THE PSYCHOLOGICAL ADJUSTMENT OF YOUNG IMMIGRANTS IN NORWAY

In order to examine the adjustment of young immigrants to their new cu ltural environment, questionnaires were administered to young Third Wo rld immigrants living in Norway. Responses (N = 568) obtained from the se children aged 10 through 17 years old, indicated that even though t hey evaluated their health and present life as satisfactory, a good de al of low self-image, depressive tendencies and psychological and soma tic symptoms were present among them. Approximately between 11 and 14% of the children were found to have from high to extreme levels of sym ptomatology. Anti-social behaviors were on the other hand almost entir ely absent among the sample, a situation believed to be an artifact of the measuring instrument used. While no differences were observed bet ween boys and girls with respect to how they evaluated their health an d present life, girls were found to report more disorders than boys. B oys on the other hand reported engaging in more anti-social behaviours than girls. Using Norwegians of similar age as a reference group, the se children were found to be worse off than their native peers. The ch ildren's psychological disorders were found to be related to their mod e of acculturation, and that integration may be the most adaptive mode of acculturation.