GENDER, ANXIETY AND SELF-IMAGE

German adolescents were administered three questionnaires to assess Tr ait Anxiety (STAI), psychological self, social- and sexual-self, self- adjustment and family relationships (Offer Self-Image Questionnaire), as well as parental involvement, achievement orientation, family cohes iveness, obediency and parental conflict (Attitude towards Parents and Schooling Inventory). There were few differences between sexes in ter ms of any of the personality variables-with the exception of impulsivi ty-but several differences along the attitude scales (achievement orie ntation, obediency and parental conflict). Several significant differe nces were yielded between low and high trait anxiety Ss and the self-i mage scales, particularly those associated with negative affect e.g, n egative body image, impulsivity, emotionality and mental ill-health. M oreover, high trait neurotic Ss displayed greater parental conflict an d lowered family cohesiveness (both scales being themselves highly cor related with the dimension of negative affect) compared to their more stable (low anxiety) counterparts. These relationships were not modera ted by gender. The implication of these studies are discussed. (C) 199 8 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.