Cognition, Brain, Behavior.

An Interdisciplinary Journal
Copyright © 2013 ASCR Publishing House. All rights reserved.
ISSN: 1224-8398
Volume XVII, No. 3 (September), 201-214

PSYCHOSOCIAL MATURITY STATUSES AND

SOCIAL ENVIRONMENT IN ADOLESCENCE
Eva PAPAZOVA*, Radostina ANTONOVA
Institute of population and human studies, Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, Bulgaria

ABSTRACT

The psychosocial maturity status in adolescence can be covered by three

indicators: subjective age, problem behavior and psychosocial maturity (Galambos
& Tilton-Weaver, 2000). The aim of the article is to determine the statuses of
psychosocial maturity in adolescents from orphanages, segregated Roma school,
mixed school and Bulgarian school. 309 adolescent subjects are studied.
Achenbach and Edelbrock Children Behaviour Checklist scale (Achenbach &
Edelbrock, 1979, 1991), Erikson Psychosocial Stage Inventory, (Rosenthal et al.,
1981), and Subjective Age Questionnarie (Montepare et al.,1989) are used. The
results show that the adolescents from the Bulgarian school were characterized by
a mature status of psychosocial development, the adolescents from the segregated
Roma school were characterized by an immature status of psychosocial
development, and so did the adolescents from the mixed school.

KEYWORDS: psychosocial maturity statuses, subjective age, problem behavior,

social environment, adolescents, Roma children

In the process of Bulgaria's accession to the European Union, one of the most
important conditions for membership is the respect for human rights, including
those of ethnic minorities. In this respect in the years of democracy in Bulgaria
(e.g., since 1989) we started increasingly stronger to speak about the integration of
minority groups. The ministry of Education and Science has taken a number of
measures to ensure integration process in education (Tomova, 2011).

*
Corresponding author:
E-mail: eva.papazova@gmail.com
202 E. Papazova, R. Antonova

There are a number of problems at Bulgarian schools regarding the

integration of minorities, and especially of Roma children, which are expressed in
different ways:
• Children who go to school, but did not benefit from preschool training,
which creates problems in the process of adaptation;
• Insufficient knowledge of Bulgarian language, which makes
communication in the school environment difficult, respectively, the
process of teaching in it;
• Many children do not attend or have dropped out of school – that leads to
high illiteracy rate among minority groups;
• Irregular attendance at school due to economic reasons and low motivation
for education.
The Bulgarian education system is not yet ready to address these problems.
It’s not able to provide a quality education for children from disadvantaged Roma
minority groups. Therefore, it’s not surprising that most of Roma children enrolled
in the first grade in a mixed Bulgarian school for various reasons drop out by the
end of basic educational course (Krasteva, 2008). A big part of pupils entering
school are children from ethnic minorities, and this trend will increase in the future.
In its turn, the psychological literature did not reveal studies that discuss
the relationship between a psychosocial mature school environment and school
drop-out or segregation of Roma children in Bulgaria. By the mid-90s of the 20th
century the existence of segregated "Roma" schools in Bulgaria is not noticed.
Their existence is associated with the presence of Roma neighborhoods in almost
all big Bulgarian cities, and the enrollment of the children in the primary education
is linked to their neighborhood. The established "segregated" schools are not
thought as a problem of the Bulgarian society and of the educational system as a
whole. It should be noted that along with the "segregated" schools in Bulgaria there
exist "mixed" schools as well - with both Bulgarians and Roma children. At the
orphanages there are as well abandoned Roma children that predominate and lives
together with the Bulgarian children. However, the maturity of children in this kind
of social environment has not been yet studied by psychologists and social
researchers. That is the aim of this article.

Psychosocial maturity
Biological models of maturity are concerned with the development over time of
structures necessary for species survival and for growth and maintenance in the
modal environment. Sociological models are based on the importance of societal
survival. Survival of the society is ensured by effective, stable social relationships
and transmission of shared values to the young. Distinctively psychological models
outline the development of structures concerning the self, relations with others, and
the domain of work; and the development of an overarching system of values.

