SEX, RACE, CLASS, AND OTHER DEMOGRAPHICS AS EXPLANATIONS FOR CHILDRENS ABILITY AND ADJUSTMENT - A NATIONAL APPRAISAL

The study explores the extent to which important demographic character istics (age, gender, ethnicity, social class, national region, communi ty size, and their interactions) are able to account for variation in children's cognitive ability, academic achievement, and social adjustm ent. For a representative national sample (N = 1,200) of children 5-17 years old, ability constructs (verbal, nonverbal, and spatial ability , and reading and numerical achievement) were assessed through the ind ividually administered Differential Ability Scales. Adjustment constru cts (attention-deficit hyperactive, solitary aggressive-provocative, s olitary aggressive-impulsive, oppositional defiant, diffident, and avo idant) were assessed through teacher ratings with the Adjustment Scale s for Children and Adolescents, Partialled canonical redundancy and re gression analyses revealed that 18.9% of ability variation (assuming c ontrol for chronological age and social adjustment) could be accounted for by demographics, particularly social class and ethnicity. Only 5. 5% of the variability in adjustment (with control for varied ability) related to demographic factors, mainly gender and age. The results are discussed in the context of recent trends to advocate the use of sepa rate norms and comparative assessments for distinct demographic groups .