10 - Chapter 4

CHAPTER - IV
CHAPTER IV
RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
This chapter presents the results of the analyses of the data in three
main sections. Section 4.1 contains the results of the comparisons of
adolescents based on various socio demographic variables on the main
variables. Section 4.2 presents the correlations among the main variables
such as adolescent stress, psychological well-being, parenting style,
personality, and emotional intelligence. Section 4.3 presents the results of
the moderated multiple regression analysis which examine the effects of
moderator variables such as age, gender, order of birth, type of family,
parenting style, personality and emotional intelligence on the stress -
psychological well-being relationship.
4.1. ANALYSIS OF THE MAIN VARIABLES WITH RESPECT
TO RELEVANT SOCIO DEMOGRAPHIC VARIABLES
Several studies have highlighted the role of certain socio
demographic variables in the perception of stress as well as in their
relationships to well-being, and other variables. So, an understanding of the
relevant socio demographic characteristics of the sample seems important in
interpreting the psychological variables. In order to test the role of the
selected socio demographic variables, the sample was classified into
different groups and the significance of the differences in the mean scores in
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adolescent stress, psychological well-being, parenting style, personality, and
ennotional intelligence were tested using 't' test or 'one - way ANOVA'. The
socio demographic variables selected for this purpose are stage of
adolescence, sex, place of residence, stream of study, participation in sports
and extracurricular activities, membership In organizations, presence of
close friends, order of birth, type of family, religion, class of study, course of
study, and level of academic achievement.
4.1. A. COMPARISON OF THE MIDDLE AND THE LATE ADOLESCENTS
4.1. A.I.Adolescent stress
Even though a number of investigations have been made on
adolescent stress very few studies have looked into the difference between
adolescents belonging to different phases such as young, middle, and late
adolescence in the experience of stress. In the present investigation this
aspect has been investigated into and the present section gives the results
obtained in the testing of the hypothesis proposed in this regard. The mean
scores obtained by the middle and the late adolescents in the various stress
dimensions have been computed and the differences in the mean scores
were tested for significance using the't' test.
The mean scores and the standard deviation scores obtained by the
middle and the late adolescents are given in Table 4.1. From the table, it can
be seen that there are significant differences between the middle and the
late adolescent students only in four of the ten dimensions of stress. The late
adolescents have significantly higher mean scores in stress of school
attendance (t = 5.15; p<.01), future uncertainty (t= 5.98; p<.01), and financial
197
pressure (t=3.30; P<.01). The late adolescents may require more autonomy,
freedom, and have less Interest in conforming to the rules. So, they may find
the insistence on class attendance more stressful. They may also feel
capable of doing things on their own and attending the classes regularly may
not be considered unavoidable.
Table 4.1
Means and SDs of the stress measures obtained by the middle and the late
adolescents and the corresponding 't' values
Middle adolescents Late adolescents
Stress Variables (N=1577) (N=483) 'f
Mean S. D Mean S.D
Stress of home life 23.77 8.12 24.14 8.89 0.85
School performance 20.46 6.41 21.08 6.21 1.88
School attendance 5.73 2.68 6.46 2.86 5.15**
Romantic relationships 11.17 4.56 11.24 4.56 . 0.31
Peer pressure 14.71 5.21 15.16 5.36 1.64
Teacher interaction 15.28 6.01 15.41 6.09 0.41
Future uncertainty 7.73 3.04 8.68 3.15 5.98**
School-leisure conflict 12.45 4.68 10.73 4.45 7.18**
Financial pressure 7.44 3.33 8.03 3.76 3.30**
Emerging adult
8.18 3.04 8.45 3.30 1.65
responsibility
Total stress 126.92 35.38 129.37 35.86 1.33
** Significant at the .01 level
The stress of future uncertainty is faced more by the late
adolescents as they are going to begin their adult life in a short while and
decisions about career choices have to be made by them than the middle
adolescents. Since there is lots of career choices there can be more
confusion. Because of the same reasons, the stress of financial pressure is
higher in the case of late adolescents than the middle adolescents. The late
adolescents may have to support themselves financially and sometimes the
family may also expect a return in the form of financial help from them.