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There is a small amount of research concerning adolescent subjective levels of

maturity, such as their subjective age or what adolescents feel is their chronological
age (Galambos et al., 1999).
Psychosocial maturity includes two main components of development:
autonomy (self-functioning) and social responsibility (contributing to public
welfare) (Greenberger & Sorensen, 1974). Both aspects of psychosocial maturity
should be encouraged during youth in order to become an adult with the ability to
achieve personal objectives and the goals of society. The concept of psychosocial
maturity captures the capacity to function effectively and independently in a social
environment, capacity to form effective social relationships, and to invest in the
survival of society (Greenberger & Sorensen, 1974).
Psychosocial maturity is a term used to describe the individual basic level
of adaptive functioning and socio-emotional competence (Galambos & Costigan,
2003). Psychosocial maturity includes acquisitions in several areas of development
that are consistent with the three dimensions of maturity. These acquisitions include
the ability to function independently, ability to communicate and interact with
others and the ability of social responsibility.
Effective individual functioning refers to the minimal behaviors necessary
for the functioning of an individual in isolation from others. Information refers to
knowledge which is necessary for growth and maintenance in the environment.
The most basic information concerns health, safety, and subsistence opportunities
(work opportunities). In a complex society such as ours, specific knowledge stored
in the individual and information about where to get information are both important.
The formation and maintenance of effective social relationships is another
major dimension of psychosocial maturity. Such relationships depend largely on
mutual predictability. It might seem that predictability requires only that a person's
behavior be consistent over time. However, in large societies where people who do
not know each other or know each other only slightly must interact, and interactions
with a particular person are often nonrecurrent, consistency is not a sufficient
definition of predictability. Consequently, predictability also depends on the fact
that people can assume or anticipate, with a high degree of certainty, the existence
of specific attitudes and values in others with whom they interact (Greenberger et
al., 1971).
As well, psychosocial maturity is often considered as a marker of
successful transition to adulthood. Important components, as already stated,
are (a) autonomy or independent functioning, (b) hard work or productivity,
(c) identity or a coherent Self-concept, (d) intimacy or good relationships with
others (Erikson, 1963; Rosenthal, Gurney, & Moore, 1981). The achievement of
psychosocial maturity happens to a person in their '20s - a period which is called
emerging adulthood (Arnett, 2000).
Data on random samples of approximately 3,000 fifth grade students and
3,000 11th grade students, and another sample of 1,500 blacks at each grade level

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show that girls, whites, and children from higher socioeconomic backgrounds
obtain higher maturity scores than boys, blacks and children from lower social
classes. Differences in psychosocial maturity due to sex increase from grade
5 to grade 11. Differences due to race and social class narrow over these years.
Psychosocial maturity accounts for about 16% of the variance in academic
achievement (standardized test scores) at grade 5, but for only 6% of the variance in
achievement at grade 11 (Greenberger et al., 1971).

Psychosocial maturity statuses

The observations on teenagers of the same age have shown large interindividual
difference in their biological and psychological maturity. Moreover, there may be
large intra-individual variations in relation to different aspects of adulthood, such as
when biological maturity lags or is more advanced than psychological. In the
second case we are talking about pseudomaturity.
Galambos and Tilton-Weaver hypothesized that pseudomaturity may be
determined by relatively high levels of subjective age (i.e., adolescents feel older
than their chronological age), as well they are characterized by problem behavior
and lower levels of psychosocial maturity (Galambos & Tilton-Weaver, 2000).
Researchers speculate that mature adolescents have optimal adaptation to the
environment and their physical, subjective and behavioral levels of maturity are in
line with the social environment. Also, adolescents who are engaged in school are
usually more mature (Eccles et al., 1993).
Galambos and Tilton-Weaver proposed that the status of maturity in
adolescence may be covered by three sets of measurements: subjective age,
problem behavior and psychosocial maturity (Galambos & Tilton-Weaver, 2000).
As already mentioned, psychosocial maturity describes the individual basic level of
adaptive functioning and socio-emotional competence (Galambos & Costigan,
2003). On its turn, subjective age is an aspect of Self-concept that shows how old
one feels, regardless of his/her actual chronological age (George, Mutran, &
Pennybaker, 1980; Wylie, 1974). Perception of a given age shows how people
position themselves within their life cycle. And finally, problem behavior is
understood broadly as behavior which results in limiting the personal development
and endangers the mental and physical health of individuals (Compas et al., 1995).
Immature adolescents are characterized by low levels of psychosocial
maturity, low problem behavior and lower subjective age. They are distinguished
with a constellation of qualities more typical for children than for adolescents.
The adolescent with status pseudomaturity are characterized by low levels of
psychosocial maturity and a high index of problem behavior and subjective age.
In turn, mature adolescents have higher levels of psychosocial maturity, feel older
than their peers and are characterized by relatively lower levels of problem
behavior. These three statuses of psychosocial maturity are characterized by relative
stability during adolescence (Galambos & Tilton-Weaver, 2000).

