Alienation Syndrome among Male Adolescents in Prestige Catholic and Public High Schools

Abstract

Dimensions of Davids' alienation syndrome, egocentricity, distrust, pessimism, anxiety, and resentment, among Catholic patochial high school males (CHS; N = 40) were comparable to those reported for predominantly Jewish public high school males (PHS; N = 80). These dimensions were assessed by projective and direct techniques. CHS showed no significant differences from PHS on all 3 measures but significantly more variability on the direct test. These startling commonalities among adolescent populations differing in social class and religious affiliation present strong evidence that Catholic high schools are not immune to the winds of change sweeping our universities and public high schools. Future research should determine whether these dimensions of alienation represent a normative trend, a transitory phenomena or a deviant aspect of psychological development among modern adolescents.