Self-esteem, social competence and psychopathology in boys without friends

Very little is known about relationships between childrenʹs self-reported self-esteem and their behavior. In order to evaluate this relationship, the Piers-Harris Self Concept (PHS) Scale was administered to 59 non-psychotic boys referred to an outpatient childrenʹs social skills program. The Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL; Achenbach & Edelbrock, 1983) was administered to the mother and the Pupil Evaluation Inventory (PEI; Pekarik, Prinz, Liebert, Weintraub & Neil, 1976) to the teacher. Social competence, as reflected in CBCL and PEI measures, and externalizing behavior, as measured by the CBCL Externalizing Behavior scale were positively related to self-esteem. Relationships to conceptions of self-esteem and implications for assessment of treatment outcome were discussed.