Adolescent Psychological Adjustment Research Articles

Interpersonal Perceptual Tendencies and Adjustment in Chinese Adolescents: Testing the Mediating Role of Peer Relationship.

Accuracy and assumed similarity are the most central topics in the research area of interpersonal perception. These two interpersonal perceptual tendencies have been demonstrated to have beneficial effects on adults' psychological functioning independently. However, how and why they influence adolescent psychological adjustment is less well-understood. The present research aimed to examine the mediating role of peer relationships in the association between these two interpersonal perceptual tendencies and psychological adjustment in adolescents. In the first study, a sample of adolescents in their first year of college (N = 93, 63% girls, Mage = 17.45 years, SD = 0.52) were recruited from a university located in Eastern China. They completed the likableness ratings of Anderson's 200 adjectives. The top 10 personality traits with the lowest and highest likableness values were selected to measure adolescents' personality profiles. In the second study, a round-robin design in a real-life setting, a sample of Chinese adolescents in grades six to nine were recruited from two middle schools (N = 337, Ndyads = 918, 47% girls, Mage = 13.76, SD = 1.15). They were requested to rate themselves and their peers within the same group on various factors. Results revealed that adolescents could form an accurate perception of their peers' personalities and concurrently assume that their peers' personalities are similar to their own. More importantly, accurate interpersonal perception and a biased tendency towards assumed similarity could, directly and indirectly, benefit adolescent psychological adjustment through peer relationships.

Parental self-control facilitates adolescent psychological adjustment sequentially through parents' perceived stress/mindful parenting and adolescent self-control.

Adolescence is a unique developmental period marked with significant changes and challenges. As such, maintaining optimal psychological adjustment is crucial for young people, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic when their adjustment became more challenging. Self-control is a vital ability assisting individuals to navigate difficulties and stay well-adjusted during turbulent times. While the associations between adolescent self-control and adjustment have been well-documented, parental self-control has been considered to play a more fundamental role in adolescent adjustment. However, this consideration has received scant research. Drawing on the intergenerational transmission model of self-regulation, we examined an understudied yet plausible idea that parental self-control facilitates adolescent adjustment through parents' lower levels of perceived stress/better mindful parenting and adolescents' improved self-control. A two-wave survey study, spanning 1 year apart, was conducted among 426 Chinese adolescents (Mage = 11.6 years, 53.5% boys) and their parents. Parents rated their self-control, perceived stress, and mindful parenting at T1, while adolescents rated their self-control and adjustment (i.e., psychological difficulties and life satisfaction) at T1 and T2. The results of chain mediation model showed that after controlling for demographic covariates and baseline levels of adolescent self-control and adjustment, T1 paternal self-control facilitated T2 adolescent adjustment through fathers' lower levels of perceived stress and adolescents' improved self-control. By contrast, T1 maternal self-control facilitated T2 adolescent adjustment through mothers' better mindful parenting and adolescents' improved self-control. These findings advance our understanding of how self-control is transmitted from parents to offspring and clarify the processes of how parental self-control facilitates adolescent adjustment. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved).

The role of ethnic-racial and national identities on U.S. Latino adolescents' global identity coherence and adjustment.

Ethnic-racial minoritized adolescents are tasked with concurrently developing and balancing their ethnic-racial and national identities. The present study investigated the extent to which these two social identities were simultaneously associated with U.S. Latino adolescents' psychological adjustment via their associations with global identity coherence. This cross-sectional study included 370 self-identified Latino middle-to-late adolescents (Mage = 16.14 years; SD = 1.12; range: 14-18; 52.8% female; 96.2% U.S.-born; 50% had at least one foreign-born parent) who completed paper surveys in class. Structural equation path analyses with bias-corrected bootstrapping were conducted to test a theoretical mediational model of identity and adjustment. Findings indicated that each social identity component explained significant variance in adolescent psychological adjustment (i.e., lower depressive symptoms; higher life satisfaction and self-esteem) via its unique association with identity coherence (i.e., synthesis and confusion). Results generalized across adolescent gender but were qualified by family immigrant status (i.e., having no foreign-born parent vs. having at least one foreign-born parent). Additionally, there was no support for an alternate model with the order of predictors and mediators reversed. This study highlights the importance of multifaceted, multicomponent social identity development and exemplifies ways in which social position factors may set adolescents onto different developmental pathways. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved).

