School adjustment and internalizing problems in Chinese adolescents: Implications of social change

We examined the relationships between internalizing problems and school adjustment in 2 cohorts (1994 and 2008) of Chinese adolescents (N = 540 and 728, respectively; M age = 13 years). The 2 time points occurred during different phases of social and economic reform in Chinese society. Data were obtained from peers, teachers, and school records. The results indicated that whereas, in the 1994 cohort, internalizing problems was only slightly and negatively associated with sociability and academic achievement, and strongly associated with externalizing problems, internalizing problems was significantly associated with social and school adjustment in the 2008 cohort. The results indicated the implications of changing context for adolescent socioemotional functioning.