidence Inventory (2012): This scale was developed by Dr. Rekha Gupta .The scale consists of 56 items, with two response categories i.e. 'right' and 'wrong'. The  test- retest  reliability  of  the  inventory  was  found  to  be  0.78  and  split-half  reliability  was  0.91 . The  validity  of  the  inventory  was  found  to  be  0.82 . The  higher  the  score , the  lower  would  be  the  level  of  self-confidence  and  vice-versa.

Statistical analysis: Statistical analysis was done by using mean, standard deviation, t-test and Pearson’s product moment correlation.

RESULT AND DISCUSSION

TABLE-1