Abstract: After George Kelley proposed the personal construction theory, researchers have examined the developmental processes of personal construction in various areas. Research finding based on this theory in Western cultures have indicated that individual cognitive complexity may influence performance, academic achievement, conflict coping abilities. Nevertheless, most of the studies were conducted with adults. Little is known about how personal construction is associated with children’s school achievement and adjustment.
The purpose of present study was to examine relations between adolescents’ personal construction and school adjustment. The participants were 512 students from grade 1 to grade 6 in high schools (253 in senior high school, 259 in junior high school, 257 boys, and 255 girls). The Role Construct Repertory Test developed by George Kelley, the Test of School Adjustment, and the Scale of Ways of Coping developed by Folkman and Lazarus were used in this study. Specifically, the students were asked to list names of persons they were familiar with including teachers, classmate, neighbors, parents and siblings. They were then asked to select three names and describe them in terms of similarities and differences, and to repeat this process for 20 times. The personal construction scores were created based on these descriptions about others and self.
Results indicated that there were significant relations between adolescents’ personal construction complexity and school achievement, school adjustment and ways of coping stress. Students with higher scores on construction complexity tended to perform better in school and coping. After sex, grades, school adjustment and personal construction complexity were controlled, personal construction accounted for 2.8% of the variance in school achievement. Finally, personal construction contributed to school Achievement in multiple ways; personal construction complexity contributed to academic achievement directly, as well indirectly through the mediation of school adjustment and stress coping

Key words: adolescents, personal construction, school adjustment