PSYCHOLOGICAL MALADJUSTMENT AND ACADEMIC-ACHIEVEMENT - A CROSS-CULTURAL-STUDY OF JAPANESE, CHINESE, AND AMERICAN HIGH-SCHOOL-STUDENTS

Psychological maladjustment and its relation to academic achievement, parental expectations, and parental satisfaction were studied in a cro ss-national sample of 1,386 American, 1,633 Chinese, and 1,247 Japanes e eleventh-grade students. 5 indices of maladjustment included measure s of stress, depressed mood, academic anxiety, aggression, and somatic complaints. Asian students reported higher levels of parental expecta tion and lower levels of parental satisfaction concerning academic ach ievement than their American peers. Nevertheless, Japanese students re ported less stress, depressed mood, aggression, academic anxiety, and fewer somatic complaints than did American students. Chinese students reported less stress, academic anxiety, and aggressive feelings than t heir American counterparts, but did report higher frequencies of depre ssed mood and somatic complaints. High academic achievement as assesse d by a test of mathematics was generally not associated with psycholog ical maladjustment. The only exception was in the United States, where high achievers indicated more frequent feelings of stress than did lo w achievers.