Moreover, the financial needs of late adolescents are also more than that of
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the middle adolescents, especially in matters concerned with dress,
telephones, get-togethers, and the like. The middle adolescents have
significantly higher school-leisure conflict (t=7.18; p<. 01) than the late
adolescents. Middle adolescents are more interested in leisure time
activities, but at the same time they might be receiving less freedom and
autonomy in this regard when compared to the late adolescents.
In the case of the remaining stressors like stress of home life, school
performance, romantic relationships, peer pressure, teacher interaction, and
emerging adult responsibility, the differences in the mean scores between
the middle and the late adolescents are not significant even though on all
these sources of stress higher scores are obtained by the late adolescents.
Same is the case with total stress. These results indicate that most of these
stressors examined are experienced more or less to the same extent by the
two groups of adolescents.
Issac (1996), in a study of 9*^ 10*^ and H'^ grade students found
that older students experienced more stressful life events than younger
ones. Mc Namara (2000) has observed that while there is a distinct view that
the overall level of stressor exposure for adolescents is increasing, there is
no evidence that this gross index co-varies with age. Employing the same
stress scale (ASQ) Byrne et al. (2007) obtained very small but significant
associations between age and five of the subscales - home life, school
performance, financial pressure, emerging adult responsibility, and future
uncertainty. The present results are quite in agreement with these findings.
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4.1. A.2.Psychological well-being
The mean and the standard deviation scores obtained by the middle
and the late adolescents in psychological well-being and the corresponding't'
values are given in Table 4.2. It can be seen that in most of the well-being
dimensions there are no significant differences between the two groups. The
middle adolescents have significantly higher mean scores (better well-being)
in total psychological well-being (t=2.40; p<.05) and in the components of
daily activities (t=2.99; p<.01), and tension (t=3.00; p<.01). In all the other
components of psychological well-being there are no significant differences
between the two groups.
Table 4.2
Means and SDs of psychological well-being obtained by the middle and the
late adolescents and the corresponding 't' values
Psychological well-being {N=1577) (N=483) 't'
dimensions
Mean S. D Mean S.D
Meaninglessness 1.53 0.70 1.47 0.74 1.68
Self esteem 1.32 0.73 1.28 0.75 1.14
Positive affect 1.81 0.46 1.81 0.46 0.24
Daily activities 1.50 0.67 1.39 0.73 2.99**
Somatic complaints 1.07 0.81 1.03 0.84 0.84
Life satisfaction 1.38 0.74 1.31 0.79 1.68
Suicidal ideas 1.52 0.69 1.53 0.72 0.16
Personal control 1.25 0.71 1.18 0.70 1.72
Social support 1.56 0.64 1.57 0.66 0.33
Tension 1.13 0.78 1.00 0.83 3.00**
Wellness 1.44 0.70 1.38 0.69 1.64
General efficiency 1.37 0.71 1.38 0.70 0.40
Total well-being 19.67 4.99 19.04 5.35 2.40*
Significant at the .05 level
* Significant at the .01 level
Thus, compared to the late adolescents, the middle adolescents
have better well-being. They are more able to carry out routine daily
activities, and experience less tension than their senior counterparts. It may
200
be noted that in the present investigation the late adolescents experience
more stress and they are also found to have higher levels of neuroticism. So
it is natural for them to have poor well-being. Compared to the middle
adolescents, the late adolescents are more concerned about establishing an
identity, building up a career and getting independence from their parents,
which may result in significantly greater stress and poorer well-being in the
late adolescents compared to the middle adolescents. Thus the results
obtained in this section provide only partial support for the hypothesis that
there will be significant differences between the middle and the late
adolescents in the experience of the different dimensions of psychological
well-being.
