The mental health professional's concept of the normal adolescent
D. Offer, E. Ostrov and K. I. Howard
This article presents empirical evidence, based on the Offer Self-Image
Questionnaire, comparing the self-image of normal adolescents,
psychiatrically disturbed adolescents, and juvenile delinquents, with
adolescent self-image as seen by 62 mental health professionals. The latter
group was asked to complete the test the way they believed a normal,
mentally healthy adolescent would complete it. Similar data were gathered
from graduate students in psychology. In seven of ten scales, the mental
health professionals viewed the normal adolescent as significantly more
disturbed than the normal adolescent views himself or herself. The
professionals saw the normal adolescents as having more problems than were
reported either by the psychiatrically disturbed or the delinquent
adolescents. These findings are important in terms of psychodynamic theory
of adolescence and diagnostic problems encountered in work with
adolescents.