Impact of Parenting Practices and Family Functioning on Psychological Adjustment of Adolescents with ADHD: Role of Early Maladaptive Schemas

Aim: The main objective of this study was to measure the impact of early maladaptive schemas (EMSs) in parenting practices, family functioning and psychological adjustment of adolescents with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). The study also explored gender differences on study variables and differences based on age group. 
 Methods: A cross-sectional research design, including a sample of 100 adolescents (Male=50, Female=50) was selected from different special education institutions, schools and colleges of government and private sector in Islamabad and Rawalpindi. The age of the sample ranged from 12 to 20 years (M=14.73, SD=1.82). The data was collected using Alabama Parenting Questionnaire, Family Assessment Device, Young's Schema Questionnaire, and Personality Assessment Questionnaire. Data analysis was performed using Pearson Product Moment, t-test, One-Way ANOVA, and Hayes process macro for mediation analysis.
 Results: A simple mediation analysis confirmed the significant partial mediation. The indirect effect of healthy family functioning was found to be significant. The direct and indirect effect of positive dimensions of parenting practices was significant. The negative dimensions of parenting practices were also found to have significant direct and indirect effect on psychological adjustment. EMSs significantly partially mediated the relationship between parenting practices, family functioning and psychological adjustment.
 Conclusion: According to the results, it was concluded that parenting practices and family functioning significantly influence the psychological adjustment of adolescents with ADHD. In addition, the EMSs play a significant role in the psychological adjustment of adolescents with ADHD. Gender differences were found on subscale of inconsistent discipline in parenting practices and subscale of emotional instability in psychological adjustment. Similarly, on EMSs these differences were found on six subscales including emotional deprivation, emotional inhibition, defectiveness/shame, social inhibition, vulnerability to harm, and self-sacrifice of EMSs.
 Recommendations: The results suggest broader treatment strategies, considering the parents and family of adolescents with ADHD. The finding can also be incorporated with interactive session for children, parents and family members to develop understanding of the nature of problem, related complexities within families and sorting strategies for adolescents with ADHD. Furthermore, in educational set up these finding may help in training workshops for the teachers to improve the understanding of the needs of adolescents with ADHD.

Supplemental Material for Parental Self-Control Facilitates Adolescent Psychological Adjustment Sequentially Through Parents’ Perceived Stress/Mindful Parenting and Adolescent Self-Control

Supplemental Material for Parental Self-Control Facilitates Adolescent Psychological Adjustment Sequentially Through Parents’ Perceived Stress/Mindful Parenting and Adolescent Self-Control

Cultural Identity and the Academic, Social, and Psychological Adjustment of Adolescents with Immigration Background

As Western societies become more ethnically and culturally diverse, understanding the acculturation of immigrant youth is essential for fostering social cohesion. How the cultural identity formation of ethnic minority adolescents relates to their academic, social, and psychological adjustment is an important and as yet unresolved research question. This study examined to what extent identifying with the heritage and/or host culture is an individual resource or risk factor for the adjustment of immigrant youth in Germany. A random sample of 15–17-year-olds (N = 1992; Mage_w1 = 15.3 years, SD = 0.64; 44.5% girls; 44.7% students with immigrant background) was assessed twice: at the end of 9th and 10th grade. Academic performance and three dimensions of social/psychological adjustment (school attachment, self-esteem, and life satisfaction) were examined. Results showed that biculturalism was the modal identification pattern. Contrary to expectations, cultural identification did not differ systematically with perceived distance from the majority culture. Multivariate structural equation modeling revealed that both heritage and host identification can be developmental resources, but that their effects are dependent on the dimension of adjustment; biculturalism only proved to be a cumulative resource for school attachment. The domain specificity of the findings challenges the generalization claims of predominant acculturation theories.

Adolescent psychological adjustment and social supports during pandemic-onset remote learning: A national multi-wave daily-diary study.

In spring 2020, U.S. schools universally transitioned to online learning due to the COVID-19 pandemic's onset, thus creating a natural experiment for examining adolescents' risk and resilience during an ongoing school crisis response. This longitudinal study used a daily-diary approach to investigate the role of social support in the link between remote learning and psychological well-being across 64 days among a national sample of adolescents (n = 744; 42% Black, 36% White, 22% Other ethnicity/race; 41% boys; 72% eligible for free/reduced-priced lunch; Mage=14.60, SDage=1.71, age-range = 12-17 years). On days when youth attended remote learning, they reported lower daily positive affect, more daily stress, and higher parent social support. There were no significant differences in the effect of remote learning on affect or stress by race or economic status. On days when youth experienced more parent support, they reported lower daily stress and negative affect and higher daily positive affect. On days when youth experienced more peer support, they reported higher daily positive affect. Overall, the study highlights the impact of pandemic-onset remote learning on adolescents' psychological well-being and emphasizes the need for future research on school crisis contingency planning to address these challenges.