4.1. A.3. Parenting Style
and the late adolescents in different perceived parenting styles and the
corresponding^ values are presented in Table 4.3. It can be seen that the
permissive parenting style of father and mother are significantly higher in the
case of late adolescents compared to the middle adolescents. As children
grow older, the parents may become more permissive and exercise less
control over them. Adolescents of this phase also demand far less control
and more autonomy. Thornton and his colleagues (1995) have noted "as
young people begin to experience adult roles and have more independence,
there are increases in respect, understanding, affection, confidence and
enjoyment between them and their parents" (p.560).
The middle adolescents have obtained significantly higher scores in
authoritarian parenting style of father (t=4.16; p<.01) and mother (t=4.49;
201
p<.001) than the late adolescents. It may be that parents exercise more
control and exertion of authority upon young adolescents than on late
adolescents. As children enter the phase of late adolescence parents may
loosen their control and exercise of authority and give them more freedom.
This is the practice of parents in all cultures. There is also the possibility that
the younger adolescents perceive their parents' parenting style as
authoritarian owing to the particular phase of their life while the late
adolescents are more mature in this regard. Ausubel et al. (1977) have
reported that by late adolescence the transition to independence and release
of control should be nearly complete, although strong emotional ties may still
persist.
Table 4.3
Means and SDs of the parenting styles obtained by the middle and the late
Parenting styles (N=1577) (N=483) 't'
Mean S. D Mean S.D
Permissive father 32.33 5.67 32.94 5.84 2.06*
Permissive mother 32.64 5.55 33.35 5.45 2.45*
Authoritarian father 33.82 6.23 32.47 6.35 4.16**
Authoritarian mother 34.67 6.06 33.25 6.17 4.49**
Authoritative father 37.38 6.65 37.33 7.13 0.15
Authoritative mother 38.14 6.35 38.14 6.54 0.01
* Significant at the.01 level
Based on their study of Scottish youth, Shucksmith et al. (1995)
concluded that parenting styles are somewhat age related in that, parents of
older adolescents tend to be more permissive and parents of younger
adolescents tend to be more controlling.
In authoritative parenting style there are no significant differences
between the middle and the late adolescents. Since authoritative parents
202
display more consistent style, they may be perceived more or less in similar
ways by their adolescent children irrespective of the phase of adolescence.
4.1. A.4.Personality
and the late adolescents in the various personality types and the
corresponding't' values are presented in Table 4.4. From the table it can be
seen that the middle adolescents have significantly higher scores in
extraversion (t=3.14; p<.01) and conscientiousness (t=2.82; P<.01) factors of
Big Five personality factors. During late adolescence the adolescents may
tend to withdraw socially as they are more preoccupied with their fantasies
and appearance. Late adolescents are also more self-conscious and
extremely sensitive to peer evaluation and rejections. Compared to the late
adolescents, middle adolescents are willing to obey the rules and
regulations. Late adolescents are generally experimenting and making
individual evaluations of right and wrong. This could probably be the reason
for a higher score on conscientiousness dimension in the case of middle
adolescents.
Table 4.4
Means and SDs of the personality types obtained by the middle and the late
Personality types (N=1577) (N=483) 't'
Mean S. D Mean S.D
Extraversion 27.22 4.76 26.42 5.18 3.143**
Agreeableness 33.28 4.92 33.36 4.99 0.32
Conscientiousness 30.34 5.68 29.51 5.63 2.824**
Neuroticism 22.85 5.82 24.55 6.62 5.45**
Openness 32.72 5.06 32.26 4.94 1.76
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On the neuroticism dimension of personality, the late adolescent
group scored significantly higher than the middle adolescent group (t=5.45;
p<.01). It may be that the conflicting roles they have to play during this
phase of life; over expectations and demands from parents, teachers and
others; the transition into adult roles; over concern regarding appearance,
sex and other bizarre and revolting thoughts as well as experimenting and
risk taking behaviour characteristic of this stage of life may be making them
more neurotic. Damona and Hart (1988) have pointed out that toward late
adolescence, social comparisons become less influential than internalized
standards and personal beliefs in the evaluation of self concept.
