Comparing the development of self-esteem of the sighted and blind teenagers

ABSTRACT This study has been from different socio-economic levels for 48 sighted and sightless students in 13-19 age group of high school which is given the joining together education. It aims whether to find out their development of self-esteem differentiate or not according to their ages, sexualities, their parents? ages, levels of education, state of occupations, state of being alive, state of being step or full(real) and also the number of brother/sister, state of being which brother/sister, the number of people in the family, the level of income, state of having a flat or not, state of having own room or not. Rosenberg self-esteem scale and socio-demographic Knowledge form were used for evaluating their self-esteem for the students that has constituted the study group in December in 2004-2005 Education Years. According to holding inventions at the end of the research, significant relation was found for the levels of self-esteem, parents? ages, parents? state of occupations, parents? education, the number of brother/sister, the state of which brother/sister, the number of people in the family, the state of having own room, the states of age and sexuality for these teenagers. The development of self-esteem of teenagers is differentiated according to sexuality against the female teenagers. If parents? ages are closer to teenagers?, the development of self-esteem increases more. The development of self-esteem is affected negatively if the number of brother/sister increases. It is affected constructively for the state of the first or last brother/sister. Inverse proportianal, the development of self-esteem decreases if the number of people in the family increases. The sighted teenagers had more self-esteem than the sightless teenagers. In the differentiation of sexuality; the sightless female teenagers had less self-esteem than the sightless and sighted male teenagers.