Self-Esteem and Coping among Children with Borderline Intelligence and Average Intelligence

The aim of the study was to understand self esteem and coping among children with borderline intelligence and average intelligence. The sample consists of two groups, 30 children of borderline intelligence and 30 children of average intelligence in the age ranged of 8 to12 years and studying in 4th to 6th. Individuals with any major physical disability and psychological problem were not considered for the study. Self-esteem and coping scale were administered to the children with borderline intelligence and average intelligence. The scales were scored appropriately. Mean, SD and ‘t’ value were determined to compared difference between borderline intelligence and average intelligence children on self esteem and coping by using the t-test. Result confirmed that there were the children with average intelligence showed significantly less self esteem than children with borderline intelligence. As there was significant difference in self esteem between children with borderline intelligence and average intelligence, the results are not according to the hypothesis stated that there will be no significant difference in self-esteem between borderline intelligence and average intelligence children. The children with borderline intelligence show significantly less active coping than children with average intelligence. The children with borderline intelligence show significantly less avoid coping than children with average intelligence. The children with borderline intelligence show significantly less support coping than children with average intelligence. As there was significant difference in active coping, avoid coping and support coping between children with borderline intelligence average intelligence, the results are not according to the hypothesis stated that there will be no significant difference in support coping between borderline intelligence and average intelligence children.


Very superior Intelligence (gifted)-Above 13
Borderline Intellectual Functioning -71 to 79 Superior Intelligence -120 to 129 Mild Mental Retardation -55 to 70 High Average Intelligence -110 to 119 Moderate Retardation -40 to 54 Average Intelligence -90 to 109 Severe Mental Retardation -25 to 39Low Average Intelligence -80 to 89 Profound Mental Retardation -Below 25 Intelligence tests were developed for the practical function of selection of selecting students for admission or placement in schools. Originally these tests were not based on any theory of intelligence. They defined intelligence as the ability to do well in school.

BORDERLINE INTELLECTUALS
Borderline intellectual functioning is a cognitive impairment that applies to people who have lower than average intelligence but do not have intellectual developmental disorder or mental retardation. Borderline intellectual functioning is diagnosed by IQ test scores that are between 71 and 84.Borderline intellectual functioning refers to estimated intelligence quotient scores within the 70 to 75 range on intelligence test with an average of 100 and standard deviation of 15. The range is called borderline because it is on the borderline of the criteria for diagnosis of intellectual disabilities (historically referred to as mental retardation) in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders. (DSM) Examples: Consistent scores within the 70 to 75 range are considered suggestive of borderline intellectual functioning and may indicate a mental disability. However, it is recommended that multiple test instruments be administered to confirm a diagnosis. No diagnosis should be made on the basis of a single test.
Borderline intellectual functioning, also called borderline mental retardation, is a categorization of intelligence wherein a person has below average cognitive ability (generally an IQ of 70-85), but deficit is not as severe as intellectual disability (below 70). It is sometimes called below average IQ (BAIQ). This is technically a cognitive impairment however; this group is not sufficiently mentally disabled to be eligible for specialized services. Additionally, the DSM-IV-TR codes borderline intellectual functioning as V62.89, which is generally not a billable code, unlike the codes for mental retardation.
During school years, individuals with borderline intellectual functioning are often "slow learners". Although a large percentage of this group fails to complete high school and can often achieve only a low socioeconomic status, most adults in this group blend in with the rest of the population.

