Psychological Reporb, 1992, 71, 279-286. O Psychological Reports 1992
AGGRESSION, ALCOHOL DEPENDENCY, AND SELF-CONSCIOUSNESS AMONG HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS O F DIVORCED AND NONDIVORCED PARENTS ' MICHAEL WORKMAN AND JOHN BEER
North Central Kansas Special Educational Coop Summary.-134 high school students from a small hgh school in north central Kansas completed the MacAndrew Alcoholism Scale, I'enlgstem, et 01:s Self-consciousness Scale, and Zaks' Aggression Scale. Analyses of vaIlance showed significant differences between boys and guls but not among grades. On the aggression and alcohol measures boys scored higher than girls, but lower on public self-consciousness. Youth of divorced parents scored significantly higher than those of nondivorced patents on aggression, private self-consciousness, and general self-consciousness. Aggression scores were significantly and positively correlated with those on the alcohol and private selfconsciousness scales. When students' alcoholism scores indicate problems with alcohol, their scores on aggression indicate greater aggression and their private self-consciousness scores indicate sensitivity toward events in their environment, then having concerns about inner self can inhibit the action required for change. MacAndrew scores correlated significantly and negatively with scores on social anxiety about self-consciousness. When MacAndrew scores indicated problems with alcohol, the students' scores on social anxiety about self-consciousness suggested confidence in social settings, being at ease interacting with people. The present study involved students from a single rural district so increased understanding will require more extensive research if strategies for prevention and intervention are to be developed and utilized.
Divorce of parents has adverse effects upon children. The divorce rate in the United States is on the rise, so divorce is becoming a common occurrence. "The dramatic increase in our country's divorce rate has been amply documented by census data. For example, recent reports indicate the divorce ratio has more than doubled from 1970 to 1981 and more than tripled since 1960" (Guidubaldi, Perry, Clemshaw, & Caven, 1983, p. 300). Negative stresses are generally produced by divorce for both the children and the parents. Boys and older children of divorced parents experience lower social and adjustment scores. Boys of divorced parents show greater behavioral, social, and academic difficulties than both girls of divorced parents and boys of nondivorced parents (Guidubaldi, et al., 1983). What would be the effects of divorce also upon alcohol dependency, aggressiveness, and self-consciousness in high school students? The major element of alcohol dependency is the extent to which there is impairment of control of how much to drink and when to drink. Some other aspects include severe withdrawal symptoms, awareness of a compulsion to 'The opinions and views expressed here are not necessarily those of the School District or Coop, but the responsibility of the authors. Request reprints from John Beer, 909 5th Street, Natoma, KS 67651.
280
M. W R K M A N & J. BEER
excessive drinking, increased tolerance of alcohol, and evidence of alcoholseeking behavior. Higher alcohol dependence was associated with greater quantities of alcohol consumed and various psychosocial problems with excessive drinhng, for example, poor social stability, low self-esteem, presence of physical symptoms (Skinner, 1981). Workman and Beer (1989) reported that a sample of rural high school freshmen had lower scores on alcohol dependency than sophomores, juniors, and seniors. Self-esteem and depression scores were negatively and significantly correlated, but values were positive between scores on depression and alcohol dependency. Then these authors in 1990 reported high school boys not experiencing suicide ideation any more than high school girls. In fact, suicide ideation was similar across the four grades from freshman to senior. However, on alcohol dependency the boys scored significantly higher than the girls. In the expectation that divorce of parents would increase scores on such measures for high school students, in the present study differences on the three measures of alcohol dependency, aggression, and self-consciousness were examined for rural high school students of divorced and nondivorced parents. Analyses explored differences between boys and girls, across grades (9th through 12th), and for children of divorced and nondivorced parents.
