Relationships during adolescence: constructive vs. negative themes and relational dissatisfaction

The present study set out to test Coleman's focal theory of adolescence in a cross-national context. The London Sentence Completion Test (LSCT) and th e Louvain Loneliness Scale for Children and Adolescents (LLCA) were adminis tered to 370 adolescents (11 to 17 years of age) in the Dutch-speaking part of Belgium. The findings confirm those of earlier work using the London Se ntence Completion Test (LSCT) and other questionnaire-type measures in vari ous English-speaking countries (England, Scotland, New Zealand and United S tates). The general pattern of peak ages for adolescents' interpersonal con cerns provided support for the focal model. Negative feelings about being a lone, relationships with parents, heterosexual relationships, small groups and rejection from larger groups do not emerge all at once, but seem to be dealt with issue by issue. The results for the Louvain Loneliness Scale for Children and Adolescents (LLCA), which measures loneliness in relationship s with both parents and peers, and adolescents' attitudes towards being alo ne, confirmed the age trends observed with the sentence completion measure. Taken together, these findings strongly suggest that the changes in adoles cent relationships are intimately linked to the general process of individu ation, as implied by the focal model. It should be pointed out, however, th at important parts of the focal theory remain at present untested. Suggesti ons for future empirical and conceptual work related to these aspects of Co leman's model are outlined. (C) 1999 The Association for Professionals in S ervices for Adolescents.