Presenting Author: Brandon Clifford
It benefits society when children are socially competent, engaged at school, and psychologically well. Children with adjustment problems have trouble being successful members of their communities. Most of what is known about children’s social-emotional adjustment is from studies of western, educated, industrialized, rich, and democratic societies, and may not generalize to most children (a.k.a. “WEIRD” results; Henrich, Heine, & Norenzayan, 2010). We know comparatively little about the unique problems and challenges facing children in other cultures. Thus, the purpose of this study was to develop a better understanding of conceptualizations of children’s adjustment problems in Mexico, Mozambique, and Nepal. We conducted focus-groups in Mexico, Mozambique, and Nepal to better understand adults’ conceptualizations of adjustment problems. Parents and caregivers (N = 113, M = 38.55, SD = 8.69; 51.3% female) were asked, “Children sometimes behave in ways that are not appropriate. You do not like the way they are behaving. You want them to stop acting that way because it will make it more difficult for them interact with others and be successful in their schools, families, and communities. What types of behaviors make it difficult for children to be successful?” Focus-group discussions were transcribed into English, and independently coded by two people into themes informed by the adjustment problems literature and patterns in the data (Table 1). Discrepancies were resolved through consensus. Table 2 reports coded descriptions of adjustment problems and example quotations. Externalizing and other problems were described in all focus groups, yet, internalizing problems were scarcely (only withdrawal descriptions in Nepal and Mozambique) or never (Mexico) discussed. Internalizing problems are commonly identified in “WEIRD,” and occasionally examined and identified in non-“WEIRD,” samples of children and adolescents (e.g., Eggum-Wilkens, Zhang, & Farago, 2017). Perhaps internalizing problems were not as salient as externalizing problems for our adults because the discussion prompt emphasized behavior. In addition, emotional liability was highlighted in the Mexico and Mozambique focus groups, but not the Nepal focus group, perhaps a result of the emotion socialization practices of some ethnic groups (Cole, Bruschi, & Tamang, 2002) A deeper examination of adults’ discussions revealed further insight into the adjustment problems of each culture. For example, many Mozambican and Nepali adults raised the issue of children’s disrespect to non-parental adults in the community suggesting an emphasis on respect for all adults. Further, many adults in Mexico and Mozambique expressed concerns over children’s early romantic relationships and teen pregnancy, prevalent social problems in their countries (UNICEF, 2012). Finally, drug addiction, smoking, and drinking alcohol were universally highlighted as major concerns. In sum, this study provided a unique examination of adults’ perceptions of adjustment problems facing children in three countries. Our data were particularly useful in providing a detailed look at adults’ perceptions of externalizing problems in these cultures. Future work should explicitly investigate internalizing problems in non-“WEIRD” societies.