Subjects
From a small north central Kansas high school with approval from the administration 134 students were recruited. There were 33 freshmen (19 girls, 14 boys), 35 sophomores (20 girls, 15 boys), 37 juniors (18 girls, 19 boys), and 29 seniors (16 girls, 13 boys). Procedure
Background information, collected from each subject, included age, grade, marital status of parents, and sex. Each student completed the MacAndrew Alcoholism Scale, Fenigstein, Scheier, and Buss's Self-consciousness Scale, and Zaks' Aggression Scale. Teachers in the high school administered these pencil-and-paper questionnaires during classes. The MacAndrew Alcoholism Scale contains 49 truelfalse items (MacAndrew, 1965; Rosenberg, 1972; Apfeldorf & H u n d l e ~ ,1981) which can be hand-scored in a few minutes. The scale is widely used and is constructed of items from the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI). It was developed by MacAndrew (1965) from studies of 300 male alcoholic outpatients and 300 nonalcoholic male psychiatric outpatients from an urban clinic for treatment. The scale is used as a diagnostic questionnaire to assess the severity of alcoholism among such groups. A high score indicates the pres-
ADOLESCENTS' RESPONSES AFTER PARENTS' DIVORCE
281
ence of alcoholism, while a low score indicates nonexcessive drinking. The cut-off score for the presence of a problem with alcohol is 24. I n the absence of a scale specificalfy designed for assessing adolescents, the MacAndrew Scale was administered. The measure of self-consciousness rests on the postulate that a person may show a tendency to direct attention inward or outward, which tendency is called self-consciousness. According to Fenigstein, et al. (1975), "Self-consciousness has two major components-one private and one public. The private Self-consciousness factor was concerned with attending to one's inner thoughts and feelings. . . . The public Self-consciousness factor was defined by a general awareness of the self as a social object that has an effect on others. . . . The third factor, social anxiety, was defined by a discomfort in the presence of others. . . . Public and private Self-consciousness refer to a process of self-focused attention; social anxiety refers to a reaction to this process. When attention is turned inward, a person may find something to be anxious about. I t seems reasonable, then, for an anxiety factor to emerge as a by-product of Self-consciousness" (p. 523). The Self-consciousness Scale has 23 questions which are rated 0 to 4 and anchored by being extremely uncharacteristic and being extremely characteristic. The four factors include General Self-consciousness (average range of 53 to 63), Private Self-consciousness (average range of 23 to 29), Public Self-consciousness (average range of 16 to 22), and Social Anxiety (average range of 9 to 16). Low and high scores each have descriptors for each factor. Low General Self-consciousness indicates that too much time is spent examining personal behavior and thoughts, while high scores indicate thoughts and actions are focussed on the motives for personal behavior. Low scores on Private Selfconsciousness indicate that the respondent may avoid thinking about himself and be reluctant to examine personal thoughts, feelings, and impulses, while high scores indicate sensitivity, perhaps too much, to events in the environment and concern about the "inner-self." Self-examining thoughts can inhibit actions needed for change. Low scores on Public Self-consciousness reflect little concern about how others will react to the respondent in social settings and how the testee appears to others, i.e., an insensitivity associated with high self-confidence. High scores, however, suggest concern about actions and opinions of others so the respondent is overly sensitive and highly susceptible to feeling rejected. One who scores low, i.e., shows social anxiety, appears confident in social settings and at ease interacting with people, while high scorers show discomfort in social settings. Anxiety may originate from self-examination that may yield concern about inadequacies. Looking inward could trigger anxiety so socially anxious people may begin avoiding social interactions.
282
M. WORKMAN
& J.
BEER
Zaks and Walters' Aggressiveness scale has 12 statements that require the person to respond true or false. The scale is scored by allowing one point for each statement marked true (Zaks & Walters, 1959). The more statements marked true, the higher the aggressiveness score.