In the agreeableness and openness dimensions, the groups of
adolescents do not show any significant difference. The fact that personality
is only getting shaped and crystallized during adolescent period also may be
considered while interpreting these results.
4.1. A.S.Emotional intelligence
In the variable of emotional intelligence, the group of middle
adolescents have obtained a higher mean score (M=85.85; SD=9.80) than
the group of late adolescents (M=84.38; SD=9.69). The difference between
the two group means is found to be significant (t=2.89; p<.01). This finding is
contradictory to expectations based on available findings. Emotional
intelligence is said to increase with age and experience generally. Earlier
researches (Roly & Nath, 2004; Luebbers, Downay, & Stough, 2007) have
reported an increase in emotional intelligence with increase in age. However,
studies concerned with comparisons of middle and late adolescents in
emotional intelligence have not been reported. Age is also found to have
204
significant and low negative correlation with emotional intelligence in the
present study (section 4.2.11.e). Further studies in this regard are needed
before reaching final conclusions and generalizations. However, the
obtained results may be explained in the context of the more moody,
rebellious, impulsive and passionate nature of late adolescents. It may be
that this is a transitory phenomenon of late adolescence. After passing this
phase they may develop emotional intelligence when they enter early
adulthood. Parents, teachers, as well as counselors should take note of this
fact while dealing with the emotional development of adolescents.
4.1. B.COMPARISON OF THE MALE AND THE FEMALE ADOLESCENTS
4.1.B.1.Adolescent stress
The mean and the standard deviation scores obtained by the male
and the female adolescents in various stress dimensions and the
corresponding't' values are given in Table 4.5.
It is clear from the table that in all the stress dimensions as well as in
total stress there are significant differences between the male and the
female adolescents, the males having higher scores than the female
adolescents in total stress and in all the sources of stress other than future
uncertainty. This result is contradictory to most of the previous findings.
Several studies have reported that female adolescents experience more
stress than male adolescents (Don, Wayne, & Brigitte, 1987; Hankin &
Roesch, 2007; Henderson et al., 1981; Issac, 1996; Jensen et al., 2004;
Moulds, 2003; Paul & Verity, 2004; Ruth & Victor, 1989).However there are
also studies which have reported more stress for male adolescents. For
205
example, Windle (1992) have reported that while girls report more stress
than the boys especially in factors like concern ab)out appearance, and
relationships, the boys are more likely to worry about school work, vocational
choices and money. In a study of 201 Australian adolescents aged 14 to 16
years. Harper and Marshall (1991) found that girls were more worried than
boys about their health and physical development, relationships, courtship,
sex and marriage. Alzubaidi (1998) found that males reported more
difficulties with recreational activities, personal relationships, and health.
Table 4.5
Means and SDs of the stress measures obtained by the male and the female
Males (N=956) Females N=1104)
Stress variables 't'
Mean S. D Mean S.D
Stress of home life 24.32 7.98 23.45 8.56 2.39*
School performance 21.80 6.62 19.57 5.96 8.06**
Romantic relationships 12.20 4.68 10.30 4.25 9.63**
Peer pressure 15.19 5.16 14.50 5.31 2.99**
Teacher interaction 16.76 6.14 14.05 5.63 10.47**
Emerging adult
8.55 3.10 7.98 3.08 4.19**
responsibility
Total stress 134.76 35.37 121.20 34.41 8.80**
The stresses examined in the present investigation are those which
are more often reported by males than females in the eariier researches.
Thus the current investigation might not have looked into the specific
problems experienced by female adolescents, which could be the reason for
the comparatively less stress scores obtained by the female group. The
changing status of males and females in our culture also may be relevant in
206
this context. While in the past boys enjoyed better status, care, share and
power in the family and society, currently female children are receiving equal
treatment and status. Moreover, in the fields of education and jobs, in our
state, females are ahead of males.
4.1. B.2.Psychological well-being
and the female adolescents in psychological well-being and the
corresponding 't' values are given in Table 4.6. From the table, it can be
seen that there are significant differences between the two groups in five
dimensions of psychological well-being while the differences are not
significant in the remaining seven dimensions of psychological well-being as
well as in total well-being.
