Behavioral and Emotional Risk in Early Adolescents

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Abstract
Early adolescents are frequently described as being at increased risk for a variety of physical and emotional health problems. In this study self-reported problem behaviors from a sample (N = 1508) of junior high school students were factor analyzed to determine whether identifiable problem behavior factors emerged and whether the resulting factors varied with demographic and other psychosocial traits. The factor analysis yielded two risk factors. The first factor was described as a Behavioral Risk factor and the second as an Emotional Risk factor. Additional analyses revealed increased Emotional Risk among the females and increased Behavioral Risk among the males. Additionally, risk status was found to vary as a function of age, family configuration, and cognitive level. These findings confirm and extend earlier findings of problem behavior factors reported among older adolescents and expand the role of such factors in a problem behavior theory.