Polikandrioti Maria
The purpose of this study was to define the self?¢???concept of children with cancer in comparison with healthy children and children with thalassaemia.Material-Method: 165 children with cancer were studied and compared to 417 healthy children and 212 children with thalassaemia of corresponding age. The children of the study and the controls with thalassaemia were drawn from hospitalized children at two of the largest paediatric hospitals in Athens – ‘Pan. and Agl. Kyriakou’ and ‘Agia. Sophia’. The healthy controls came from schools in Athens. The collection of information was accomplished by interview between the researcher and children of all three groups. For all groups of children the Piers?¢??? Harris scale ‘How do I feel about myself’ was used as a tool. The results of the data analysis showed that children with cancer have a negative image of themselves in comparison to the controls. In a further analysis, they demonstrate behavioural problems (p
