The relationship between Eriksonian psychosocial maturity, measured by three sets of content analysis scales, and school achievement was examined in school-age children in the People's Republic of China. Primary and high school students (N = 360) with equal numbers of boys and girls participated. A standard open-ended interview was used to collect verbalizations which then were transcribed and analysed by the Content Analysis Scale of Psychosocial Maturity, the Sociality Scales, and the Pawn and Origin Scales. School achievement, as measured by ordinary school examinations, was not linked with any of these psychological measures. The differences in measurement and the characteristics of Chinese culture might account for the findings, but blind scoring is advised. The implications of the independent developmental domains of psychosocial maturity and school achievement were discussed.
References
1.
BrislinR. W. (1970) Back-translation for cross-cultural research. Journal of Cross-Cultural Psychology, 1, 185–216.
2.
BrislinR. W. (1986) The wording and translation of research instruments. In LonnerW. J.BerryJ. (Eds.), Field methods in cross-cultural research. Beverly Hills, CA: Sage. Pp. 137–164.
3.
ChenX.RubinK. H. (1992) Correlates of peer acceptance in a Chinese sample of six-year-olds. International Journal of Behavioral Development, 15, 259–273.
4.
ChenX.RubinK. H.LiZ. (1995) Social functioning and adjustment in Chinese children: a longitudinal study. Developmental Psychology, 31, 531–539.
5.
EriksonE. H. (1963) Childhood and society. (2nd ed.) New York: Norton.
6.
EriksonE. H. (1968) Identity, youth and crisis. New York: Norton.
7.
GottschalkL. A. (1976a) Children's speech as a source of data toward the measurement of psychological states. Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 5, 11–36.
8.
GottschalkL. A. (1976b) Differences in the content of speech of girls and boys ages 6 to 16. In SankatD. V. S. (Ed.), Mental health in children. Vol. 3. Westbury, NY: PDJ Publ. Pp. 351–379.
9.
GottschalkL. A. (Ed.) (1979) The content analysis of verbal behavior: further studies. New York: Spectrum.
10.
GottschalkL. A.LolasF.VineyL. L. (Eds.) (1986) Content analysis of verbal behaviour: significance in clinical medicine and psychiatry. Berlin: Springer-Verlag.
11.
HayesR. L. (1982) A review of adolescent identity formation: implications for education. Adolescence, 17, 153–165.
12.
HoD. Y. F. (1986) Chinese patterns of socialization: a critical review. In BondM. H. (Ed.), The psychology of the Chinese people. Hong Kong: Oxford Univer. Press. Pp. 1–37.
13.
KwokD. C. (1995) The self-perception of competence by Canadian and Chinese children. Psychologia: An International Journal of Psychology in the Orient, 38, 9–16.
14.
MarkusH. R.KitayamaS. (1991) Culture and the self: implications for cognition, emotion, and motivation. Psychological Review, 98, 224–253.
15.
MeredithW. H.WangA.ZhengF. M. (1993) Determining constructs of self-perception for children in Chinese cultures. School Psychology International, 14, 371–380.
16.
ParkerJ. G.AsherS. P. (1987) Peer relations and later personal adjustment: are low-accepted children at risk?Psychological Bulletin, 102, 357–389.
17.
PickarD. B.TorjC. D. (1986) The learning disabled adolescent: Eriksonian psychosocial development, a self-concept, and delinquent behavior. Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 15, 429–440.
18.
RajaballyM. H. (1987) Instruction in developmental psychology and its influence on self-concept. Adolescence, 22, 545–553.
19.
StiglerJ. W.LeeS. Y.LuckerG. W.StevensonH. W. (1982) Curriculum and achievement in mathematics: a study of elementary children in Japan, Taiwan, and the United States. Journal of Educational Psychology, 74, 315–322.
20.
VineyL. L. (1983) Assessment of psychological states through content analysis of verbal communications. Psychological Bulletin, 94, 542–563.
21.
VineyL. L. (1985) “They call you a dole bludger”: some experiences of unemployment. Journal of Community Psychology, 13, 31–45.
22.
VineyL. L. (1987) A sociophenomenological approach to life-span development complementing Erikson's sociodynamic approach. Human Development, 30, 125–136.
23.
VineyL. L.BenjaminY. N.PrestonC. A. (1988) Promoting independence in the elderly: the role of psychological, social and physical constraints. Clinical Gerontologist, 8, 3–17.
24.
VineyL. L.BenjaminY. N.PrestonC. A. (1989) An evaluation of personal construct therapy for the elderly. British Journal of Medical Psychology, 62, 35–41.
25.
VineyL. L.HenryR.WalkerB. M.CrooksL. (1989) The emotional reactions of HIV antibody positive men. British Journal of Medical Psychology, 62, 153–161.
26.
VineyL. L.TychA. M. (1984) Content analysis scales to measure psychosocial maturity: a set of research tools. Unpublished manuscript, The Univer. of Wollongong, Australia.
27.
VineyL. L.TychA. M. (1985) Content analysis scales measuring psychosocial maturity in the elderly. Journal of Personality and Assessment, 49, 311–317.
28.
VineyL. L.WestbrookM. T. (1979) Sociality: a content analysis scale for verbalization. Social Behavior and Personality, 7, 129–137.
29.
VineyL. L.WestbrookM. T. (1982) Psychological reactions to chronic illness: do they predict rehabilitation?Journal of Applied Rehabilitation Counseling, 13, 38–41.
30.
WangW. (1991) Psychosocial development of children in the People's Republic of China. Unpublished doctoral dissertation, The Univer. of Wollongong, Australia.
31.
WestbrookM. T.VineyL. L. (1980) Scales measuring people's perception of themselves as origins and pawns. Journal of Personality Assessment, 44, 167–174.
32.
WilkersonJ.ProtinskyH. O.Jr.MaxwellJ. W.LentnerM. (1982) Alienation and ego identity in adolescents. Adolescence, 17, 133–139.
