Personal Adjustment and Mental Health

605 Pages·2012·11.8 MB·English

Personal Adjustment and Mental Health
BOOKS BY ALEXANDER A. SCHNEIDERS
Introductory Psychology: The Principles of Human Adjustment
Workbook in Introductory Psychology
Personal Adjustment and Mental Health
Personal Adjustment and
Jl!{ental J-{ealth
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ALEXANDER A. SCHNEIDERS
Professor of Psychology and Director of Psychological Serv
ices, Fordham University. Formerly Professor of Psychol
ogy and Chairman of the Department, University of Detroit;
Director of the Psychological Clinic, Sarah Fisher Home for
Children, Detroit, Michigan; Director of Student Personnel,
Loyola University, Chicago, Illinois
HOLT, RINEHART AND WINSTON,. NEW YORK
S~ptember 1960
Copyright ©, 1955, by Alexander A. Schnei~ers
Printed in the United States of America
All Rights Reserved
Library of Congress Catalog Card Number 55-7548
To my brother M. C. Schneiders, in appreciation of
his guidance, counsel, and encouragement

NOTE TO THE READER
This book has been written with one principal aim in mind-the
better understanding of man's relation to himself and to reality, as ex
pressed in his day-to-day adjustments. It is primarily a psychological study
of the 'adjustment process. The fact that the concept of mental health is
brought into the picture is simply testimony to the close relation between
adjustment and mental health; in the absence of a discussion of the latter,
the psychology of adjustment would be incomplete. Then, too, the prac
tical principles of mental hygiene outlined in the text are dependent on a
clear statement of the nature and criteria of mental health.
The psychology of adjustment and mental health should, of course,
be more than a theoretical excursion into the peculiarities of human re
sponse. It should be practical, or at least it should provide a secure
groundwork for the development of practical principles that can be ap
plied successfully to daily living. This has been an important secondary
aim throughout; and, although the major portion of the book is devoted
to explaining what adjustment and mental health are, there are countless
practical implications scattered throughout the various chapters, implica
tio'ns that are finally brought together in a set of practical principles at
the end of the book. As an illustration of this fact, the reader is urged to
consult Chapters Four and Seventeen, where the criteria and the prin
ciples of adjustment and mental health are outlined. These two chapters
bring out clearly the essential connection between the nature of adjust
ment and the principles that are necessary to achieve and maintain a good
level of adjustment in daily living.
The plan of the book is relatively simple. Part One, which includes
the first two chapters, constitutes an introduction to the study of adjust
ment, indicating general objectives and values, practical goals, the signifi
cance of studying adjustment and mental health, and the characteristics
of a scientific approach to adjustment and mental health. Part Two, which
includes Chapters Three through Nine, is the heart of the text. Here are
studied the basic concepts of adjustment psychology, including normality,
abnormality, and maladjustment (Chapter. T1i'ee), the criteria by which
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Note to the Reader
adjustment and mental health can be properly evaluated (Chapter Four),
and the important relation between adjustment and personality (Chapter
Five). \
The general concept developed in Chapte{ Five is examined more
minutely in Chapter Six, and the conditions and determinants of adjust
ment are outlined in considerable detail. In both \ these chapters, there are
many implications of a practical nature. Chapt6rs Seven and Eight are
devoted to the dynamics of adjustment, and an effort is made to determine
the role of internal, motivational tendencies in the process of adjustment.
Particular emphasis is put upon the relation between adjustment and basic
human needs. This section is concluded with an intensive study (Chapter
Nine) of the process of adjustment itself, in which the relation between
adjustment and reality, the essential pattern of adjustment, the effect of
frustration on adjustment, and the proper evaluation of adjustment proc
esses are closely investigated.
In Part Three, the emphasis shifts to an appraisal of different patterns
of adjustment. In Chapter Ten, normal adjustment patterns are studied; ,
in Chapter Eleven, attention is directed to adjustment by means of defense
reactions; Chapter Twelve is taken up with adjustment by aggression;
Chapter Thirteen studies adjustment by escape and withdrawal; and
Chapter Fourteen, which concludes Part Three, is a study of adjustment
by flight into illness.
The study of adjustment patterns in Part Three is complemented in
Part Four by the study of varieties of adjustment. Chapter Fifteen :out
lines the essential features of personal and social adjustment, and Chapter
Sixteen outlines and deals with academic, vocational, and marital adjust
ments. The last two chapters in the text, which comprise Part Five, deal
