Abstract

Background: Low self-esteem originating in childhood often has a negative effect throughout a person’s life. Someone’s self-esteem is primarily a result of how he is treated by his parents, with influences also from school and the workplace. This study gathers information from a group of children in Assuit Governorate provinces in Egypt about their experiences of abuse and their responses with regard to their self-esteem. Methods: The study used a 23-item questionnaire with both open-ended and closed-ended questions, presented in a faceto-face situation with 1,751 children aged 10-12 years. Most of the items were structured as per the Likert scale of 1 to 5. Amos software was used, along with a confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) with path diagram models. A GIS (geographic information system) approach was used for mapping and plotting the outcomes of the research. Results: Punishment, ill-treatment and lack of warmth and praise for children seem to be the main reasons for low selfesteem amongst children in the area of study. The gender of the child has no significant effect as regards the means of discipline, whereas the marital status and education of the parents does have an effect. Conclusions: Educating and disciplining children is not an easy task, and parents need to receive good guidance in this area, with a focus on instilling positive behavior in children and an awareness of what is acceptable and what is unacceptable behavior, in order to prevent them from behaving in unacceptable ways.