RESULTSA N D DISCUSSION The total sample of students was separated into groups of boys and girls of divorced and nondivorced parents by grade; see Table 1. The 6 1 boys repTABLE 1 NUMBERSOF HIGHSCHOOL STUDENTS OF DIVORCED A N D NONDNORCED PARENTS Grade
Boys' Parents Divorced Nondivorced
9 10 11 12
Total
Girls' Parents Divorced Nondivorced
6 4 4 4
8 11 15 9
4
18
43
14
15 14 15 15 59
6
3 1
Total 33 35 37
29 134
resented 46% of the sample, while 73 girls were 54%. There were 32 students of divorced parents (24%), while 102 (76%) were of nondivorced parents. The mean age for the whole sample was 15.7 yr.; see Table 2. TABLE 2 NS, MEANS,STANDARD DEVIATIONS, AND RANGES FORAGES OF HIGHSCHOOL STUDENTS Grade
n
M
SD
Ranne
AU Subjects Freshman Boys Girls Sophomore Boys Girls Junior Boys Girls Senior Boys Girls
Analyses of variance (2 by 4) were performed. Grade (freshman, sophomore, junior, senior) and sex (boy, girl) were the independent variables; the dependent measures were aggression, self-consciousness (private, public, social anxiety, total or general), and alcoholism scores; see Table 3. The only significant differences were observed between boys and girls. There were no significant differences across grades. O n aggression and alcoholism boys
TABLE 3 Ns, MEANS,STANDARD DEVIATIONS, AND F TESTS(2 x 4 OR SEX BY GRADE) FOR SCORES OF HIGHSCHOOL STUDENTS ON AGGRESSION, SELF-CONSCIOUSNESS, AND MACANDREW ALCOIIOLISM SCALES Group
n
M
Boys Girls Freshman Sophomore Junior Senior
6.16 4.25 4.91 5.34 5.62 4.45
Boys Girls Freshman Sophomore Junior Senior
19.31 21.10 20.88 21.54 19.92 18.52
Boys Girls Freshman Sophomore Junior Senior
12.21 12.86 12.15 13.46 12.68 11.86
SD
F
Aggression 2.15 31.29* 1.91 1.94 2.19 1.94 2.56 2.34 Self-consciousness: Private 5.75 2.93 6.28 5.30 1.51 7.28 5.45 5.94 Self-consciousness: Social Anxiety 5.09 5.36 5.37 4.57 5.28 5.83
d/
M
1,126
23.00 20.93 21.97 21.66 22.49 21.24
3.76 10.44* 3.61 3.44 0.67 4.14 4.04 3.54 Self-consciousness: Public
16.49 19.01 18.73 19.17 16.27 17.34
5.92 6.40* 5.66 5.17 1.88 6.81 5.99 5.04 Self-consciousness: General
SD
F
df
> u 0 b
1,126
gm
Alcoholism
3,126
1,126 3,126
0.52
1,126
0.57
3,126
48.84 53.00 53.27 54.17 48.92 47.72
14.70 13.63 14.43 15.56 13.00 13.29
3,126
5"2
E
5
WY Z
1,126 3,126
g
%
4 m P
9
P
m
2.93
1,126
1.68
3,126
Z 4 V!
5
n m
284
M. WORKMAN
& J.
