2010, Vol.23, No.2

THE KOREAN JOURNAL OF DEVELOPMENTAL PSYCHOLOGY 2023 KCI Impact Factor : 1.67

pISSN : 1229-0718 / eISSN : 2671-6542
https://journal.kci.go.kr/baldal

This study examined how many developmental tasks based on Havighurst's ones in adolescence were achieved and whether there was sex difference in the levels of achievement of developmental tasks with 515 male and female adolescents. Also it was examined whether there were differences in 5-factor personality characteristics, self-esteem and happiness according to the achievement level of developmental tasks. As 6 tasks among 17 developmental tasks had highest proportion in 'already achieved,' 8 tasks in 'just starting' and 3 tasks in 'not yet'. High school period was the beginning time for achievement of typical developmental tasks of adolescence. Interestingly male adolescents tended to be maturer than female counterparts in 4 tasks among 17 developmental tasks. Also it was found higher group in achievement levels of developmental tasks had higher extraversion, agreeableness, conscientiousness, openness to experience, self-esteem and happiness than lower group in achievement levels.

The purpose of the study was to investigate the factors that may affect early school adjustment and their direct and indirect causal relationships. The subjects were 54 triplets of 6 year old children, their mothers, and classroom teachers. During children's age at 6, the problem behaviors and parenting attitudes were measured using mothers' reports. The 7 year old children's social competence was measured using direct interviews and school adjustment was measured via teachers' reports. Correlation, simple and stepwise regression, and path analyses were conducted based on these reports. The results showed that preschoolers' problem behaviors predicted school adjustment of the first graders the most. The mother's negative parenting attitudes explained most well the children's problem behaviors best predicted children's social competence. The internalizing behaviors were negatively related with social competence and its lower-order dimensions of sociability and interpersonal adjustment. Externalizing behaviors showed negative relationships with school adjustment and its lower-order school life adjustment, academic performance, and peer adjustment. The direct and indirect paths analyses of these factors showed that the indirect negative effects of parenting attitudes on school adjustment was mediated by problem behaviors.

The aim of this study was to investigate the emotional profile among adolescents experiencing home economic status change. Total of 388 junior high and high school students were participated in this study. The questionnaire used in this study included items asking the experience of home economic status change over the past one year, the degree of emotional support from microsystems(family, peers, and teachers), and mood state. Three mesosystem patterns have been identified from the cluster analysis based on the support from microsystems: secure, uninvolving, and insecure. Adolescents of secure mesosystem have relatively healthy mood state under economic hardship. On the other hand, adolescents of uninvolving and insecure mesosystem showed similar mood state suggesting that not having strong emotional bond with at least one of microsystems or extremely weak emotional bond with teachers lead to negative mood profile under the condition of home economic status change. The importance of emotional bond with microsystems were discussed based on research results.