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Ethnicity and adjustment: A study of the self-image of Anglo-, Greek-, and Italian-Australian working class adolescents

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Abstract

Two measures of adjustment, the Erikson Psychosocial Stage Inventory and the Offer Self-Image Questionnaire, were administered to a sample of 450 working class Anglo-, Greek-, and Italian-Australian adolescents in years 9 and 11 of 9 Melbourne high schools. Anglo- and Greek-Australian adolescents scored similarly and significantly higher than Italian-Australians on a number of subscales, suggesting that culture conflict may be an influential factor in the adjustment of Italian-Australians, but not Greek-Australians. Significant differences between the minority groups, in favor of Greek-Australians, were interpreted as resulting from the relative differences in institutional support for and press toward assimilation of the two groups.

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This research was supported by a grant from the Education Research and Development Committee.

Received Ph.D. from University of Melbourne. Research interests are adolescent adjustment, ethnicity, and sex-role psychology.

Received Ph.D. from Florida State University. Research interests are sex-role psychology and adolescence.

Research interests are child development, adolescence, and cerebral asymmetry.

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Rosenthal, D.A., Moore, S.M. & Taylor, M.J. Ethnicity and adjustment: A study of the self-image of Anglo-, Greek-, and Italian-Australian working class adolescents. J Youth Adolescence 12, 117–135 (1983). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02088309

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02088309

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