The More, the Better? Social Capital Profiles and Adolescent Internalizing Symptoms: A Latent Profile Analysis.

Past research suggests that offline and online social capital are empirically linked to adolescent psychological adjustment. However, little is known regarding the implications of distinctive combinations of social capital for adolescent internalizing symptoms. The present study aimed to examine adolescent social capital patterns and their associations with internalizing symptoms by using latent profile analysis. A cross-sectional web-based survey was conducted among 1595 Chinese adolescents (mean age = 14.30years, 50.7% male). All adolescents completed self-report questionnaires on their perceived offline and online social capital, depressive symptoms and anxiety symptoms. Latent profile analysis revealed four profiles of social capital: (1) Low Social Capital, (2) Moderate Social Capital, (3) High Social Capital, and (4) Only High Offline Social Capital. Further, analysis of covariance demonstrated that the Only High Offline Social Capital profile had significantly fewer internalizing symptoms than other three profiles. No statistical differences of internalizing symptoms were found between the other three profiles, except that the Moderate Social Capital profile showed fewer anxiety symptoms than the Low Social Capital profile. These findings suggest that more social capital does not equal to better mental health status. The social capital profiles and their associations with adolescent internalizing symptoms may provide practitioners with meaningful implications regarding the role of offline and online social capital in adolescent psychological adjustment.

Father Involvement and Psychological Adjustment in Pakistani Adolescents: Family Environment as a Mediator

A cross-sectional study was conducted to assess the role of perceived father involvement in the psychological adjustment of adolescents through its influence on the family environment in Pakistan. Data was obtained from 500 adolescents (50.6% boys; 49.4% girls) of 14–18 years of age (M = 15.29, SD = 1.08) from randomly selected separate boys and girls schools (5 each). Father involvement was assessed with Father Involvement Scale and Nurturant Fathering Scale. The family environment and psychological adjustment were gauged with Self-Report Family Inventory and Child Personality Assessment Questionnaire, respectively. Results from SEM revealed the mediating role of family environment between father involvement and psychological adjustment. Father involvement is recommended for a positive impact on the family environment for better psychological adjustment of adolescents.

Parent-adolescent reminiscing and youth psychopathology: A cross-sectional and longitudinal investigation.

Robust research links qualities of parent-child discussions about past emotion-laden events to socioemotional development and broader psychological outcomes during childhood. The role of parent-adolescent reminiscing in adolescent psychological adjustment, however, has received less attention, despite adolescence being a time of heightened vulnerability for the development of internalizing symptoms. In the current multimethod study, we investigated cross-sectional and longitudinal associations between the qualities of conversations between mothers and adolescents (ages 13-16) and adolescents' internalizing problems. Participants were 67 mother-adolescent dyads (total N = 134, 58.8% of youth identified as female) located across regions of New Zealand/Aotearoa. Each dyad discussed a past shared conflict, coded for supportive and unsupportive reminiscing conversational qualities with an adapted dyadic coding scheme. Youth internalizing symptoms were assessed at two-timepoints, 12-monthapart. Dyadic structural equation modeling analyzed cross-sectional and longitudinal relationships between conversational qualities and adolescents' internalizing problems. Findings indicated concurrent associations between unsupportive mother-adolescent reminiscing qualities and heightened youth anxiety symptoms: Specifically, mothers' avoidance and lower levels of emotion discussion and adolescents' emotional disengagement were linked to greater youth anxiety symptoms. Moreover, increases in youth anxiety symptoms 12 months later were weaker for youth who engaged in greater levels of the supportive reminiscing qualities of balanced emotion discussion and active problem-solving. These novel findings highlight the transactional nature and complex dynamics of reminiscing during adolescence and their relationship with youth mental health, which has implications for theory and clinical practice.

Alpha-2-Macroglobulin (A2M) and Dopamine Receptor D2 (DRD2) expression analysis and Influence of Separation from Parents in Childhood on the Suicide and Self-injury Behavior and Psychological Adjustment in Adolescence.