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Psychosocial maturity statuses are depicted in Table 1.

Table 1.
Description of the psychosocial maturity statuses (Galambos & Tilton-Weaver, 2000)
Psychosocial maturity Problem behavior Subjective age
Immature adolescents low scores low scores low scores
Pseudomature adolescents low scores high scores high scores
Mature adolescents high scores low scores high scores

So far, we clarified the nature of psychosocial maturity and discussed the

statuses of psychosocial maturity. It remains to discuss briefly the other two
constructs that form the statuses - subjective age and problem behavior.

Subjective age
Subjective age (sometimes we treat it as the age we perceive ourselves and
operationalize or measure it as a "cognitive age") is an aspect of Self-concept that
shows how old one feels, regardless of his/her actual chronological age (George et
al., 1980; Wylie, 1974). Perception of a given age shows how people position
themselves within their life cycle. Subjective age may contribute more than
chronological age for understanding how mature and older people perceive
themselves and how they behave according to these understandings (Wilkes, 1992).
People of all ages evaluate their subjective age as different from their
chronological age and often perceive themselves as younger than their
chronological age (Bultena & Powers, 1978; Markides & Boldt, 1983).
The difference between subjective age and chronological age increases with age.
Middle-aged people evaluate themselves as younger with 5-15 years by their
chronological age, and more than half of adults over 60 feel younger with 16-17
years (Underhill & Caldwell, 1983). Other studies that support the importance of
subjective age, reported that 60-75 percent of people aged over 60 feel younger than
their chronological age (Bultena & Powers, 1978; Markides & Boldt, 1983).
People at 20 years of age feel at their age or slightly older, but after age of
30 and older years average person feels younger than his/her chronological age
(Hubley & Hultsch, 1994; Montepare, 1996; Montepare & Clements, 2001).
Adolescence is the only period in life when people constantly feel older than their
chronological age (Galambos et al., 1999; Montepare & Lachman, 1989).
In a sample of 17-29 year old Galambos and colleagues (Galambos et al.,
2005) documented a negative correlation between subjective age and chronological
age, and demonstrate that the turning point occurs around 25.5 years of age when
older people begin to feel younger.

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Problem behavior
Studies in childhood and adolescence question the antisocial orientation of the
problem behavior. According to Herbert, behavioral problems can be
conceptualized as "adaptation strategies that the child is taught based on its failures
and those of others in an attempt to cope with the demands of life" (Herbert, 1987).
Different directions in psychology recognize the need of pressure and social
control, which helps the child to fit in the social order. Herbert focuses on this fact
and indicates insufficient socialization as a cause problem behavior in adolescence
and childhood, leading children to differ from generally accepted social standards.
The researchers introduced the term "risk behavior", in order to distinguish
from the stigmatization and moralization involved in the classification of problem
behavior (Jessor, 1987; Compas et al., 1995). Risk behavior is understood broadly
as behavior which results in limiting the personal development and endangers the
mental and physical health of individuals (Compas et al., 1995).
As an illustration of this type of behavior, researchers are trying to make
systematization and to distinguish:
• the accidental experimentation from the sustainable over time patterns of
risk and / or problematic behavior;
• the problems that have their roots in adolescence from those rooted in
earlier periods of development;
• and the problems that adolescents experience and are time relative in nature
from those with long-term impact (Lerner & Galambos, 1998; Steinberg &
Morris, 2001).
Less is known about the course of development of internalizing problems
than externalizing problems in adolescence. The inverted upside down U-shaped
curve of externalization in adolescence, which reaches its peak during the middle
years of adolescence and then declines, does not equally describe the age changes in
internalizing problems. For example, the prevalence of depression increases in early
adolescence and continues to grow across the lifespan, although not as dramatically
in adulthood (Avenevoli & Morris, 2001). Gender differences in levels of
depression in adults (meaning that it is more common in women) are not present
during adolescence (Nolen-Hoeksema & Girgus, 1994).
Psychopathology such as behavioral disorders and depression are
associated with poor academic performance and behavior among adolescents.
However, externalized problem behavior is most closely associated with low
academic achievement, attention problems and hyperactivity (Hinshaw, 1992;
Kellam et al., 1991; Rabiner et al., 2000).
The above analysis of literature focuses in detail on each of the three
components of the statuses of psychosocial maturity - psychosocial maturity,
problem behavior and subjective age. In the Bulgarian literature there are no studies
that directly assess the statuses of psychosocial maturity. Indirectly, the

