Adjustment among Adolescents Living with Families and in Orphanages:A Comparative Study

Adjustment is a lifelong and a dynamic process which is also described as an interaction between individuals with the environment they live in. It includes the behavior's that allow people to meet the demands of the environment Adjustment means suitable adaptation of human beings to the demands of their day-to-day life. Adolescence is a turbulent phase of life with disagreements and mood swings which may be related to the issue of not being able to fall in the adult age group or an impulse to experience adventure. Adolescents, who have strong emotional ties with their families, are aware of the presence of their families who can support them at all times, are affected lesser by the problems. This results in a feeling of security and thus reduces their concerns related to life. However the adolescents who are deprived of family environment, may experience various concerns and fears, and even their self concept may be affected adversely. Thus the adjustment among the school going adolescents living with families and the ones living in orphanages may vary. A total of 60 school going adolescents i.e thirty each from the ones living with families and orphanages were taken up as a sample for this study. In each group there were fifteen adolescent girls and fifteen adolescent boys. This paper outlines the social, emotional and educational adjustment among the school going adolescents with families and orphanages. It also explore the gender differences in the social, emotional and educational adjustments in the two groups. The data was analyzed using both descriptive (means and standard deviation) and inherency method (t-tests). The results showed that there were significant differences in the social and educational adjustment of adolescent girls living with families and orphanages. Significant gender differences were found in social and educational adjustment among only the adolescents living with families.