What Is a Bad Kid? Answers of Adolescents and Their Mothers in Three Cultures

This study examined the behaviors and personality traits attributed to a by a cross-national sample of 204 American high-school students and 204 American mothers, 237 Chinese students and 224 Chinese mothers, and 157 Japanese students and 167 Japanese mothers. Correlates of students' responses were also examined, including the degree of valuing academics, level of academic achievement, level of psychological adjustment, and quality of social relationships. The behaviors most frequently associated with a bad kid were lack of self-control (American), acts against society (Chinese), and disruptions of interpersonal harmony (Japanese). In addition, American students mentioned substance abuse as a feature of a bad kid more often than did their Chinese and Japanese peers. Disturbances in interpersonal harmony received the highest frequency of response from Chinese and Japanese students and second highest frequency of response from American students. Adolescents and their mothers differed significantly...