Yong, Tze Ying (2018) Associations of nutritional and socio-cultural factors with self-esteem among upper primary school children in Kuala Lumpur. [Project Paper] (Submitted)
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Abstract
Self-esteem is one of the most important psychological predictors for well-being and quality of life. This cross-sectional study aimed to determine associations of nutritional and socio-cultural factors with self-esteem among upper primary school children in Kuala Lumpur. A total of 272 pairs of children and their parents from four randomly selected primary schools in Kuala Lumpur were involved in this study. Children's body weight and height were measured by the researcher. A set of self-administered trilingual (Malay, Mandarin and Tamil) questionnaire, which assessed body image perception, perceived parenting styles and self-esteem, was completed by children. Their parents were required to complete a set of parent-administered questionnaire, which assessed child eating behaviours. In the present study, there were 45.6% boys and 54.4% girls, with a mean age of I 0.16 ± 0.66 years. Overall, the prevalence of low self-esteem among upper primary school children in present study was 20.6%, with a mean total score of 17.66 ± 3.94. The present study found that children who were unaware of their father education background ( they came from single family background due to father passed away or divorce) and had father who did not receive any formal education had significantly lower self-esteem when compared to children who had fathers' with higher educational levels (F = 3 .855, p = 0.005). There was a significant difference in self-esteem by perception of body weight status (F = 2.940, p = 0.034), whereby the children who perceived themselves as obese had lower self-esteem. In addition, the less satisfied the child with his/ her body parts, the lower the self-esteem in him/ her (r = 0.191, p = 0.002). For child eating behaviours, children with higher satiety (r = -0.126,p = 0.038), slower in eating speed (r = -0.138,p = 0.023) and more emotional under-eating (r = -0.148, p = 0.015) were correlated with lower self-esteem. In conclusion, future intervention programs are suggested to emphasize on advocating healthy eating and healthy body weight status in order to improve the self-esteem of the children. Furthermore, the school counsellors are recommended to focus more on the children who came from single family background and had no educated father in improving their self-esteem.
| Item Type: | Project Paper |
|---|---|
| Subjects: | R Medicine > RJ Pediatrics > RJ101 Child Health. Child health services |
| Faculty: | Faculty of Medicine and Health Science |
| Depositing User: | Ms Norafizah Radzuan |
| Date Deposited: | 22 Jul 2026 09:00 |
| Last Modified: | 22 Jul 2026 09:00 |
| URI: | http://psaspb.upm.edu.my/id/eprint/2883 |
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