Numerous observers (Weiss, Minde, Werry, Douglas, & Nemeth, 1971 ;Wender, 1971) have suggested that impulsive youngsters, because of difficulties controlling themselves and mastering their environment, and because of predominantly negative reinforcement dealt them by parents, teachers, and peers, come t o think of themselves as generally inadequate and unlikeable. The present investigation addresses itself to the hypothesis that impulse control and self-esteem are positively associated. Specifically, it was predicted that children with inadequate impulse control would be found to have inadequate self-esteem and that the association would strengthen with age.
There is continuing debate about whether impulsivity is biologically-based or culturally-created, or both, but when sex differences are considered it is noted almost universally that boys are more aggressive, impulsive, uncontrolled, and resistant than girls. Some have seen in the collision between boyish impulsivity and the demands of a "feminine" school culture the explosive beginnings of ego devaluation and underachievement in young boys (Sexton, 1969). Taken alone, this line of thought would lead one to expect lower self-esteem in elementary school boys than girls.