The male adolescents are found to have significantly higher score
(M=1.38) than the females (M=1.24) in self-esteem. In the case of daily
activities, the males have higher score (M=1.53) than the females (M=1.42).
In the dimension of somatic complaints also, the male adolescents have
higher score, that is, less somatic complaint (M=1.12) than their female
counterparts (M=1.01). All these differences are found to be significant at the
.01 level. Many of the earlier studies also have reported that female
adolescents have lower self-esteem than male adolescents (BIyth, Simmons,
& Carlton-Ford, 1983; Bolognini et al., 1996; Chubb et al., 1997; Dukes &
Martinez, 1994; Simmons & Rosenberg, 1975), and a few studies have
reported minimal gender differences (e.g., Jaquish & Savin-Williams, 1981).
Teenage boys usually express more confidence in their abilities than
teenage girls do, and most report believing that they are good at a lot of
207
different activities. Girls, on the other hand, often report feeling unsure of
themselves, their bodies, and their abilities (Bolognini et al., 1996; Freiberg,
1991; Orenstein, 1994). Male adolescents do daily activities better than
female adolescents. It may be noted that in Indian scenario, female
adolescents are expected to include some of the household chores in their
daily activities which may reduce their efficiency in handling the other
activities.
Table 4.6
Means and SDs of the psychological well-being obtained by the male and the
female adolescents and the corresponding 't' values
Psychological well-being Males N=956) Females (N=1104)
'f
dimensions Mean S. D Mean S.D
Self esteem 1.38 0.70 1.24 0.76 4.34**
Positive affect 1.77 0.49 1.84 0.42 3.73**
Somatic complaints 1.12 0.81 1.01 0.82 3.18**
Suicidal ideas 1.49 0.70 1.54 0.69 1.62
Social support 1.53 0.65 1.58 0.64 1.93*
Tension 1.13 0.77 1.07 0.81 1.90
Wellness 1.41 0.70 1.44 0.70 0.88
Total well-being 19.68 4.89 19.39 5.25 1.27
In the case of somatic complaints, female adolescents are culturally
sanctioned to express their distress by means of somatic complaints rather
than male adolescents who use more of externalizing problems. This may
explain the lesser degree of somatic complaints in males. Boys and girls
express their adjustment problems somewhat differently; for e.g., McDermott
(1996) found that troubled boys usually externalize their turmoil through
rebellion and disobedient behaviour. Girls are more likely to internalize their
208
distress by withdrawing socially, making somatic complaints, and feeling
tensed, depressed or moody.
In positive affect, and social support components of well-being, the
female adolescents scored significantly higher than the males. Females tend
to look out for social support while males tend to consider receiving support
as a shame which may reduce the level of perceived support in the case of
males. Earlier studies have shown that girls are more positive about their
close relationships, report more intimacy than boys do, and report getting
more intensive social support, especially from their peers (Frey &
Rothilsberger, t996; Jones & Costin, 1995; O'koon, 1997).
Thus the results obtained in this section show that there are no
differences between the two gender groups in the majority of the
psychological well-being dimensions as well as in total well-being. Whereas
the male adolescents have significantly higher scores (better well-being) in
the self-esteem, daily activities, and somatic complaints dimensions, the
females have significantly higher scores in the dimensions of positive affect
and social support. In the light of the earlier finding that the male
adolescents have greater degrees of perceived stress, they were expected
to have poor well-being scores in comparison to the females. However, the
obtained results do not evidence a clear support for this expectation.
4.1. B.3. Parenting style
Table 4.7 shows the mean and the standard deviation scores obtained by
the male and the female adolescents in the three parenting styles. The't'
values obtained are also given in the table. The results presented in the
table show that of the three parenting styles only the authoritative parenting
209
styles of both father and mother have differed significantly between the male
and the female adolescents. Female adolescents are found to have
significantly higher scores in authoritative parenting style than the male
adolescents. Female students perceive their parents as more controlling and
supportive. This may be in par with the Indian culture. Larson and Richards
(1994) have reported that teenagers, especially girls who remain close to
their mothers, usually are better adjusted and less depressed. However,
there are no significant differences between the males and the females in
their perception of the permissive and authoritarian parenting styles of their
parents. In other words, both the groups perceive their parents parenting
style as equally permissive and authoritarian.