BEER
scored higher than girls. The boys were approaching the cut-off of 24, indicating problems with their use of alcohol. The boys scored lower than the girls on public self-consciousness, but both means were in the average range. Examining scores on self-consciousness subscales for boys and girls and by grades, scores were in the average range on both Social Anxiety and Public self-consciousness. The Private self-consciousness scores for both sexes and dl grades were in the low range, suggesting attempts to avoid thinking about themselves and some reluctance to examine personal feelings and thoughts. On General self-consciousness the mean scores for girls and for Grades 9 and 10 fell into the average range while the means for the boys and for Grades 11 and 12 were in the low range, suggesting they spent too much time examining personal thoughts and behavior. Perhaps on this, boys and students in Grades 11 and 12 may spend too much time reluctantly examining personal behavior and feelings. Analyses of variance were applied with marital status of parents (divorced, nondivorced) as the independent variable. See Table 4. The only significant differences were between children of divorced and nondivorced parents on aggression, Private self-consciousness, and total or General selfTABLE 4 Ns, ~ N SSTANDARD , DEVIATIONS, AND F TESTSFORHIGHSCHOOL S~LJDENTS OF DIVORCED AND NONDIVORCED PARENTS ON AGGRESSION, SELF-CONSCIOUSNESS, AND MACANDREW SCALES G~ouD's Parents
n
M
.XI
FIIII
M
SD
Aggression
Alcoholism
FI 113
Nondivorced Divorced
102 32
4.76 2.16 11.62* 6.25 2.11 Self-consciousness: Private
21.84 3.65 0.03 21.97 4.32 Self-consciousness: Public
Nondivorced Divorced
102 32
19.68 6.27 4.23t 22.16 4.75 Self-consciousness: Social Anxiety
17.39 5.76 2.79 19.38 6.15 Self-consciousness: General
Nondivorced Divorced
102 32
12.15 13.94
49.75 55.47
5.25 5.00
2.90
14.50 12.54
4.03t
consciousness. O n all three of these measures children of divorced parents scored significantly higher than those of nondivorced parents. Children of nondivorced and divorced parents reported low scores on Private self-consciousness indicating that they avoid thinking about themselves and are reluctant to examine their own thoughts, feelings, and impulses. O n the General self-consciousness scores, the children of divorced parents scored in the average range, while those of nondivorced parents scored in the low range. This suggests the former may tend to spend too much time examining their own behavior and thoughts. Here again, the children of divorced par-
285
ADOLESCENTS' RESPONSES AFTER PARENTS' DIVORCE
ents may be reluctant to examine their feelings but spend too much time doing so. Pearson intercorrelated among scores are given in Table 5 . Aggression scores were significantly and positively correlated with scores on alcoholism and Private self-consciousness. When the former increase (indicating problems with alcohol), aggression scores increase and private self-consciousness scores increase (indicating being overly sensitive to events in the environment and elevated concern about inner self); such self-examination can inhibit action and even a need to change. - -
TABLE 5 PEARSON CORRELATIONS FORVARMLES Variable 1. Aggression Self-consciousness: 2. Private 3. Public 4. Social Anxiety 5. General 6. MacAndrew Alcoholism *p
AGGRESSION, ALCOHOL DEPENDENCY, AND SELF-CONSCIOUSNESS AMONG HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS O F DIVORCED AND NONDIVORCED PARENTS ' MICHAEL WORKMAN AND JOHN BEER
North Central Kansas Special Educational Coop Summary.-134 high school students from a small hgh school in north central Kansas completed the MacAndrew Alcoholism Scale, I'enlgstem, et 01:s Self-consciousness Scale, and Zaks' Aggression Scale. Analyses of vaIlance showed significant differences between boys and guls but not among grades. On the aggression and alcohol measures boys scored higher than girls, but lower on public self-consciousness. Youth of divorced parents scored significantly higher than those of nondivorced patents on aggression, private self-consciousness, and general self-consciousness. Aggression scores were significantly and positively correlated with those on the alcohol and private selfconsciousness scales. When students' alcoholism scores indicate problems with alcohol, their scores on aggression indicate greater aggression and their private self-consciousness scores indicate sensitivity toward events in their environment, then having concerns about inner self can inhibit the action required for change. MacAndrew scores correlated significantly and negatively with scores on social anxiety about self-consciousness. When MacAndrew scores indicated problems with alcohol, the students' scores on social anxiety about self-consciousness suggested confidence in social settings, being at ease interacting with people. The present study involved students from a single rural district so increased understanding will require more extensive research if strategies for prevention and intervention are to be developed and utilized.