AVERAGE INTELLIGENCE
The narrow definition of IQ is a score on an intelligence test … where 'average' intelligence, that is the median level of performance on an intelligence test, receives a score of 100, and other scores are assigned so that the scores are distributed normally about 100, with a standard deviation of 15.
Intelligence tests are one of the most popular types of psychological tests in use today. On the majority of modern IQ tests, the average (or mean) score is set at 100 with a standard deviation of 15 so that scores conform to a normal distribution curve. This means that 68 percent of scores fall within one standard deviation of the mean (that is, between 85 and 115), and 95 percent of scores fall within two standard deviations (between 70 and 130). Why is the average score set to 100? Psychometritians utilize a process known as standardization in order to make it possible to compare and interpret the meaning of IQ scores. This process is accomplished by administering the test to a representative sample and using these scores to establish standards, usually referred to norms, by which all individual scores can be compared. Since the average score is 100, experts can quickly can quickly assess individual test scores against the average to determine where these scores fall on the normal distribution.
Intelligence tests are designed to measure what is known as crystallized and fluid intelligence. Crystallized intelligence involves your knowledge and skills you have acquired throughout your life while fluid intelligence involves your ability to reason, problem-solve, and make sense of abstract information administered by a licensed psychologist. There are different kinds of intelligence test, but many involve a series of subtests that are designed to measure mathematical abilities, language skills, memory, reasoning skills, and information -processing speed. Scores on theses on these subtests are then combined to form an overall IQ score.
One's IQ score might be a good general indicator of your reasoning and problem -solving abilities, but many psychologists suggest that these tests don't tell the whole story. A few things they don't measure are practical abilities and talents. one might have an average IQ score, but you might also be a great musician, a creative artist, an amazing singer, or a mechanical whiz.
Researchers have also found that IQ scores can change over time. One study looked at the IQ's of teenage subjects during early adolescence and then again four years later. The results revealed that scores varied as much as 20 points over that four -year period.
IQ tests also fail to address things like how curious indies are about the world around and how good is at understanding and managing emotions. Some experts, including writer Daniel Goleman, suggest that emotional intelligence (often referred to as EQ) might actually be more important than IQ. And researchers have found that while having a high IQ can certainly give people and edge in many areas of life, it is certainly no guarantee of life success.
So one need not stress out if one is not a genius, since the vast majority of people aren't geniuses either. Just as having a high IQ doesn't ensure success, having an average or low IQ doesn't ensure failure or mediocrity. Other factors such as hard work, resilience, perseverance, and overall attitude are important pieces of the puzzle.

SELF-ESTEEM
One might have heard and seen similar words like "self -image". "Self perception." And "selfconcept". All these terms refer to the way we view and think about ourselves. As human beings, we have the ability to not only be aware of ourselves but also to place a value or a measure of worth to ourselves or aspects of ourselves. So, self -esteem mutually refers to how we view and think about ourselves and the value that we place on ourselves as a person. Having the human capacity to judge and place value to something is where we might run into problems with selfesteem.
Self-esteem is similar to self-worth (how much a person values himself or herself). This can change from day to day or from year to year, but overall self-esteem tends to develop from infancy and keep going until we are adults.
Self-esteem also can be defined as feeling capable while also feeling loved. A child who is happy with an achievement but does not feel loved may eventually experience low self-esteem. Likewise, a child who feels loved but is hesitant about his or her own abilities can also develop low self-esteem. Healthy self-esteem comes when a good balance is maintained.
Patterns of self-esteem start very early in life. The concept of success following effort and persistence starts early. Once people reach adulthood, it's harder to make changes to how they see and define themselves.
So, it's wise to think about developing and promoting self-esteem during childhood. As kids try, fail, try again, fail again, and then finally succeed, they develop ideas about their own capabilities. At the same time, they're creating a self-concept based on interactions with other people. This is why parental involvement is key to helping kids form accurate, healthy selfperceptions.
Parents and caregivers can promote healthy self-esteem by showing encouragement and enjoyment in many areas. Avoid focusing on one specific area; for example, success on a spelling test, which can lead to kids feeling that they're only as valuable as their test scores.

COPING
Oping pretty much describes all the different things people do to manage and reduce the stress they feel as a result of issues, problems or difficult situations that occur. Everyone experiences different levels of stress, and also have different ways of coping, which is completely fine. There isn't a 'right' way to cope -different strategies work well for different people, depending on their personal strengths and skills. Despite this, some coping strategies are seen as less beneficial, because they reduce stress temporarily, but don't reduce it in the long run (and often have other bad impacts). Drugs and alcohol are examples of less effective, and sometimes damaging coping strategies. Positive coping skills are any strategies which people find to reduce stress effectively without future backlash. It is these skills you want to develop to help you manage stressful circumstances.

When good coping strategies help
Everyone has setbacks in life. Problems can crop up when we least expect, and it's pretty normal for some issues to hang around for a while. This can be particularly the case in situations that aren't straightforward to fix. Effective coping is great for all sorts of life dramas -whether they're relatively minor problems, or larger scale disasters. Examples of life events that require some kind of coping skills include Exam/study pressures natural disasters -e.g. floods, fires, drought relationship conflict or break downs serious illness. How we choose to manage these sorts of situations can have a big impact on the outcome of the situation, as well as the long-term effects on our mental health.

Aim:
• To study self esteem and coping among children with borderline intelligence and average intelligence.

Objectives:
• To study the difference in self-esteem between borderline intelligence and average intelligence children. • To study the difference in coping between borderline intelligence and average intelligence children.

Hypotheses:
• There will be no significant difference in self-esteem between borderline intelligence and average intelligence children. • There will be no significant difference in coping (active coping, avoid coping and support coping) between borderline intelligence and average intelligence children.

Independent Variable:
• Children with borderline intelligence and average intelligence.

