THE ROLE OF SOCIAL SUPPORT IN THE DEVELOPMENT OF SELF-ESTEEMED STUDENTS WITH DISABILITIES

Abstract

Social integration attempts have failed to produce sufficient participation for people with disabilities so researchers must investigate how family members' peer support and educator support and close friendships help maintain their self-esteem and overall health. The research aims to study the differences between self-esteem and social support levels in physically disabled students and their non-disabled peers. To evaluate the prediction power of social support sources the research employed hierarchical regression analysis for testing the additional value of each social support source. The research examined 90 students between grades 4 through 8 from a private Amman city school where 55 students were male and 35 students were female. Self-esteem receives the highest contribution from parental support based on the results (R² =.36, Adjusted R² =.32, R² Change =.33, B = 0.67, SE B =.14, ß =.56) and explains 33% of the variance. The supplementary help from peers, good friends and teachers failed to enhance the prediction of outcomes above what parental support already explained. Global self-esteem showed no significant relationship with either gender or age distribution because their B values equated to 0.24 (SE B =.15, ß =.13) and -2.73 (SE B =.06, ß = -.09) respectively. Student well-being and positive self-concept development for those with disabilities heavily depend on receiving support from parents according to these research findings. The study establishes significant findings regarding how different types of social support influence their effects separately.

According to the findings of the research, education policies and strategies that allow for the involvement of parents can help significantly enhance the academic performance and self-esteem of physically disabled children. Teachers and policymakers can, if they accept the critical role played by parental involvement, strive to develop targeted programs that will help support the emotional and intellectual development of these children.