with the practical applications of knowledge and principles learned foom
the study of adjustment and mental health. Chapter Seventeen is an in
vestigation of the background, development, and principles of the dis
cipline of mental hygiene, and Chapter Eighteen discusses the treatment
of mental and personality problems and of adjustment 'proble1J}s)n general.
The author has tried to write a teXt that 'is; an organic whole rather
than a hodgepodge of separate chapters. ~a!;h"part of the book has an
organic relation to other parts, and each ehapter is placed in such a way
as to maintain contiguity as well as wholeness. The Questions and Exer
cises at the end of each chapter are intended for review purposes, and also
to stimulate the student to think seriously about the problem of adjust
ment and to do some additiona:~ 'reading on the subject. The Selected
Readings should make it ~1sier for' the student to accomplish this aim and
to fill in whatever lacunae ~re left in the text itself. The Glossary at the
end of the text is intended I,primarily to further the understanding of
concepts used in the text and to reduce ambiguities and confusions that
arise whenever person;'fai(to agree on the meaning of a term.
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Note to the Reader
Something should be said about the initial decision to write a text in
the area of human adjustment, where many good angels wisely fear to
tread. Part of the impetus was supplied by friends and colleagues who
knew of the author's intense interest in the subject and who were kind
enough to express faith in his ability to write a text of this kind. But more
important is the real need for a text that does not shy away from the basic
issues posed by morality and religion. In the author's opinion, the psy
chology of adjustment and mental health cannot be adequately developed
apart from moral and religious concepts and principles; this text therefore
represents in part an effort to integrate these several disciplines that bear
so intimately on the lives of men. Qualifications for a task of this kind are
based on the author's experience in dealing with human problems in one
capacity or another for the past twenty years; on extensive experience in
teaching courses in mental hygiene, adjustment, personality, and abnormal
psychology in several universities; and on intimate, day-to-day experiences
with his seven children, who in the course of eighteen years have pre
sented many adjustment problems, excluding those, fortunately, of a more
serious type.
To his colleagues and students, and especially to the numerous clients
of all ages who gave him the privilege of counseling them and helping
them solve their problems, the author owes a debt of gratitude that cannot
be repaid. To the many authors and publishers who so generously allowed
the use of copyrighted material the author is deeply grateful; and espe
cially to the staff of his own publisher, Rinehart & Company, the author
wishes to record his sincere thanks for their help and cooperation. For the
generous grant of time by the President and the Committee on Research
of the University of Detroit, where the author spent many fruitful and
happy years, the author wishes to make special acknowledgement. With
out this grant, many more months would have elapsed before the book
could have been completed.
For their keen analyses and many critical suggestions, the author is
especially indebted to Dr. Walter L. Wilkins, Professor of Psychology
and Director of the Department, St. Louis University, and Rev. Raymond
A. Roesch, S.M., Chairman of the Department of Psychology, University
of Dayton, both of whom read the manuscript in its entirety. Many of
their suggestions are incorporated in the text, although the author assumes
full responsibility for errors of omission or commission. Valuable advice
and encouragement also were given by Sister Annette of the College of
St. Catherine, St. Paul, Minnesota, and by Rev. Vincent V. Herr, S.].,
Professor and Chairman of Psychology, Loyola University, Chicago, who
reviewed the original prospectus for this work. The author's brother, to
whom the: book is gratefully dedicated, is deserving of special commenda
tion for his selfless devotion to the task of illustrating the text and for his
skill and artistry in bringing to life the conc~ts and relations too often
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Note to the Reader
A
explained in ambiguous and unartistic terms. word of thanks is due
also to the author's secretarial assistants, Miss Joan Penachio and Miss
Ann Fiorillo, for their help in typing and proofreading countless pages
of manuscript. Finally, as always, the author deems it a special privilege
to pay public acknowledgement to his wife, not only for the many hours
of work, but especially for her patience, encouragement, and the taking
on of extra tasks so that the author could devote his time to the business
of writing. Whatever merit this book has is in large measure due to the
interest and efforts of these devoted people.
s.
A. A.
New York, New York
March,1955
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