Features of self-image in somatically weakened senior preschoolers

Statement of the problem. This article describes the development of self-concepts in children with physical disabilities, a problem that is becoming increasingly widespread due to the rising incidence of disease in the population. Particular attention is given to the senior preschool age as a sensitive period for the formation of a holistic self-image. The purpose of the article is to empirically study the specific features of the self-image of somatically weakened senior preschool children. Methodology and research methods. The authors consider the cultural-historical concept, the subject-activity approach, the theory of psychosomatic interactions, the concept of the internal picture of illness, and the phenomenological and humanistic approaches as methodological approaches. The research methods used were the “Study of the formation of the self-image and self-esteem” method (Uruntaeva, Afonkina), and the “Silhouettes” method based on the ideas of M. Feldenkrais. Research results. Diagnostic results for 240 senior preschool-age children were analyzed. A comparative analysis of the relationship between the image of the real self and the ideal self is carried out, desired and rejected characteristics, self-characteristics of senior preschoolers are identified and categorized, and their interpretation is carried out from the point of view of the levels of somatic health of children. The authors described the process of studying children’s ideas about the physical self, and analyzed the choice of silhouettes with different body mass indices, similar to their own bodies, preferred and rejected. Conclusions. A comparative analysis of the self-image characteristics in healthy and somatically weakened senior preschoolers revealed distinctive features of the self-concepts in somatically weakened children, including a lack of adequacy, a distorted self-perception of physical attributes influenced by a compensatory desire to be strong and courageous, paucity of content, increased self-criticism, and a negative connotation. This suggests the need to develop a system of psychological and pedagogical support for the formation of a positive, differentiated, and meaningful self-image in somatically weakened senior preschoolers.