| dc.description.abstract | Self-esteem is an essential component of
psychological health. Low self-esteem co-occurs
with a range of psychiatric disorders. Delusional
disorder (jealous type) is a clinical problem with
psychosocial implications. Findings on the nature
of the relationship between lowered self-esteem
and jealousy however are inconsistent. The
objective of the current study was to determine
the frequency of lowered self-esteem in a sample
of delusional disorder (jealous type) patients. A
descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted
for three months at four mental health settings
with forty six (N=46) psychiatric inpatients and
outpatients diagnosed with delusional disorder
(jealous type). Self-esteem scores for the sample
as measured by Rosenberg Self Esteem Scale was
(M=17.33, N=46, SD= 3.553). Self-esteem scores
ranged from 9 to 28. Low self-esteem scores (1-
15) were observed in 12 (26.08%) of the patients.
Low self-esteem scores were more frequent in
male patients. There was no significant difference
in scores for males (M=16.83, SD=3.78) and
females [M=18.06.17, SD=3.10; t (43) =-1.114,
p=.272]. The magnitude of the differences in the
means was small (eta squared=.028). The results
of the present study demonstrated that low selfesteem
co-occurred in more than one fourth of
the delusional jealousy patients. There was no
significant difference between males and females
for self-esteem scores. The prospective effects of
low self-esteem and delusional jealousy on each
other should be further investigated. | en_US |
