A Comparative Study of Adjustment Level of Adolescent Students belonging to Army and Civil Backgrounds

Abstract

Adjustment is an essential process that individuals undergo to adapt to new environments or changes in their lives. It involves altering one’s behaviour, thoughts, and emotions to align with the demands of a particular situation or setting. For army personnel, frequent transfers are a part of their profession, often requiring them to relocate every two to three years, and sometimes even within a year. As a result, adolescents in these families may face various challenges related to adjustment. Each new posting exposes them to a different place, a new school, and unfamiliar surroundings. They must build new social connections and friendships, fully aware that these relationships may only last a few years. This often places emotional strain on adolescents, as forming meaningful bonds requires time, trust, and emotional investment. Hence, in the present study, an attempt was made to compare the adjustment level of adolescent students from Army and Civil backgrounds. A descriptive survey method was used for the study. The Adjustment Inventory for School Children developed by A.K.P. Sinha and R.P. Singh was used as a tool for data collection. A total of 600 adolescent students were selected from two Kendriya Vidyalayas and an Army Public School of Binnaguri Cantonment, West Bengal. Out of these 600 students, 300 (150 males & 150 females) were taken from army background and 300 (150 males &150 females) were taken from civil background. Mean, standard deviation, and t-test were used for the analysis of the data in the study. The results of the study revealed that Army background students were found to be more adjusted as compared to Civil background students at an overall level. There was a significant difference in the adjustment level when compared gender wise. Male army background adolescents found to be more adjusted as compared to students from civil background. But it the case of female adolescents, females from civil and army background were found to be adjusted at same level.