INTRODUCTION:

The word "adjustment" has the definitions of fitting, adapting, arranging, modifying, harmonizing, or making corresponding². Adolescents go through a variety of physical and mental changes at this time, which also affects how their family and the rest of society interact with them. This makes adjusting to home and society a challenging process³. In terms of teenage adjustment and personality development, society plays a significant role. Adolescents' ability to acclimatize to society, which plays a significant role in their lives, is influenced by social norms, interactions with society, involvement in social activities, etc⁴.

During the transition to university, people must deal with a variety of new social, academic, and interpersonal expectations^5,6. Social adjustment has been identified as a marker of mental health in a wide range of research studies, particularly those involving adolescents. Social development that results from social behaviour learning is in line with societal and personal demands^7,8. Being accepted by the group is a result of developing adequate social skills. This mechanism is crucial for social development and enables social adjustment⁹.

NEED FOR THE STUDY:

Humans cannot exist without civilization. Human life necessitates social adaptation. The stage of adolescence is the most complicated in a person's life¹⁰. The way society views adolescents is evolving over time; sometimes it treats them like children, and other times it treats them like adults, which makes it challenging for teenagers to integrate into society^11,12. Social adjustment in light of gender and location provides society and institutions with guidance on how to approach adolescents and support their development^13,14. Hence the present study is to determine the level of social adjustment among adolescents.

MATERIALS AND METHODS:

This study adopted a descriptive research design, conducted at the selected higher secondary school with the 50 adolescent students. The samples were selected by systematic sampling methods. The study permission was obtained from District chief educational officer, School Headmaster and from the ethical committee. Informed consent and assent was obtained from both participants and parents. Data was collected using Social-demographic data, social adjustment scale (Dr. Ashutosh Kumar). The reliability of the tool was 0.85. The scale consists of 16 self rated questionnaires answered in a 5-point rating scale. High score indicates higher the social adjustment.

RESULTS:

The table 1 reveals that the demographic profile of the adolescents. It shows that maximum 27(54%) participants are 17yrs old, 36(72%) are females, 31(62%) are studying 12^th std, 15(30%) are studying maths and biology group, all 50 are Hindus, 46(92%) were living in rural area, 34(68%) participants father were having no formal education, 32(64%) participants mother were having no formal education, 39(78%) participants father is doing business/private employee, 31(62%) participants mother is doing business/private employee, 24(48%) participants family monthly income was between Rs.10,000 to 20,000 and 40(80%) were belongs to nuclear family.

Table 1: Demographic Profile of the Adolescents n=50

SL. No.	Demographic Variables	Frequency	%
1	Age in years
	15
	16	12	24
	17	27	54
	18	11	22
2	Sex
	Male	14	28
	Female	36	72
3	Class of study
	11^th Std	19	38
	12^th Std	31	62
4	Group of study
	Maths and Biology	15	30
	Maths and Computer science	6	12
	Pure science	8	16
	Commerce	12	24
	Others	9	18
5	Religion
	Hindu	50	100
	Muslim	0	00
	Christian	0	00
	Others	0	00
6	Place of Living
	Rural	46	92
	Urban	4	8
7	Educational level of Father
	No formal education	34	68
	School Education	13	26
	Diploma	1	2
	Graduation- Professional course (Medicine, Engineering, Nursing, Lawyer)	0	00
	Graduation- Non-professional course (Arts and Science)	1	2
	PostGraduation- Professional course (Medicine, Engineering, Nursing, Lawyer) and Above	1	2
	Post Graduation- Non -professional course (Arts and Science) and Above	0	00
8	Educational level of Mother
	No formal education	32	64
	School Education	15	30
	Diploma	0	00
	Graduation- Professional course (Medicine, Engineering, Nursing, Lawyer)	0	00
	Graduation- Non-professional course (Arts and Science)	1	2
	Post Graduation- Professional course (Medicine, Engineering, Nursing, Lawyer) and Above	1	2
	Post Graduation- Non -professional course (Arts and Science) and Above	1	2
9	Occupational level of Father
	Not working	4	8
	Private employee/ Business	39	78
	Govt employee	2	4
	Farmer	3	6
	Living with Mother/Guardian, No father	2	4
10	Occupational level of Mother
	Not working	12	24
	Private employee/ Business	31	62
	Govt employee	3	6
	Farmer	4	8
	Living with Father/Guardian, No mother	0	0
11	Family Monthly Income
	˂ Rs.10,000	24	48
	Rs.10,000 to Rs.20,000	21	42
	Rs.20,001 to Rs.30,000	2	4
	˃Rs.30,000	3	6
12	Type of Family
	Nuclear Family	40	80
	Joint Family / Extended Family	7	14
	Blended Family	0	00
	Living with Single Parent	2	4
	Living with Guardian	1	2