Table 4.7
Means and SDs of the parenting styles obtained by the male and the female
i^ales (N=956) Females (N=1104)
Parenting styles 't'
Mean S. D Mean S.D
Permissive father 32.41 5.89 32.52 5.57 0.42
Permissive mother 32.72 5.63 32.88 5.45 0.65
Authoritarian father 33.44 6.32 33.56 6.26 0.44
Authoritarian mother 34.15 6.14 34.51 6.09 1.31
Authoritative father 36.58 7.05 38.06 6.42 4.96**
Authoritative mother 37.16 6.67 38.99 6.02 6.56**
4.1. B.4.Personality
and the female adolescents in the different personality dimensions and the
corresponding't' values are presented in Table 4.8. From the table, it can be
seen that there are significant differences between the male and the female
adolescents on all the personality factors as measured by the Big Five
210
inventory. The male adolescents have significantly higher scores in
extraversion, conscientiousness and openness factors while the female
adolescents have significantly higher scores in agreeableness and
neuroticism factors. Those high on extraversion tend to be warm, gregarious,
fun-loving and assertive, and those high on openness are inclined to be
curious, imaginative, creative, original, artistic, psychologically minded,
humorous, and flexible (McCrae,1996; McCrae & Costa, 1987).The results of
the present investigation show that the males tend to exhibit these
characteristics more than the females. In our culture, males in general, are
found to be extraverts than females. Our society and culture also expect this
from males. Conscientiousness, which is characterized by having a tendency
to be habitually careful, reliable, hard-working, well-organized, and
purposeful (McCrae, 1996; McCrae & Costa, 1987), is generally seen more
in females. However, in the case of the present sample the males are found
to have high conscientiousness compared to the female adolescents.
Table 4.8
Means and SDs of the personality types obtained by the male and the female
Males (N=956) Females (N=1104)
Personality types 't'
Mean S. D Mean S.D
Extraversion 27.68 4.47 26.47 5.14 5.67"
Agreeableness 32.98 5.02 33.57 4.84 2.73**
Neuroticism 21.78 5.61 24.52 6.15 10.49**
Openness 33.59 5.10 31.77 4.82 8.32**
The finding that the female adolescents are significantly high on
neuroticism had been consistently supported by several earlier research
works, though many of these studies have been conducted on adult samples
211
(Auster & Ohm, 2001; Marusic & Bratko, 1998). The agreeableness
dimension reflects a proclivity to be good-natured, acquiescent, courteous,
helpful, and trusting. Here the females have obtained significantly higher
scores than their male counterparts. This finding is quite in agreement with
the gender role and character expected of girls/women in our culture.
1. B.5. Emotional Intelligence
The result of the't' test examining the significance of gender
difference in emotional intelligence revealed no significant difference in the
variable between the male (M=85.64; SD=9.86) and the female (M=85.39;
SD=9.75) adolescents (t=0.59). This is contradictory to the findings of
previous researches in this area. Most of the earlier studies have revealed
that females have higher emotional intelligence than males (Ciarrochi, Chen
& Bajgar, 2001; Katyal & Aswathi, 2005; Luebbers, Downey, & Stough,
2007; Roly & Nath, 2004). However in their study on Chinese students, Junqi
and Lei (2007) have found that Chinese male students have significantly
higher scores on emotional intelligence than female students. Goleman
(1998a) has asserted that no gender differences exist in emotional
intelligence admitting that while men and women m^y have different profiles
of strengths and weaknesses in different areas of emotional intelligence,
their overall levels of emotional intelligence are equivalent. Brackett and
Mayer (2003) found that females scored higher than males on emotional
intelligence when measured by a performance measure; however when
emotional intelligence is measured by self-report measures they found no
evidence for gender differences. So, the present findings are supported by
the above studies by Goleman, and Bracket and Mayer.