Divorce of parents has adverse effects upon children. The divorce rate in the United States is on the rise, so divorce is becoming a common occurrence. "The dramatic increase in our country's divorce rate has been amply documented by census data. For example, recent reports indicate the divorce ratio has more than doubled from 1970 to 1981 and more than tripled since 1960" (Guidubaldi, Perry, Clemshaw, & Caven, 1983, p. 300). Negative stresses are generally produced by divorce for both the children and the parents. Boys and older children of divorced parents experience lower social and adjustment scores. Boys of divorced parents show greater behavioral, social, and academic difficulties than both girls of divorced parents and boys of nondivorced parents (Guidubaldi, et al., 1983). What would be the effects of divorce also upon alcohol dependency, aggressiveness, and self-consciousness in high school students? The major element of alcohol dependency is the extent to which there is impairment of control of how much to drink and when to drink. Some other aspects include severe withdrawal symptoms, awareness of a compulsion to 'The opinions and views expressed here are not necessarily those of the School District or Coop, but the responsibility of the authors. Request reprints from John Beer, 909 5th Street, Natoma, KS 67651.
280
M. W R K M A N & J. BEER
excessive drinking, increased tolerance of alcohol, and evidence of alcoholseeking behavior. Higher alcohol dependence was associated with greater quantities of alcohol consumed and various psychosocial problems with excessive drinhng, for example, poor social stability, low self-esteem, presence of physical symptoms (Skinner, 1981). Workman and Beer (1989) reported that a sample of rural high school freshmen had lower scores on alcohol dependency than sophomores, juniors, and seniors. Self-esteem and depression scores were negatively and significantly correlated, but values were positive between scores on depression and alcohol dependency. Then these authors in 1990 reported high school boys not experiencing suicide ideation any more than high school girls. In fact, suicide ideation was similar across the four grades from freshman to senior. However, on alcohol dependency the boys scored significantly higher than the girls. In the expectation that divorce of parents would increase scores on such measures for high school students, in the present study differences on the three measures of alcohol dependency, aggression, and self-consciousness were examined for rural high school students of divorced and nondivorced parents. Analyses explored differences between boys and girls, across grades (9th through 12th), and for children of divorced and nondivorced parents.
Subjects
From a small north central Kansas high school with approval from the administration 134 students were recruited. There were 33 freshmen (19 girls, 14 boys), 35 sophomores (20 girls, 15 boys), 37 juniors (18 girls, 19 boys), and 29 seniors (16 girls, 13 boys). Procedure
Background information, collected from each subject, included age, grade, marital status of parents, and sex. Each student completed the MacAndrew Alcoholism Scale, Fenigstein, Scheier, and Buss's Self-consciousness Scale, and Zaks' Aggression Scale. Teachers in the high school administered these pencil-and-paper questionnaires during classes. The MacAndrew Alcoholism Scale contains 49 truelfalse items (MacAndrew, 1965; Rosenberg, 1972; Apfeldorf & H u n d l e ~ ,1981) which can be hand-scored in a few minutes. The scale is widely used and is constructed of items from the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI). It was developed by MacAndrew (1965) from studies of 300 male alcoholic outpatients and 300 nonalcoholic male psychiatric outpatients from an urban clinic for treatment. The scale is used as a diagnostic questionnaire to assess the severity of alcoholism among such groups. A high score indicates the pres-
ADOLESCENTS' RESPONSES AFTER PARENTS' DIVORCE
281
ence of alcoholism, while a low score indicates nonexcessive drinking. The cut-off score for the presence of a problem with alcohol is 24. I n the absence of a scale specificalfy designed for assessing adolescents, the MacAndrew Scale was administered. The measure of self-consciousness rests on the postulate that a person may show a tendency to direct attention inward or outward, which tendency is called self-consciousness. According to Fenigstein, et al. (1975), "Self-consciousness has two major components-one private and one public. The private Self-consciousness factor was concerned with attending to one's inner thoughts and feelings. . . . The public Self-consciousness factor was defined by a general awareness of the self as a social object that has an effect on others. . . . The