THE TEENAGE GIRL - PATTERNS OF SELF-REPORTED ADJUSTMENT PROBLEMS AND SOME CORRELATES

This article presents a pattern approach to the study of teenage girls' adjustment problems, analyzing data concerning 519 15-year-old girls included in the Swedish longitudinal research program 'Individual development and adjustment'. The pattern approach is based on a person-oriented, interactional view of the adaptation process. The girls' profiles, as given by five self-reported adjustment problem indicators, are analyzed within a cluster analytic framework using the RESIDAN rationale, with due attention being paid to outliers and the importance of identifying a residue. Twelve clusters were identified: one cluster with no problems, five single-problem and six two- or multi-problem clusters. The relations between the clusters and some concomitant factors were also studied. The results were also shown using multidimensional scaling to provide a global view of the relations. Psychosomatic problems were found in the problem pattern for almost every girl with severe adjustment problems. An early menarche and much absenteeism from school were connected to multi-problem patterns, while earlier adjustment problems and family background were only weakly related to self-reported adjustment problems. Some general features of the pattern approach were also discussed.