212
4.1. C. COMPARISON OF URBAN AND RURAL ADOLESCENTS
4.1. C.I.Adolescent stress
The mean and the standard deviation scores obtained by the urban
and the rural adolescents in the various stress dimensions and the
corresponding't' values are presented in Table 4.9. From the table, it can be
seen that there are significant differences between the urban and the rural
students in five dimensions of adolescent stress and in total stress. The mral
adolescents have significantly higher scores in stress of home life (t=2.73;
p<.01), stress of teacher interactions (t=2.87; p<.05), stress of school -
leisure conflict (t=3.76;p<.01), stress of financial pressure (t=2.15; p<.05)
and in total stress (t=2.15; p<.05), while the urban adolescents have
significantly higher mean score in stress of school attendance (t=3.42;
p<.01). Though not statistically significant, in all other dimensions of stress
except in stress of future uncertainty, the rural adolescents experience more
stress compared to the urban adolescents.
Table 4.9
Means and SDs of the stress measures obtained by the urban and the rural
Urban (N=733) Rural (N=1327)
Mean S. D Mean S.D
Stress of Home life 23.18 8.40 24.23 8.23 2.73"
Scliool attendance 6.18 2.89 5.75 2.65 3.42**
Romantic relationships 10.95 4.65 11.31 4.50 1.70
Peer pressure 14.59 5.37 14.94 5.18 1.46
Teacher interaction 14.80 6.21 15.59 5.90 2.87*
Future uncertainty 8.02 3.13 7.91 3.07 0.79
Emerging adult
8.15 3.16 8.30 3.07 1.09
responsibility
Total stress 125.23 36.09 128.74 35.12 2.15*
213
It is understandable that in the case of rural students parents may
not be well-educated and may not have jobs that provide adequate income,
and this may be contributing to the slightly higher stress of financial pressure
in the case of rural adolescents. Again, in rural settings the students may be
exposed to family conflict, more parental control and punishment, strained
relationships with parents which may lead to the experience of higher stress
of home life. Rural adolescents may be required to help in house hold tasks,
farming, or to do some part time job that may increase their stress of school-
leisure conflict. Again, in rural schools the teachers' ways of dealing with
students need not be sophisticated and vice versa, and many times the
teachers' difficulty in understanding the adolescents' limitations and in
maintaining a balance between control and freedom may result in higher
stress of teacher interaction in the rural group.
Experiencing more avenues for exploration and experimentations,
and ability to learn on their own, the compulsory school attendance may be
more stressful for the urban adolescents than the mral students.
4.1. C.2.Psychological well-being
The mean and the standard deviation scores obtained by the urban
and the rural adolescents in psychological well-being and the
corresponding't' values are presented in Table 4.10. From the table, it can
be seen that there are significant differences between the two groups in four
dimensions of psychological well-being while the differences are not
significant in the remaining eight dimensions of psychological well-being as
well as in total well-being.
214
The urban adolescents are found to have higher mean scores in all
the four dimensions where the differences are significant, and they also
scored higher or the same as rural adolescents in the other dimensions and
total well-being. The components of psychological well-being in which the
urban adolescents have scored significantly higher are meaninglessness
(t=2.40; p<.05), somatic complaints (t=2.16; p<.05), suicidal ideas (t=2.11;
p<.05), and general efficiency (t=2.89; p<.01). Thus, compared to the rural
adolescents, the urban adolescents have less meaninglessness, somatic
complaints, suicidal ideas and more general efficiency. In other words, the
present results indicate that the urban adolescents have better psychological
well-being than their mral counterparts.
