engleski

Internalizing and externalizing problems – How to plan appropriate prevention and intervention strategies for adolescents with different combination of mental problems?

Focus on youth internalizing and externalizing problems was prominent in larger number of studies and in many of them was concluded that these two groups of mental problems are often interconnected in the way that behind adolescents’ externalizing problems there are hidden some internalizing as well. The aim of this paper is to analyse the differences between adolescents who have different combination of internalizing and externalizing problems and to address prevention and intervention strategies according to given results. In research participated total of 618 students (52% males) from higher grades of primary and lower grades of secondary schools situated in five smaller cities in Croatia. Questionnaire consisted of five instruments – Socio-demographic data, Youth Self-Report (measuring internalizing and externalizing problems), Bullying Scale (measuring perpetrated and experienced peer violence), subscale of Peer attachment of Inventory of parent and peer attachment and subscale of Family satisfaction of Quality of Family Interactions Scale. According to results on Youth Self-Report and 30% cut-off points (30th and 70th percentile) separately for subscale of internalizing problems (IP) and subscale of externalizing problems (EP), participants were sorted in 4 groups – (1) without symptoms (n=111), (2) high IP and low EP (n=109), (3) high EP and low IP and (n=100) and (4) combined IP and EP (n=91). 207 participants who have some kind of internalizing or externalizing problems but aren’t in top 30% of those with most expressed IP/EP, were excluded from further analysis. Four groups of adolescents differ largely regarding their socio- demographic data and psychosocial adjustment. The greatest risk factors for IP are female gender, high school (especially gymnasium program) and beyond average family financial status, while for EP risk factors are male gender, younger age and high family income. Psychosocial variables are good in prediction of group membership, with all variables (life satisfaction, family satisfaction, peer satisfaction, peer attachment, perpetrated and experienced bullying) significant in distinction of different groups. Further elaboration of given results and their practical implication shall be discussed.

adolescents ; mental health ; internalizing problems ; externalizing problems ; prevention

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