Dependent Variable:
• Responses on self-esteem and coping scale.

Sample:
The sample comprised of 30 each of borderline intelligence and average intelligence children, age ranged between 8 to12 years.   Table 1 shows the demographic details of 60 individuals who were the sample for the study. Of the 60 individuals, 30 were borderline intelligence and 30 were average intelligent studying in government and private school. The age of these individuals ranged between 8-12 years, of which 15 girls and 15 boys were borderline intelligence and 15 boys and 15 girls were average intelligence respectively. Of which 4 borderline intelligence boys belonged to 8-9 years category, 4 borderline intelligence boys belonged to 9-10 years category, 4 borderline intelligence boys belonged to 10-11 years category and 5 borderline intelligence boys belonged to 11-12 years category. 3 borderline intelligent girls belonged to 8-9 years category, 3 borderline intelligence girls belonged to 9-10 years category, 3 borderline intelligence girls belonged to 10-11 years category and 4 borderline intelligence girls belonged to 11-12 years category. 2 average intelligent boys belonged to 8-9 years category, 4 average intelligent boys belonged to 9-10 years category, 2 average intelligent boys belonged to 10-11 years category and 3 average intelligent boys belonged to 11-12 years category. 4 average intelligent girls belonged to 8-9 years category, 5 average intelligent girls belonged to 9-10 years category, average intelligent girls belonged to 10-11 years category and 5 average intelligent girls belonged to 11-12 years category. Table 2 shows the Mean, SD and 't' value obtained for esteem and coping among children with borderline intelligence and average intelligence. For self esteem the mean secured by children with borderline intelligence and average intelligence were 40.80 and 40.26 respectively, with 't' value being 0.16 which was significant at 0.05 level, indicating that there was significant difference in self esteem between children with borderline intelligence and average intelligence. The children with average intelligence show significantly less self esteem than children with borderline intelligence. The results are not according to the hypothesis stated that there will be no significant difference in self-esteem between borderline intelligence and average intelligence children. For active coping the mean secured by children with borderline intelligence and average were 39.76 and 44.00 respectively, with 't' value being 1.34 which was significant at 0.05 level, indicating that there was significant difference in active coping between children with borderline intelligence and average intelligence. The children with borderline intelligence show significantly less active coping than children with average intelligence. The results are not according to the hypothesis stated that there will be no significant difference in active coping between borderline intelligence and average intelligence children.
For avoid coping mean secured by children with borderline intelligence and average were 33.83 and 35.60 respectively, with 't' value being .87 which was significant at 0.05 level, indicating that there was significant difference in avoid coping between children with borderline intelligence and average intelligence. The children with borderline intelligence show significantly less avoid coping than children with average intelligence. The results are not according to the hypothesis stated that there will be no significant difference in avoid coping between borderline intelligence and average intelligence children.
For support coping mean secured by children with borderline intelligence and average were 26.66 and 27.23 respectively, with 't' value being 0.36 which was not significant at 0.05 level, indicated that there was no significant difference in support coping between children with borderline intelligence and average intelligence. Though there was no significant difference in coping children with borderline intelligence showed less support coping than children with average intelligence. The results are not according to the hypothesis stated that there will be no significant difference in support coping between borderline intelligence and average intelligence children.
The graph 1 shows the self esteem among children with borderline intelligence and average intelligence. The bar graph indicates an inclination in the self esteem for children with average intelligence than the children with borderline intelligence.
The graph 2 also shows the active coping, avoid coping, and support coping among children with borderline intelligence and average intelligence. The bar graph shows an inclination in bar for all coping methods for borderline intelligence than for average intelligence.

CONCLUSION
The children with average intelligence showed significantly less self esteem than children with borderline intelligence.
As there was significant difference in self esteem between children with borderline intelligence and average intelligence, the results are not according to the hypothesis stated that there will be no significant difference in self-esteem between borderline intelligence and average intelligence children.
The children with borderline intelligence show significantly less active coping than children with average intelligence.
As there was significant difference in active coping between children with borderline intelligence average intelligence, the results are not according to the hypothesis stated that there will be no significant difference in active coping between borderline intelligence and average intelligence children.
The children with borderline intelligence show significantly less avoid coping than children with average intelligence.
As there was significant difference in avoid coping between children with borderline intelligence average intelligence, the results are not according to the hypothesis stated that there will be no significant difference in avoid coping between borderline intelligence and average intelligence children.
The children with borderline intelligence show less support coping than children with average intelligence.
As there was no significant difference in support coping between children with borderline intelligence average intelligence, the results are according to the hypothesis stated that there will be no significant difference in support coping between borderline intelligence and average intelligence children.