To explore the influence of separation from parents in childhood on suicide and self-injury behavior and psychological adjustment in adolescence. A total of 880 subjects were selected, including 197 students who were separated from their parents in childhood and 683 students who were not separated from their parents in childhood. The scores of psychological resilience, self-compassion, forgiveness and suicide and self-injury were investigated and analyzed. Logistic regression analysis was made on the relationship between suicide and self-injury behavior and psychological adjustment in adolescence. The scores of psychological resilience, self-compassion, forgiveness and suicide and self-injury were statistically significant between children who were separated from their parents and those who were not separated. The students who were not separated had better psychological adjustment abilities and a lower rate of suicide and self-injury (P<0.05). There was a positive correlation between separation from parents in childhood and suicide and self-injury behavior and psychological adjustment in adolescence (P<0.05). The separation from parents in childhood is closely related to psychological resilience, forgiveness, self-compassion, and suicide-related psychological behavior and self-injury behavior in adolescence. Suicide and self-injury behavior can be reduced by reducing separation from parents in childhood and improving self-psychological adjustment ability in adolescence. During the past years, genetics, heritability, and genes' contribution to depression disorders have been well established. Alpha-2-Macroglobulin (A2M) and Dopamine Receptor D2 (DRD2) genes are very effective in behavioral and mood disorders. The results of this study showed the expression of these genes in different organs, especially in connection with the cerebrospinal system, so investigating the mechanism of their effect is very effective and promising, and it is hoped that they will be used in other research.

Longitudinal Analysis of Adolescent Adjustment: The Role of Attachment and Emotional Competence.

Emotional competencies as well as secure attachment relationships with peers are protective factors that facilitate psychological adjustment among adolescents. In this study, we will analyse how these socio-emotional factors influence adolescents' emotional symptoms, conduct problems and peer problems. The participants were 815 Spanish adolescents aged 12-17 years (M = 13.69; SD = 1.21) who completed the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ), the Parent and Peer Attachment Inventory (IPPA) and the Emotional Skills and Competence Questionnaire (ESCQ). Besides descriptive analyses, such as Pearson's bivariate correlations, two different methodologies were combined to predict adolescent adjustment: structural equation modelling (SEM) and fuzzy set qualitative comparative analysis (fsQCA). The results show that secure attachment with peers and high emotional competence predict better psychological adjustment (low levels of emotional symptoms, conduct problems and peer problems), while insecure peer attachment and low emotional competence predict maladjustment. These results emphasise the role of socio-emotional variables in the promotion of psychological adjustment in adolescence through the implementation of emotional education programs.

Psychosocial health and psychological adjustment in adolescents and young adults with congenital melanocytic nevi: Analysis of self-reports.

This study assessed self-reported health-related quality of life and psychological adjustment in 43 adolescents and young adults (ages in years: 14–24, M = 17.6, SD = 2.2) with congenital melanocytic nevi (CMN) and examined associations with sociodemographic variables, characteristics of the CMN, perceived social reactions, and cognitive emotion regulation strategies. Outcome measures included the Pediatric Quality of Life Inventory™ 4.0 and the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire. Findings suggest impaired psychosocial health and psychological adjustment in youth with CMN compared to community norms. Impairments were associated with higher age of participants, lower socioeconomic status, visibility of the skin lesion, perceived stigmatization, poorer perceived social support, and maladaptive cognitive emotion regulation strategies (self-blame, rumination, and catastrophizing), but not with sex of participants, extent of the skin lesion, and surgical removal of the nevus. Implications for clinical practice and future research are discussed.

Evaluating the Role of Maternal and Paternal Trauma Exposure, Emotional Security, and Mental Health in Predicting Psychological Adjustment among Palestinian Adolescents.

Previous research has established a strong relationship between family system functioning and child adjustment outcomes. However, within the context of Gaza, an evaluation of both maternal and paternal factors associated with adolescent psychological adjustment has not yet been thoroughly evaluated. The current study examines how maternal and paternal trauma exposure, emotional security, and mental health are related to parent-reported scores of adolescent psychological adjustment, while controlling for adolescent trauma exposure and security in the family. The sample included N = 68 family units living in the Gaza Strip, with two parents and one adolescent surveyed within each unit (adolescent Mage = 14.03 years). The regression model examining maternal factors was significant overall (F = 7.44, R2 = 42.70%, p < 0.001), with increased maternal depression associated with greater adolescent adjustment difficulties (β = 0.31, p = 0.011) and greater maternal emotional security in the family associated with fewer adolescent adjustment difficulties (β = −0.36, p = 0.004). The regression model examining paternal factors was also significant (F = 4.57, R2 = 31.00%, p < 0.001), with increased paternal trauma exposure associated with greater adolescent adjustment difficulties (β = 0.32, p = 0.012). Understanding family-level factors associated with adolescent adjustment is an important step in conceptualizing the mental health needs of conflict-affected youth within the context of Gaza and more broadly.