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investigation of Papazova and Antonova focuses on problem behavior in

adolescence (Papazova & Antonova, 2012). It reveals that in adolescence the most
problematic environment is the school and / or social environment in orphanages,
and with least problems it is in Bulgarian schools. Mixed schools are characterized
by a pronounced externalization problem behavior and segregated Roma schools
are characterized by strongly internalized problem behavior (Papazova &
Antonova, 2012). From here we can assume that in the Bulgarian school the
adolescents are most likely to be more mature than their peers from orphanages,
mixed schools and segregated Roma schools. In the last three types of institutions it
is most likely to encounter adolescents with immaturity or pseudomaturity statuses.
So, the objective of our study is to determine the psychosocial maturity
statuses in adolescents from orphanages, segregated Roma school, mixed school
and Bulgarian school. Our aims are to determine the statuses of psychosocial
maturity of adolescents in those four types of institutions and to compare the
psychosocial maturity of adolescents from these groups.

HYPOTHESYS

The adolescents from the Bulgarian school will feature psychosocial status of
maturity and the teenagers from the orphanages status immaturity. Adolescents
from segregated Roma school and mixed school will have the status of psychosocial
immaturity or pseudomaturity.

METHOD

The following three methods are used: Children Behaviour Checklist (Achenbach &
Edelbrock, 1979, 1991). For the purposes of the study we used 4 of the 8 subscales
of the questionnaire - social withdrawal, anxiety/depressive symptoms, criminal
tendencies and aggressive behavior. The method is adapted for the Bulgarian
population by G. Balev (1996). Erikson Psychosocial Stage Inventory (Rosenthal et
al., 1981), adapted for the Bulgarian population from E. Papazova. We used 4 of the
subscales of the questionnarie - Autonomy, Productivity, Identity, and Intimacy.
And, Subjective Age Questionnarie (Montepare et al., 1989), adapted for the
Bulgarian population from E. Papazova.
The three questionnaires were administered anonymously in groups during
class. As the survey was anonymous, we didn’t ask for informed consent from the
adolescents, neither from their parents. As well we didn’t ask for the ethnic origin
of the adolescents, since we were interested mostly in the social environment they
belong to. The study was conducted during the period March 2011-October 2011.

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Respondents: The sample consists of 309 adolescents (aged from 14 trough

19 years old; mean age 16, 35; standard deviation 1,16). 102 of them are pupils
from 31st school "I. Vazov ", Sofia, which is a Bulgarian school, 51 are students
from the 135th school "Jan Amos Comenski", Sofia, which is a mixed school with
pupils from the Bulgarian and Roma origin, 89 are pupils from school "Nayden
Gerov", Plovdiv, which is segregated Roma school and 67 adolescents are from
5 orphanages in the country - "Luba Teneva", Berkovitsa; "Asen Zlatarov", Sofia;
"Constantsa Lyapcheva", Dolna Banya; "Bulgarka", Stara Zagora;
"Hr. Smirnenski", Balvan village, Veliko Tarnovo.
In Bulgarian schools are studying adolescents from Bulgarian ethnicity and
in Roma segregated schools study only adolescents from Roma ethnic origin. At the
so called in Bulgaria "mixed" schools study both Bulgarians and Roma children,
and the schools are situated mostly in the suburbs. At the orphanages the social
environment is also “mixed”, since abandoned Roma children predominate and live
together with the Bulgarian children.

RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

In order to obtain the statuses of psychosocial maturity for the full sample and for
the four subgroups we calculated the overall scores of problem behavior,
psychosocial maturity and subjective age in the studied sample. From the 72 items
questionnaire, that measures the psychosocial maturity (Erikson Psychosocial Stage
Inventory, Rosenthal et al., 1981), we summed the values of the 4 subscales that we
used - Autonomy, Productivity, Identity and Intimacy. From the scale for the
measurement of the subjective age (Subjective Age Questionnarie; Montepare et al.,
1989) we summed the 5 items. And, from the 112 items scale that measures the
problem behavior (Children Behaviour Checklist; Achenbach & Edelbrock, 1979,
1991), we summed the values of the 4 subscales - social withdrawal,
anxiety/depressive symptoms, criminal tendencies and aggressive behavior. The
mean scores and standard deviations of psychosocial maturity statuses for each of
the subgroups are presented in Table 2.
For the purposes of statistical analysis we performed the test of homogeneity of
variance, which showed significant differences in variance in different groups,
namely - Bulgarian schools, mixed schools, segregated schools and orphanages.
Since there were differences in variance instead of ANOVA we applied Welch test
for samples with different variance. The Welch test revealed significant differences
between the indicators (see Table 2).

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Table 2.
Value of Welch statistics, mean scores and standard deviations of psychosocial maturity,
problem behavior and subjective age in the four groups

N M SD Welch p

subjective age Bulgarian school 102 20.56 3.41

orphanages 67 16.44 4.71

segregated Roma school 89 15.22 4.9

mixed school 51 18.54 4.11 29.68 0.001

problem behavior Bulgarian school 102 27.64 9.96

orphanages 67 38.7 15.12

segregated Roma school 89 29.5 15.15

mixed school 51 29.74 11.39 9.23 0.001

psychosocial maturity Bulgarian school 102 125.64 6.47

orphanages 67 122.16 6.17

segregated Roma school 89 119.64 9.51

mixed school 51 122.64 7.79 9.6 0.001

We conducted post hoc test Games – Howell in order to check in which

among the four groups on the ground of school and / or social environment there are
differences in the three indicators. The post hoc test Games-Howell showed that in
terms of subjective age Bulgarian school (x = 20.56; p > 0.001) is with significantly
higher subjective age than mixed school (M = 18.54; p > 0.05), orphanages
(M=16.44; p>0.001) and segregated Roma school (M = 15.22; p > 0.001). It should
be emphasized that the segregated Roma school (M = 15.22; p > 0.001) was
significantly different from the mixed school (M = 18.54; p > 0.05) with a lower
subjective age or greater immaturity. There was no significant difference between
orphanages, segregated Roma school and mixed school.
With respect to problem behavior the Games-Howell test showed that there
are important differences only between orphanages and all other groups formed on
the ground of social and / or school environment. The orphanages (M = 38.70;
p > 0.001) are characterized by a significantly greater problem behavior to the
mixed school (M = 29.74; p > 0.001), followed by segregated Roma school
(M = 29.50; p > 0.001) and Bulgarian school (M = 27.64; p > 0.001). There are no
statistically significant differences between the Bulgarian school, segregated Roma
school and mixed schools.

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Similarly, with respect to psychosocial maturity the Games-Howell test

found that there are significant differences only between the Bulgarian school and
all other groups formed on the ground of social and / or school environment. The
Bulgarian schools (M = 125.64; p > 0.001) were characterized by significantly
higher psychosocial maturity than the mixed school (M = 122.67; p > 0.05), the
orphanages (M = 122.16; p > 0.001) and the segregated Roma school (M = 119.64;
p > 0.001). There are no statistically significant differences between orphanages,
segregated school and mixed school.
Thus, based on the three statistical tests it can be concluded that
adolescents from the Bulgarian school are characterized by the highest levels of
psychosocial maturity, the lowest levels of problem behavior and the highest values
of subjective age, which qualifies them with the status of a mature psychosocial
maturity.
In turn, adolescents from orphanages are close to pseudomature status as
they are characterized by low levels of psychosocial maturity and high levels of
problem behavior compared to their peers, but their subjective age is not high, but
low. Thus, adolescents from orphanages cannot be classified and are not
distinguished by any one of the three statuses of psychosocial maturity.
Finally, mixed school and segregated Roma school are characterized by
low values on all three indicators - psychosocial maturity, problem behavior and
subjective age - which sets them in an immature status of psychosocial maturity.
Thus, our hypothesis was fully confirmed for the studied population.