third factor, social anxiety, was defined by a discomfort in the presence of others. . . . Public and private Self-consciousness refer to a process of self-focused attention; social anxiety refers to a reaction to this process. When attention is turned inward, a person may find something to be anxious about. I t seems reasonable, then, for an anxiety factor to emerge as a by-product of Self-consciousness" (p. 523). The Self-consciousness Scale has 23 questions which are rated 0 to 4 and anchored by being extremely uncharacteristic and being extremely characteristic. The four factors include General Self-consciousness (average range of 53 to 63), Private Self-consciousness (average range of 23 to 29), Public Self-consciousness (average range of 16 to 22), and Social Anxiety (average range of 9 to 16). Low and high scores each have descriptors for each factor. Low General Self-consciousness indicates that too much time is spent examining personal behavior and thoughts, while high scores indicate thoughts and actions are focussed on the motives for personal behavior. Low scores on Private Selfconsciousness indicate that the respondent may avoid thinking about himself and be reluctant to examine personal thoughts, feelings, and impulses, while high scores indicate sensitivity, perhaps too much, to events in the environment and concern about the "inner-self." Self-examining thoughts can inhibit actions needed for change. Low scores on Public Self-consciousness reflect little concern about how others will react to the respondent in social settings and how the testee appears to others, i.e., an insensitivity associated with high self-confidence. High scores, however, suggest concern about actions and opinions of others so the respondent is overly sensitive and highly susceptible to feeling rejected. One who scores low, i.e., shows social anxiety, appears confident in social settings and at ease interacting with people, while high scorers show discomfort in social settings. Anxiety may originate from self-examination that may yield concern about inadequacies. Looking inward could trigger anxiety so socially anxious people may begin avoiding social interactions.
282
M. WORKMAN
& J.
BEER
Zaks and Walters' Aggressiveness scale has 12 statements that require the person to respond true or false. The scale is scored by allowing one point for each statement marked true (Zaks & Walters, 1959). The more statements marked true, the higher the aggressiveness score.
RESULTSA N D DISCUSSION The total sample of students was separated into groups of boys and girls of divorced and nondivorced parents by grade; see Table 1. The 6 1 boys repTABLE 1 NUMBERSOF HIGHSCHOOL STUDENTS OF DIVORCED A N D NONDNORCED PARENTS Grade
Boys' Parents Divorced Nondivorced
9 10 11 12
Total
Girls' Parents Divorced Nondivorced
6 4 4 4
8 11 15 9
4
18
43
14
15 14 15 15 59
6
3 1
Total 33 35 37
29 134
resented 46% of the sample, while 73 girls were 54%. There were 32 students of divorced parents (24%), while 102 (76%) were of nondivorced parents. The mean age for the whole sample was 15.7 yr.; see Table 2. TABLE 2 NS, MEANS,STANDARD DEVIATIONS, AND RANGES FORAGES OF HIGHSCHOOL STUDENTS Grade
n
M
SD
Ranne
AU Subjects Freshman Boys Girls Sophomore Boys Girls Junior Boys Girls Senior Boys Girls
Analyses of variance (2 by 4) were performed. Grade (freshman, sophomore, junior, senior) and sex (boy, girl) were the independent variables; the dependent measures were aggression, self-consciousness (private, public, social anxiety, total or general), and alcoholism scores; see Table 3. The only significant differences were observed between boys and girls. There were no significant differences across grades. O n aggression and alcoholism boys
TABLE 3 Ns, MEANS,STANDARD DEVIATIONS, AND F TESTS(2 x 4 OR SEX BY GRADE) FOR SCORES OF HIGHSCHOOL STUDENTS ON AGGRESSION, SELF-CONSCIOUSNESS, AND MACANDREW ALCOIIOLISM SCALES Group
n
M
Boys Girls Freshman Sophomore Junior Senior
6.16 4.25 4.91 5.34 5.62 4.45
Boys Girls Freshman Sophomore Junior Senior
19.31 21.10 20.88 21.54 19.92 18.52
Boys Girls Freshman Sophomore Junior Senior
12.21 12.86 12.15 13.46 12.68 11.86
SD
F
Aggression 2.15 31.29* 1.91 1.94 2.19 1.94 2.56 2.34 Self-consciousness: Private 5.75 2.93 6.28 5.30 1.51 7.28 5.45 5.94 Self-consciousness: Social Anxiety 5.09 5.36 5.37 4.57 5.28 5.83
d/
M
1,126
23.00 20.93 21.97 21.66 22.49 21.24
3.76 10.44* 3.61 3.44 0.67 4.14 4.04 3.54 Self-consciousness: Public
16.49 19.01 18.73 19.17 16.27 17.34
5.92 6.40* 5.66 5.17 1.88 6.81 5.99 5.04 Self-consciousness: General
SD
F
df
> u 0 b
1,126
gm
Alcoholism
3,126
1,126 3,126
0.52
1,126
0.57
3,126
48.84 53.00 53.27 54.17 48.92 47.72
14.70 13.63 14.43 15.56 13.00 13.29
3,126
5"2
E
5
WY Z
1,126 3,126
g
%
4 m P
9
P
m
2.93
1,126
1.68
3,126
Z 4 V!
