Comparaison des attentes d’étudiants « sains » et « en souffrance » par rapport à leur famille

Abstract

Object. Studying the ideal family differences between a group of healthy students (from 10 to 25 years old) and a population affected by mental disorders. Method. 814 healthy adolescents are compared to a population of 358 adolescents suffering from mental disorders. All of them have filled-in the Olson questionnaire concerning their native and ideal families. Results. The healthy teenagers belong to distinctly more cohesive and adaptable families than the adolescents from the pathological group. The healthy teenagers also expect a still more cohesive and adaptable family. Gender has no influence on the native family description, but acts as a defining factor in the expectations concerning the ideal family among the girls of the healthy population. In the healthy group, age determines at once a gradual cohesion decline in the native families and a cohesion rise in the ideal family. Conclusion. If “healthy” adolescents expect more cohesion and adaptability from their future family, “pathological” adolescents show a decreased “dream ability”. Such a decrease could be related with the lower cohesion and adaptability levels described into the native family.