Internalizing And Externalizing Problems Among Adolescents In Malaysia Children's Institutions

Abstract

Several studies have identified that post-institutionalized children are significantly correlated with behavioural problems. This study emphasizes on the internalizing and externalizing problems among adolescents in children’s institutions in Malaysia. A stratified sampling method is utilized to determine the response among adolescents from four different regions across Malaysia. Through the sampling method, a total of 220 adolescents are selected to be the respondents of this study. The Youth Self-Report (YSR) measurement is used as a tool to measure the behavioural and emotional problems of these adolescents. The results show that 54.5% and 24.1% of the respondents obtain internalizing scores at clinical and borderline levels respectively. In terms of externalizing problems, 41.4% and 20.9% of the respondents obtain scores at clinical and borderline levels. Therefore, relevant agencies should pay extra attention to the behavioural and emotional development of institutionalized adolescents in order to prevent internalizing and externalizing problems among institutionalized adolescents.