Stability of cyber dating victimization and psychological adjustment in adolescents: a short-term longitudinal study

The effect of cyber dating victimization on adolescents’ adjustment is understudied. The present study aimed to analyze the impact of cyber dating victimization on antisocial behavior, anxious depressive symptoms, and stress management according to their frequency and stability over time. In the study, 453 Spanish students aged between 12 and 19 years (52.5% girls) with sentimental experience completed surveys in a two-time longitudinal study six-month apart. Cyber dating victimization predicted a worse stress management. Regarding stability, four cyber dating victimization groups were found: non-cyber victims, past cyber victims, recent cyber victims, and stable cyber victims. The results indicated that recent cyber victims worsen their levels of antisocial behavior and anxious depressive symptoms coinciding with the moment of cyber dating victimization. Stable cyber victims showed worse scores in all the study variables over time. This study highlights the impact that cyber dating victimization has on adolescents’ psychological adjustment. These results address the need to develop psychoeducational interventions aimed to prevent cyber dating victimization, favoring adolescents’ healthy development and the improvement of the school life.

Parenting, Pesticides and Adolescent Psychological Adjustment: A Brief Report.

Pesticides used to control insects, such as pyrethroids, are neurotoxicants, yet adolescent researchers often overlook their potential role in adolescent psychological adjustment. This brief report is guided by bioecological theory and considers the possible independent and interactive effects of environmental pyrethroid pesticide exposure for adolescent depressive symptoms. Self-reported adolescent appraisals of the parent–child relationship and depressive symptoms were obtained from a convenience sample of impoverished, predominantly Latino urban youth (n = 44). Exposure to environmental pyrethroids was obtained from wipe samples using a standardized protocol. Parent–adolescent conflict was higher in households with bifenthrin than those without, and adolescent depressive symptoms were elevated in homes where cypermethrin was detected. In addition, the presence of bifenthrin in the home attenuated the protective effects of parental involvement on adolescent depressive symptoms. The current results suggest that adolescent mental health researchers must consider the synergistic combinations of adolescents’ environments’ physical and social features. Given the endemic presence of pesticides and their neurotoxic function, pesticide exposure may demand specific attention.

Inter-Parental Conflict's Persistent Effects on Adolescent Psychological Distress, Adjustment Issues, and Suicidal Ideation During the COVID-19 Lockdown.

The current study sought to ascertain the impact of inter-parent conflicts on teenage psychological distress, social and academic adjustment and examine the suicide ideation during the COVID-19. The results found to be alarming as 22% of the individuals displayed suicidal tendencies, with 9% having attempted suicide once, 4.6% having tried suicide twice, and 11% stating that they were likely to do so again. Therefore, the media and the government might host awareness programs and counseling initiatives to promote mental health and prevent suicidal behavior. Moreover, parents may be educated on community level, about the effect of inter-parental arguments on the mental health of their children.

Adolescent intergroup connections and their developmental benefits: Exploring contributions from social network analysis

AbstractBecause diverse school settings provide students with opportunities to form same‐ and cross‐group relationships with youth of various ethnicities and races, an important question arises: How are these opportunities taken up, and what are the developmental implications of doing so? Accumulating evidence suggests that these connections are beneficial to youth. Yet, we currently have a limited understanding of the specific peer mechanisms that produce these benefits. Addressing this gap requires adopting a relational perspective and using social network analysis (SNA) tools to characterize the theorized developmental mechanisms through which intergroup connections promote adolescent psychological and academic adjustment. To do so, we present an integrative account in which intergroup connections are viewed as developing and influencing adolescent outcomes in the context of broader peer networks. We then discuss the need to disentangle peer network selection from peer influence dynamics to provide an accurate account of multiple processes through which intergroup connections shape development and briefly explore how these goals are achieved by using statistical approaches to modeling of social networks. This review seeks to guide the next generation of research to more thoroughly test and refine the developmental theory and advance knowledge that will inform interventions to promote intergroup connections and their academic and socio‐emotional benefits.

