The interrelationships among measures of manifest anxiety, self-esteem, locus of control, and depression were studied among children with behavioral and emotional problems. Six random samples were drawn from a population of children referred because of behavioral problems that interfered with their classroom learning. Each subject was individually administered two of the following four tests: the Revised Children's Manifest Anxiety Scale (RCMAS); the Culture-Free Self-Esteem Inventory for Children, Form B (SEI); the Nowicki-Strickland Locus of Control Scale for Children (CNS-IE); and the Reynolds Childhood Depression Scale (RCDS). Results indicated that, within this sample, measures of children's depression, external locus of control, and anxiety all were intercorrelated positively to a moderately high level. Measures of self-esteem were correlated significantly and negatively with depression and anxiety, but had little correlation with external locus of control.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.
References
1.
Alpher, J. (1986). Depression at an early age. In H. E. FitzGerald & M. G. Walraven (Eds.), Human development 88/89 (pp. 76-79). Guilford, CT: Dushkin.
2.
American Psychiatric Association. (1987). Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders (3rd ed. rev.). Washington: Author.
3.
Anshel, M., Muller, D., & Owens, V. (1986). Effect of a sports camp experience on the multidimensional self-concepts of boys. Perceptual and Motor Skills, 63, 363-366.
4.
Bar-Tal, D., & Bar-Zohar, Y. (1977). The relationship between perception of locus of control and academic achievement: Review and some educational implications. Contemporary Educational Psychology, 2, 181-199.
5.
Bar-Tal, D., Kfir, D., Bar-Zohar, Y., & Chen, M. (1980). The relationship between locus of control and academic achievement, anxiety, and level of aspiration. British Journal of Educational Psychology, 50, 53-60.
6.
Battle, J. (1981). Manual for the Culture-Free Self-Esteem Inventory. Seattle, WA: Special Child.
7.
Battle, J. (1987). 9 to 19: Crucial years for self esteem in children and youth. Seattle, WA: Special Child.
8.
Battle, J. (1988). North American Depression Inventory for Children. Seattle, WA: Special Child.
9.
Battle, J., Jarratt, L., Smit, S., & Precht, D. (1988). Relations among self-esteem, depression and anxiety of children. Psychological Reports, 62, 999-1005.
10.
Blumberg, M. (1981). Depression in abused and neglected children. American Journal of Psychotherapy, 35, 342-355.
11.
Breen, D. T. (1987). Changing family structure: An intervention study in the schools. Unpublished dissertation, University of Wisconsin-Madison.
12.
Eason, L., Finch, A., Jr., Basted, W., & Saylor, C. (1985). The assessment of depression and anxiety in hospitalized pediatric patients. Child Psychiatry and Human Development, 16, 57-64.
13.
Felker, D., Stanwyck, D., & Kay, R. (1973). The effects of a teacher program in self-concept enhancement on pupil's self-concept, anxiety and intellectual achievement responsibility. Journal of Educational Research, 66, 443-445.
14.
Fox, J., & Houston, B. (1981). Efficacy of self-instructional training for reducing children's anxiety in an evaluative situation. Behaviour Research and Therapy, 19, 509-515.
15.
Grolnick, W. S., & Ryan, R. M. (1990). Self-perceptions, motivation and adjustment in children with learning disabilities: A multiple group comparison study. Journal of Learning Disabilities23, 177-184.
16.
Gurney, P. (1987a). The use of operant techniques to raise self-esteem in maladjusted children. British Journal of Psychology, 57, 87-94.
17.
Gurney, P. (1987b). Enhancing self-esteem by the use of behavior modification techniques. Contemporary Educational Psychology, 12, 30-41.
18.
Hersen, M., & Van Hasselt, V. (Eds.). (1987). Behavior therapy with children and adolescents: A clinical approach. New York: John Wiley.
19.
Kaslow, N. J., Rehm, L. P., & Siegel, A. W. (1984). Social-cognitive and cognitive correlates of depression in children. Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology, 12, 605-620.
20.
Kazdin, A. E. (1990). Childhood depression. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 31, 121-160.
21.
Kazdin, A. E., Esveldt-Dawson, K., Sherick, R. B., & Colbus, D. (1985). Assessment of overt behavior and childhood depression among psychiatrically disturbed children. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 53, 203-210.
22.
Kendall, P., Stark, K., & Adam, T. (1990). Cognitive deficient or cognitive distortion in childhood depression. Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology, 18, 255-270.
23.
Klerman, G. (1971). Clinical research in depression. Archives of General Psychiatry, 24, 305-319.
24.
Lamont, J. (1972). Depression, locus of control and mood response set. Journal of Clinical Psychology, 28, 342-345.
25.
Lefkowitz, M., & Burton, M. (1978). Childhood depression: A critique of the concept. Psychological Bulletin, 85, 716-726.
26.
Lefkowitz, M. M., Tesiny, E. P., & Gordon, N. H. (1980). Childhood depression, family income, and locus of control. Journal of Nervous and Mental Disease, 168, 732-735.
27.
Levenson, H., & Mahler, I. (1975). Attitudes toward others and components of internal-external locus of control. Psychological Reports, 36, 209-210.
28.
Lowenstein, L. F. (1983). Developing self-control and self-esteem in disturbed children. School Psychology International, 4, 229-236.
29.
