Patterns of Boys' Social Adjustment in Two Cultures and at Different Ages: A Longitudinal Perspective

Abstract

In the comparison of two longitudinal studies, patterns of boys' social adjustment were identified by using aggression, hyperactivity, inattentiveness, anxiety, and lack of prosocial behaviour as clustering variables. Eight comparable clusters were obtained across two cultures, French Canada and Finland; three age groups, 6, 8, and 10 years; and two decades, the 1960s and 1980s. The clusters confirmed three frequently used categories of behaviour: (1) normal (for no adjustment problems); (2) anxious; and (3) inattentive; two infrequently used categories: (1) passive; and (2) nervous; and the importance of subcategorising aggressive-hyperactive boys into three categories: (1) bully; (2) uncontrolled; and (3) multiproblem. The stability of the behaviour patterns for individuals from one age to another (6 to 10 years of age) was significant. It was not high for a specific cluster, but the subjects tended to remain in either one of the aggressive or nonaggressive clusters. The predictive value of the behaviour patterns for later outcomes was analysed using data collected at the age of 10 to 11 (in Montreal) and at the ages of 14, 20, and 26 (in Jyvaskyla). The clusters were meaningful from a developmental perspective. The outcomes were most negative for the multiproblem boys: high disruptive and antisocial behaviour, low school success, and unstable working career, and most positive for the normals.