5
n m
284
M. WORKMAN
& J.
BEER
scored higher than girls. The boys were approaching the cut-off of 24, indicating problems with their use of alcohol. The boys scored lower than the girls on public self-consciousness, but both means were in the average range. Examining scores on self-consciousness subscales for boys and girls and by grades, scores were in the average range on both Social Anxiety and Public self-consciousness. The Private self-consciousness scores for both sexes and dl grades were in the low range, suggesting attempts to avoid thinking about themselves and some reluctance to examine personal feelings and thoughts. On General self-consciousness the mean scores for girls and for Grades 9 and 10 fell into the average range while the means for the boys and for Grades 11 and 12 were in the low range, suggesting they spent too much time examining personal thoughts and behavior. Perhaps on this, boys and students in Grades 11 and 12 may spend too much time reluctantly examining personal behavior and feelings. Analyses of variance were applied with marital status of parents (divorced, nondivorced) as the independent variable. See Table 4. The only significant differences were between children of divorced and nondivorced parents on aggression, Private self-consciousness, and total or General selfTABLE 4 Ns, ~ N SSTANDARD , DEVIATIONS, AND F TESTSFORHIGHSCHOOL S~LJDENTS OF DIVORCED AND NONDIVORCED PARENTS ON AGGRESSION, SELF-CONSCIOUSNESS, AND MACANDREW SCALES G~ouD's Parents
n
M
.XI
FIIII
M
SD
Aggression
Alcoholism
FI 113
Nondivorced Divorced
102 32
4.76 2.16 11.62* 6.25 2.11 Self-consciousness: Private
21.84 3.65 0.03 21.97 4.32 Self-consciousness: Public
Nondivorced Divorced
102 32
19.68 6.27 4.23t 22.16 4.75 Self-consciousness: Social Anxiety
17.39 5.76 2.79 19.38 6.15 Self-consciousness: General
Nondivorced Divorced
102 32
12.15 13.94
49.75 55.47
5.25 5.00
2.90
14.50 12.54
4.03t
consciousness. O n all three of these measures children of divorced parents scored significantly higher than those of nondivorced parents. Children of nondivorced and divorced parents reported low scores on Private self-consciousness indicating that they avoid thinking about themselves and are reluctant to examine their own thoughts, feelings, and impulses. O n the General self-consciousness scores, the children of divorced parents scored in the average range, while those of nondivorced parents scored in the low range. This suggests the former may tend to spend too much time examining their own behavior and thoughts. Here again, the children of divorced par-
285
ADOLESCENTS' RESPONSES AFTER PARENTS' DIVORCE
ents may be reluctant to examine their feelings but spend too much time doing so. Pearson intercorrelated among scores are given in Table 5 . Aggression scores were significantly and positively correlated with scores on alcoholism and Private self-consciousness. When the former increase (indicating problems with alcohol), aggression scores increase and private self-consciousness scores increase (indicating being overly sensitive to events in the environment and elevated concern about inner self); such self-examination can inhibit action and even a need to change. - -
TABLE 5 PEARSON CORRELATIONS FORVARMLES Variable 1. Aggression Self-consciousness: 2. Private 3. Public 4. Social Anxiety 5. General 6. MacAndrew Alcoholism *p
