Children with encopresis were compared to children with other "high prevalence low-severity" disorders on measures of locus of control and self-esteem. Children with encopresis tended to feel less in control of positive life events, had lower self-worth, and were more apt to want to change and be different than children with other chronic symptoms. Data tend to contradict traditional interpretations of encopresis as a system of unconscious motives involving independence and control. Also, this information adds to the clinical impression culled from experience that active intensive remediation is the appropriate clinical response when treating children with encopresis.