Table 2 reveals the level of Social Adjustment among Adolescents, maximum 31(62%) adolescents were having High level of Social Adjustment, followed by 10(20%) of adolescents has above average level and 4(8%) of adolescents has average and extremely high level of social adjustment.

Table 2: Level of social adjustment among Adolescents

LEVEL OF SOCIAL ADJUSTMENT	F	P
Extremely high (P₉₀ +)	4	16
High P₇₆ to P₈₉	31	62
Above average P₆₁ to P₇₅	10	20
Average / Moderate P₃₁ to P₆₀	4	8
Below average P₂₁ to P₃₀	0	0
Low P₁₁ to P₂₀	0	0
Extremely low P₁₀ and below	0	0

The place of living (X²=17.37) and educational level of mother (X²=21.33) got associated with the p value 0.05level and occupational level of mother (X²=16.705) has got associated with the level of social adjustment with the p value 0.1 level.

DISCUSSION:

The present study designed to assess the level of social adjustment among adolescents studying in higher secondary schools. Quantitative approach descriptive research design was adopted with 50 number of participants. The results show that, maximum number of adolescents had high level and above average level of social adjustment. The findings also mimics the findings of Sulochana’ study (2022)¹⁵. The study conducted with 100 adolescents with descriptive design to determine the level of social adjustment. The finding reveals that, maximum number of students has high level of social adjustment (78%).

The present study finding also states that, place of residence(X²=17.37), has got association with social adjustment and not with the gender. The similar findings also noted from Talluri’s study (2023)¹⁶. The study conducted to find the social adjustment of Secondary school students. The results indicate that there are no notable differences with the male and female pupils in social adjustment, and there is a significant difference noted between the rural and urban students. The study also consistent with the findings of Alam.M’s study (2018)¹⁷. The study conducted to determine the influence of adjustment on the students studying senior secondary schools in Aligarh district. The findings of the study revealed that there is significant difference in place of residence (rural 7.39±3.15 and urban 6.31±2.62) with adjustment among the students.

CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS:

Social adjustment is the one of criteria to judge the personality of the adolescents. It gives the additional value for their life. Exploring the factor influencing it will guide the adolescents to deal with it. The present study aimed to determine the level of social adjustment among adolescents. The study findings show that, the maximum adolescents has the high level of social adjustment and the place of living, education and occupational level of mother has got association with adolescents social adjustment. With the findings the study recommends to do similar study with the large population, compare with the rural and urban adolescents and also with the government and private school adolescents.

IMPLICATIONS FOR EDUCATION AND PRACTICE:

A person who is able to adjust with social situations more easily is regarded as well-adjusted and popular. Adolescence is a more difficult stage of life for people to adjust to than other stages. Families and educators must be aware of the difficulties of teenagers are having integrating into society, as this has an impact on both their education and growth. Understanding the importance of social adjustment, it should be included in the curriculum, so as nurses well aware of it. The educators can organize various teaching learning methods to learn more on it. for promoting the mental health of adolescents, need to identify the contributing factors of social adjustment and take measure to prevent it. The best method to improve teenagers' abilities to socially adapt is to understand them, their difficulties, and how to care for them.

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Received on 03.02.2024 Modified on 08.05.2024

Int. J. of Advances in Nur. Management. 2024; 12(3):103-106.

DOI: 10.52711/2454-2652.2024.00023