The Use of a Modified Repertory Grid Technique for Assessing the Self-Concept of Children in Local Authority Foster Care

Two studies were carried out using a modified form of the repertory grid technique to investigate the self-esteem of children in Local Authority Care. The aim of the first study was to compare the self-perceptions and self-esteem of Children in Local Authority Care with a group of matched controls. Two groups of ten subjects were given a modified repertory grid task, which involved presenting eight pictorial elements and eight bipolar constructs, and asking the subjects to rank order the elements according to their perception of each construct. The results indicated that children in Local Authority Care a) have significantly lower self-esteem scores (t=2·25, p<0·025) and b) have significantly fewer positive constructs about themselves overall (X2=7·07, p<0·01). The second study used a correlational design and looked at the relationship between the number of caretaker changes and self-esteem, in a single further group of eleven children in Local Authority Care. The same technique for assessing self-esteem was used as in Study 1. The results showed a significant negative correlation (r=−0·638, p<0·025) suggesting that the more moves a child experiences, the lower the self-esteem is likely to be. The results of both these studies are discussed in terms of their implications for Local Authority Child Care policy and for the use of the repertory grid technique as a procedure for assessing self-esteem.

Library science · Officer · Political science · Repertory grid · Social care · Sociology · Child Welfare and Adoption · Cognitive and psychological constructs research · Community Health and Development · Computer Science · Law · Medicine · Nursing · Psychology · Social Psychology · Social Work

• Fostering self‐esteem

  Open Access•Nancy Luke, Sarah M Coyne•Child & Family Social Work•2008

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