In order to test the view that adolescence is characterised by emotional turbulence, including impulsive behaviour, mood swings and introspection, nearly 6000 middle class, urban adolescents in nine countries were given the Offer Self-Image Questionnaire (OSIQ). The countries involved were: Australia, Bangladesh, Hungary, Israel, Italy, Japan, Taiwan, Turkey and West Germany. The self image of the teenagers was measured in five areas: the psychological, such as emotions and feelings about self; the social; the sexual; the familial; and the coping self. In presenting results of the study, the book focusses on universal characteristics as well as on gender, age and national differences. It also examines the prevalence rate of depression in the ten countries, as well as the relationship of self image patterns to economic and demographic factors. A review is included of the literature on theories of the self in adolescence, cross-cultural studies of adolescents, and research issues in comparative studies.

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