Self-esteem in children with nocturnal enuresis and urinary incontinence: improvement of self-esteem after treatment

Abstract

A study of self-esteem before and after medical treatment was performed in children with primary nocturnal enuresis (NE) and urinary incontinence (UI). The NEUI children and the controls were recruited from the normal population in the town of Umeå, Sweden. In total, 66 NEUI children and 64 controls entered the study. Clinical examination, laboratory and psychological tests were performed before the start of treatment. Follow-up investigations were done 3 and 6 months after the start of treatment. To assess self-esteem we used the Swedish self-esteem questionnaire 'I think I am'. Compared to controls, the NEUI children had significant impairment of self-esteem before the start of treatment. Within the NEUI group, boys had lower self-esteem than girls. After 6 months of treatment, the NEUI children had the same levels of self-esteem as the control group. The NEUI children that had become totally dry had significantly better self-esteem at 6-month follow-up as compared to the NEUI children with persisting NEUI problems. In conclusion, the study shows that NEUI children have low self-esteem and that their self-esteem may be normalized with proper treatment.