THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN SELF-RATINGS AND MOTHERS RATINGS OF BEHAVIORAL-PROBLEMS AMONG RECENT ADOLESCENT IMMIGRANTS TO ISRAEL

Two hundred male and female adolescents and their mothers, recent immi grants from the former USSR to Israel, completed the following behavio ral and sociopsychological inventories: The Youth Self-Report and Chil d Behavioral Checklist, and the Multidimensional Scale of Perceived So cial Support and Immigration Related Stressors Scale. No gender differ ences were found with respect to behavioral problem self-ratings. The mothers' mean behavioral problems' rating was 1.6 times lower than tha t of the adolescents. The main factors influencing discrepancies betwe en adolescents' and mothers' ratings were as follows: attitudes toward s immigration, assessments of adjustment difficulties, relationships w ith Israeli peers, readiness to adopt Israeli cultural norms and durat ion of residence in Israel. Results are discussed with respect to the effects of immigration on the relationship between adolescent and moth er rating.