Beliefs about People and the World and Anxiety in Socially Adjusted and Socially Maladjusted Groups of Young Adults

The study was aimed at investigation of differences in just world and human nature beliefs, between socially adjusted and maladjusted young people. In the study was also analyzed correlation between these beliefs and anxiety as trait and state in these two groups. The results show that pupils of secondary school are characterized by higher beliefs in human nature and lower anxiety as trait and state than juvenile delinquents. In relation to just world belief, there were not any differences between these two groups. As predicted, high just world and human nature beliefs correlated with low trait anxiety and state anxiety in group of pupils. But, in group of juvenile delinquents, high state and trait anxiety correlated only with low human nature belief, not with just world belief. In the final part of the paper, the author takes discussion of research results.