Theorists and researchers have raised the question of whether self-esteem has similar meanings and correlates in individualistic and collectivist cultures. This study examined the cross-cultural equivalence of the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale in four countries and compared its association with parental warmth and acceptance and depressed mood. Participants were 11th graders in the United States (n = 422), the Czech Republic (n = 490), China (n = 502), and Korea (n = 497). Cross-cultural similarities in the factor structure of the self-esteem scale and in the relations of self-esteem to other variables were more striking than cross-cultural differences. Across cultures, parental warmth was significantly related to both positive and negative self-image, each of which in turn was related significantly to depressive symptomatology. There was little evidence for the hypothesis that self-esteem would more strongly mediate the relation between parental warmth and adolescent depressive symptoms in the more individualistic(as opposed to collectivist) cultures.

Similarly to other European countries, in the Czech Republic scholars can identify a developmental stage of emerging adulthood. There has been a lack of studies describing subjective feelings and personal everyday experiences of young Czechs at this age. Results of the quantitative Study 1 indicate that two thirds of respondents experience the present time as the age of feeling in-between. Demographic and social characteristics are related to the subjective developmental status. Psychological characteristics also differentiate: Compared with emerging adults, the adults consider themselves as more emotionally stable, have a clearer idea about their future, and view adult life as more attractive. Qualitative Study 2 aims to specify feelings and experiences of contemporary emerging adults. The respondents especially emphasize the feeling of freedom, which may be viewed in connection with social changes in Czech society. However, often freedom correlates with anxieties and doubts concerning not only individual competencies and possibilities but also others' behavior.

The present study compares problem-specific coping strategies and coping styles of European adolescents from seven nations. The sample consisted of 3031 adolescent participants, aged 11 to 20, from Croatia, the Czech Republic, Germany, Italy, Norway, Portugal, and Switzerland. The adolescents completed the Coping Across Situations Questionnaire (CASQ) by indicating which coping strategies (from 20 alternatives) they usually employed in dealing with age-specific problems (covering 8 different domains). The strategies can be collapsed to three coping styles: active coping, internal coping, and withdrawal. Results show that adolescents from all seven nations predominantly employed functional forms of coping, i.e., active coping and internal coping. In addition, the pattern of frequently and rarely applied coping strategies was similar across cultures. Differences in coping style were revealed for some, but not all problem domains, suggesting that cross-cultural similarity in coping exists for specific stressors. Problem-specific analyses helped to clarify where cultural influence is most distinct. Whereas cultural diversity was highest for coping with job-related problems, coping with self- and future-related problems was highly similar among adolescents from all the nations. Despite the considerable traditional, educational, and economic differences among the cultures investigated, the similarities in coping behaviour were impressive. Explanations for cultural universals and differences in adolescent coping are discussed.

This study was designed to investigate hypothesized relationships among identity process, content, and structure with youth living in three different cultural contexts: the United States, Finland, and the Czech Republic. Results indicated that youth who used an informational identity processing style had well-structured identities that were rooted in personal self-elements. Youth who used a normative processing style also had well-consolidated identities but ones anchored in collective self-elements. Youth who relied on a diffuse/avoidant identity processing style lacked firm identity commitments and emphasized social self-components in defining their sense of identity. This pattern of relationships was found for both male and female youth living within all three cultural contexts.

This study used a sample of 3,028 vocational upper secondary Czech students to validate the measurement model of the Career Adapt-Abilities Scale—Czech Form, assessing concern, control, curiosity, and confidence as the psychosocial resources for managing occupational transitions, developmental tasks, and work traumas. We moreover examined the associations of parental psychosocial support, parental instrumental support (action), teacher support, and peer support with the four components of career adaptability. As expected, social support provided by significant others was positively associated with career adaptability. Diverse sources of social support related differently to various career adaptability components. Career concern and confidence were associated simultaneously with parental psychosocial support, teacher support, and peer support while control was associated only with the parental and friend support and curiosity was associated with the social support from teachers and friends. Moreover, parental instrumental support did not show any significant link to career adaptability components.