IMPLICATIONS AND CONCLUSION

The conducted study allowed to identify and analyze the statuses of psychosocial
maturity in Bulgarian school, segregated Roma school, mixed school and
orphanages.
The obtained results allow to state that:
• Teenagers from the Bulgarian school are characterized by a mature status
of psychosocial maturity
• Adolescents from segregated Roma school are characterized by an
immature status of psychosocial maturity
• Adolescents from mixed school are characterized by an immature status of
psychosocial maturity
• And the adolescents from orphanages cannot be classified with a status of
psychosocial maturity.
It should be noted that from the three indicators that determine the statuses
of the psychosocial maturity - subjective age, problem behavior and psychosocial
maturity - the subjective age excel in this study with the greatest variability. The

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subjective age showed not only that the adolescents from the Bulgarian school are
the most mature and with a highest subjective age, but also that teenagers from the
segregated Roma school are significantly less mature and with lower subjective age
than their peers from the mixed school. These findings could be important for a
future research.
Another study from the same authors showed that the environment in
mixed schools is more aggressive than in segregated schools (Papazova &
Antonova, 2012), but both environments are psycho-socialy immature We should
say that the path of integration of Roma children in Bulgaria is this - moving them
from segregated to mixed schools, notwithstanding, that they could become subject
of aggression and discrimination by their Bulgarian peers. In other words, for the
better integration of Roma children in our educational system we need special
programs for the prevention of aggressive behavior in classrooms in which
Bulgarian and Roma pupils study together.
Here we should specifically stress that the path of integration of Roma
children from segregated Roma schools with immature environment passes through
the Bulgarian school. Therefore, the desegregation of education on the basis of
Roma origin is detrimental to psychosocial development of adolescents. Moreover,
in Bulgaria Roma people are frequently stigmatized, because of their origin as
“uneducated”.
Other investigations show similar results. For example, in 1999 R. Harvey
conducted a study related to stigmatization among African-American students in
different social contexts - in universities with the presence of predominantly Anglo-
Saxon Americans and with prevalence of African Americans. The results showed
that African-Americans in the predominantly "white" universities scored
significantly higher rates on the scale which measured the perception of
stigmatization (Harvey, 2001).
In the period 2002-2005, the Health and Social Development Foundation
implemented several projects jointly with the 28th High School (mixed school
where are studying children from a neighborhood with compact Roma population
"Faculteta" in Sofia), funded by PHARE LIEN that aims the approbation and
adaptation of successful programs for integration of Roma children in the Bulgarian
educational system. One of the most important conclusions from these projects is
that the main predictor for successful integration of Roma children in Bulgarian
educational system and to prevent their early dropout is a pre-preparation system
(starting from the age of 4) of these children together with their parents. In other
words, educational programs for early child development for the children are
needed to develop appropriate cognitive and behavioral skills combined with
training for their parents to develop effective parental skills to support the
educational process of the children. Second predictor is a specialized training for
teachers, as systematic work in classes with mixed ethnic composition in order to

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increase the understanding of diversity and overcoming discriminatory perceptions

and attitudes of both ethnic groups to one another.
It is necessary to have programs that compensate pre-school Roma
children, as well other necessary skills and knowledge for integration into the
school requirements. Particular attention should be paid to the preparation of
teachers in mixed schools, and to develop adequate to the situation teaching
manuals for teachers in mixed schools. Additional support from teachers and
psychologists in schools and attraction of parents in the active work with the child
are the requirements that meet the cultural characteristics of the Roma ethnic group
and at the same time create conditions for overcoming the social isolation and low
socioeconomic status of this ethnic group.

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