Mental health, locus of control and self-esteem of young children in two contrasted school

In this text, we present the results of two comparative studies: the first compares two groups of pupils from the Preparatory Class (average age 6) of a school situated in a ZEP (Priority Education Zone) in. the region of Provence, Alpes, Cote d'Azur The 24 subjects were chosen according to their adaptation to school and their success or not in learning, in particular to read In a second study, carried out in Corsica, we took as a basis for comparison two groups of 20 children according to whether or not they belonged to a school situated in a ZEP In the two studies, we took into account the individual variables of the child: mental health and the locus of control as well as self-esteem, variables we consider to be closely related to social and school integration. Mental health is assessed by the paper version of the "Dominique ", a questionnaire elaborated by Dr Valla in Quebec (Valla al., 1994; 1997).