Objectives: The Yin-Yang temperament and the Sasang Personality Questionnaire (SPQ) were reported to have relations with psychopathological problems in adolescents. The purpose of this study was to examine how domains of Yin-Yang temperament influence on problem behaviors in Korean middle school students.

Methods: Subjects of 681 Korean middle school students completed the SPQ for measuring Yin-Yang temperament and the Youth Self-Report (YSR) for measuring problem behaviors. The differences of problem behaviors between Yin and Yang temperament groups were tested with T-test and profile analysis. The associations of the SPQ subscales on problem behaviors was also examined with Pearson`s correlation and regression analysis.

Results: Yang temperament was related to the externalizing problem while Yin temperament to the internalizing problem. The Emotionality and Behavior dimension of Yin-Yang temperament were found to be a factor of susceptibility and resilience for problem behaviors, respectively. Three dimensions of Yin-Yang temperament have different influences on externalizing and internalizing problems depending on the sex and Yin-Yang temperament groups of subjects.

Conclusions: The Yin-Yang temperament would be useful for predicting and preventing the problem behaviors of middle school students. This study would be useful for screening the psychopathological problems and helping Korean adolescents to develop healthy character.