McIntosh, D.) & Rawson, H. (1988). Effects of a structured behavior modification treatment program on locus of control in behaviorally disturbed children. Journal of Genetic Psychology, 149, 45-51.
30.
Norvell, N., Brophy, C., & Finch, A., Jr. (1985). The relationship of anxiety to a childhood depression. Journal of Personality Assessment, 49, 150-152.
31.
Nowicki, S. (1976). Factor structure of locus of control in children. Journal of Genetic Psychology, 129, 13-17.
32.
Nowicki, S., & Barnes, J. (1973). Effects of a structured camp experience on locus of control orientation. Journal of Genetic Psychology, 122, 247-252.
33.
Nowicki, S., & Duke, M. (1974). A preschool and primary internal-external control scale. Developmental Psychology, 10, 874-880.
34.
Nowicki, S., & Strickland, B. (1973). A locus of control scale for children. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 40, 148-154.
35.
Ollendick, T., Elliot, W., & Matson, J. (1980). Locus of control as related to effectiveness in a behavior modification program for juvenile delinquents. Journal of Behavior Therapy and Experimental Psychology, 11, 259-262.
36.
Paget, K., & Reynolds, C. (1984). Dimensions, levels, and reliabilities on the Revised Children's Manifest Anxiety Scale with learning disabled children. Journal of Learning Disabilities, 17, 137-141.
37.
Pela, O., & Reynolds, C. (1982). Cross-cultural application of the Revised Children's Manifest Anxiety Scale: Normative and reliability data for Nigerian primary school children. Psychological Reports, 51, 1135-1138.
38.
Peterson, L., & Shigetomi, C. (1981). The use of coping techniques to minimize anxiety in hospitalized children. Behavior Therapy, 12, 1-15.
39.
Phares, E. J. (1975). Locus of control: A personality determinant of behavior. Morristown, NJ: General Learning Press.
40.
Rawson, H. E., & Barnett, T. (in press). Changes in children's manifest anxiety in therapeutic short-term camping experiences. An exploratory study. Therapeutic Recreation Journal.
41.
Rawson, H. E., & McIntosh, D. (1991a). Does camping really lead to changes in self-esteem?Camping Magazine, 63, 18-21.
42.
Rawson, H. E., & McIntosh, D. (1991b). The effects of therapeutic camping on the self-esteem of children with severe behavior disorders. Therapeutic Recreation Journal, 25, 41-49.
43.
Rawson, H., & Tabb, L. (in press). Effects of therapeutic intervention on childhood depression. Journal of Child and Adolescent Social Work.
44.
Reimanis, G. (1974). Effects of locus of reinforcement control modification procedures in early graders and college students. Journal of Educational Research, 68, 124-127.
45.
Reynolds, C. R. (1980). Concurrent validity of What I Think and Feel: The Revised Children's Manifest Anxiety Scale. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 48, 774-775.
46.
Reynolds, C. R. (1981). Long-term stability of scores on the Revised Children's Manifest Anxiety Scale. Perceptual and Motor skills, 53, 702.
47.
Reynolds, C. R. (1982). Convergent and divergent validity of the Revised Children's Manifest Anxiety Scale. Educational and Psychological Measurement, 42, 1205-1212.
48.
Reynolds, C. R., & Paget, K. (1981). Factor analysis of the Revised Children's Manifest Anxiety Test for blacks, whites, males and females with a national normative sample. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 49, 352-359.
49.
Reynolds, C. R., & Richmond, B. (1985). Revised Children's Manifest Anxiety Scale (RCMAS) manual. Los Angeles: Western Psychological Services.
50.
Reynolds, W. M. (1989). Reynolds Childhood Depression Scale. Odessa, FL: Psychological Assessment Resources.
51.
Rotter, J. (1966). Generalized expectancies for internal versus external control of reinforcement. Psychological Monographs, 80 (Whole No. 609).
52.
Rubinstein, R. (1977). Changes in self-esteem and anxiety in competitive and non-competitive camps. Journal of Social Psychology, 102, 55-57.
53.
Shasby, G., Heuchert, C., & Gansneder, B. (1984). The effects of a structured camp experience on locus of control and self-concept of special populations. Therapeutic Recreation Journal, 18, 32-40.
54.
Shaw, R., & Uhl, N. (1971). Control of reinforcement and academic achievement. Journal of Education Research, 64, 226-228.
55.
Strauss, C. C., Last, C. G., Hersen, M., & Kazdin, A. E. (1988). Association between anxiety and depression in children and adolescents with anxiety disorders. Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology, 16, 51-68.
56.
Tarnowski, K.J., & Nay, S. M. (1989). Locus of control in children with learning disabilities and hyperactivity: A subgroup analysis. Journal of Learning Disabilities, 22, 381-383.
57.
Watson, D. (1967). Relationship between locus of control and anxiety. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 6, 91-92.
58.
Weisz,J. R., Weiss, K. B., Wasserman, A. A., & Rintoul, B. (1987). Control-related beliefs and depression among clinic-referred children and adolescents. Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 96, 58-63.
59.
Worchel, F., Hughes,J., Hall, B., Stanton, B., Stanton, H., & Little, V. (1990). Evaluation of subclinical depression in children using self-, peer-, and teacher-report measures. Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology, 18, 271-282.
60.
Zembe, R., Knuth, S., & Chase, J. (1984). Change in self-concepts of children with learning difficulties during a residential camp experience. Occupational Therapy in Mental Health, 4, 1-12.