Longitudinal Analysis on the Psychological Adjustment of Adolescents from Multicultural Families: Focusing on Depression and Ego-Resilience

목적 본 연구에서는 다문화가정 청소년의 심리적응 중에서 우울과 자아탄력성 변화에 대한 사회적지지와 이중문화특성의 영향을 검증하고자 종단분석을 하였다. 방법 한국청소년정책연구원의 다문화청소년패널조사 2~5차년도에 해당하는 2012년에서 2015년도의 다문화가정 청소년 1,320명을 대상으로 분석하였다. 결과 우울에 대한 예측변인 분석에서 첫째, 사회적지지 요인을 살펴보면 친구지지와 가족지지가 높을수록 다문화가정 청소년의 우울이 낮아지는 것으로 나타났다. 둘째, 이중문화특성 요인을 살펴보면 다문화수용성과 국가정체성이 높을수록, 이중문화스트레스가 감소할수록, 우울이 감소하는 것으로 나타났다. 그러나 부모와 학생의 한국어능력, 부모나라의 언어능력, 이중문화수용태도는 우울과 통계적으로 유의미한 관계가 없는 것으로 나타났다. 자아탄력성에 대한 예측변인 분석에서 첫째, 사회적지지 요인을 살펴보면 친구지지, 가족지지, 교사지지가 강할수록 다문화가정 청소년의 자아탄력성이 증가하는 것으로 나타났다. 둘째, 이중문화특성 요인을 살펴보면, 부모의 한국어능력, 부모나라 언어능력, 다문화수용성, 국가정체성, 이중문화수용태도가 높을수록 자아탄력성이 증가하는 것으로 나타났다. 그러나 학생의 한국어능력과 이중문화스트레스는 자아탄력성과 통계적으로 유의미한 관계가 없는 것으로 나타났다. 결론 이러한 연구결과를 바탕으로 다문화가정 청소년의 심리적응을 향상시킬 수 있는 지지체계 구축의 필요성을 확인하였다.

Needs analysis for the personal, social, and psychological adjustment of adolescents at risk of delinquency and juvenile offenders

La literatura ha encontrado que las necesidades no-criminogénicas también son un factor de riesgo de delincuencia juvenil y, por tanto, han de ser objeto de intervención. Se diseñó un estudio de campo con el objetivo de conocer si el ajuste individual, social y psicológico (necesidades no-criminogénicas) difieren entre menores infractores, menores de protección y normalizados. Para ello se evaluó a 450 adolescentes (150 menores de reforma, 150 de protección y 150 normalizados) en el ajuste individual, social y psicológico. Los resultados mostraron un efecto significativo en el ajuste individual, social y psicológico para el factor población. Sucintamente, los menores de protección y reforma manifestaron un mayor desajuste individual en los niveles personal y familiar que los normalizados, y, adicionalmente, los de reforma a nivel social. Asimismo, los menores de protección e infractores exhibieron un mayor desajuste social consistente en más retraimiento social, ansiedad social/timidez y liderazgo que los normalizados, y los menores infractores un menor ajuste social en la consideración hacia los demás que los normalizados. En el ajuste psicológico, los menores de reforma y protección informaron de más sintomatología obsesivo-compulsiva, de sensibilidad interpersonal, depresiva, de hostilidad, de ansiedad-fóbica y psicótica que los normalizados, y los de protección más somática, ansiosa (generalizada) y paranoide que los normalizados. Se cuantificaron los déficits en estas dimensiones para estimar la magnitud de las necesidades. Se discuten las implicaciones teóricas de los resultados y para el diseño de programas de prevención de la delincuencia y de recaídas. Literature has found that non-criminogenic needs also are a juvenile delinquency risk factor and, consequently, should be target of intervention. With the aim of knowing if individual, social and psychological adjustment differ between juvenile offenders and foster care adolescents with normal adolescents was designed. A total of 450 adolescents (150 juvenile offenders, 150 foster care adolescents, and 150 normal adolescents) were evaluated in individual, social and psychological adjustment. The results showed a significant effect in the individual, social and psychological adjustment for the population factor. Succinctly, juvenile offenders and foster care adolescents displayed a higher individual maladjustment in the personal and family level than normal adolescents, and, additionally, juvenile offenders in the social level. Likewise, juvenile offenders and foster care adolescents exhibited a higher social maladjustment consisting in more social withdrawal, social anxiety/shyness, and leadership than normal adolescents; and juvenile offenders revealed less consideration for others than normal adolescents. In psychological adjustment, juvenile offenders and foster care adolescents reported more obsessive-compulsive, interpersonal sensitivity, depression, hostile, phobic-anxiety, and psychotic symptomology than normal adolescent; and foster care adolescent more somatic, anxiety (generalized) and paranoid symptoms than normal adolescents. The deficits in these needs were quantified as to estimate the magnitude of the intervention. Theoretical and practical implications for intervention of the results are discussed