Table 4.10
Means and SDs of the psychological well-being obtained by the urban and the
rural adolescents and the corresponding 't' values
Psychological well-being Urban (N=733) Rural (N=1327)

'f
dimensions Mean S. D Mean S.D
Meaninglessness 1.57 0.68 1.49 0.73 2.40*
Self esteem 1.31 0.73 1.31 0.74 0.11
Positive affect 1.81 0.46 1.81 0.46 0.08
Daily activities 1.45 0.72 1.48 0.67 1.22
Somatic complaints 1.11 0.80 1.03 0.83 2.16*
Suicidal ideas 1.56 0.66 1.50 0.71 2.11*
Social support 1.56 0.65 1.56 0.64 0.32
Tension 1.09 0.82 1.10 0.78 0.32
Wellness 1.44 0.69 1.42 0.71 0.47
General efficiency 1.43 0.68 1.34 0.73 2.89**
Total well-being 19.76 5.20 19.46 5.02 1.53
In the earlier section, it was found that the rural adolescents reported
more stress than the urban ones. Based on this finding the urban
215
adolescents are expected to have better well-being than the rural
adolescents and this has been confirmed by the results obtained for
psychological well-being. However, Joseph (2007), and Sujisha (2006) have
found no significant differences between urban and rural adolescents in
emotional, social and educational adjustment.
4.1. C.S.Parenting style
Table 4.11
Means and SDs of the parenting styles obtained by the urban and the rural
Parenting styles 'f
Mean S. D Mean S.D
Authoritative father 38.20 6.61 36.92 6.80 4.13"
Table 4.11 shows the mean and the standard deviation scores and
the corresponding't' values obtained by the urban and the rural adolescents
in perceived parenting styles. Here, significant differences can be seen only
in the case of the authoritative parenting styles of both father (t=4.13; p<.01)
and mother (t=2.75; p<.01). In both these cases the urban adolescents score
significantly higher than that of the rural adolescents. In urban settings
parents might be better educated, more concerned about parenting, and
more aware of keeping a balance between control and autonomy in rearing
or disciplining their adolescents. This could be a reason for the urban
adolescents' perception of their parents as more authoritative. Sujisha
(2006) found that parenting is better in urban areas than rural areas.
216
However, in a study of 340 adolescents, Joseph (2007) did not find any
significant difference in the perception of home environment of rural and
urban adolescents. Though not statistically significant the present
investigation shows that urban adolescents perceive their parents as more
permissive and less authoritarian than that of the rural adolescents.
The results obtained in this section indicate that there are
differences between the urban and rural parents in their parenting styles, as
perceived by their adolescent children. The urban parents are found to follow
a more fruitful parenting style than their rural counter parts.
4.1. C.4. Personality
Table 4.12 presents the mean scores, the standard deviation scores
and the corresponding't' values obtained by the urban and the rural
adolescents in the variable of personality.
Table 4.12
Means and SDs of the personality types obtained by the urban and the
rural adolescents and the corresponding 't' values
Personality types •f
Mean S. D Mean S.D
Extraversion 27.20 5.10 26.94 4.74 1.18
Agreeableness 33.44 5.01 33.22 4.89 0.97
Conscientiousness 29.75 5.77 30.37 5.62 2.37*
Neuroticism 23.49 6.52 23.11 5.78 1.35
Openness 33.27 5.36 32.25 4.80 4.45"
From the table, it can be seen that there are significant differences
between the two groups in conscientiousness and openness only. In the
remaining three dimensions the differences are statistically not significant. In
the personality dimension of conscientiousness the rural adolescents have
significantly higher score than the urban adolescents.
217
It may be noted that the rural adolescents in India are brought up
under strong traditional value system and are trained to be self disciplined.
The culture and traditional customs and rituals also may help them to
develop better conscientiousness. Majority of adolescents from urban setting
lack these. The urban adolescents scored significantly more on the
openness dimension of the Big Five inventory than the rural adolescents.
The urban adolescents have more exposure, may live in a more flexible,
unconventional and understanding environment which would have
contributed to the development of wide interests and curiosity.
4.1. C.S.Emotional intelligence
Testing for significant difference in emotional intelligence across
rural and urban adolescents revealed no significant difference between the
two groups. The scores obtained by the rural (M=85.49; SD=10.44) and the
urban (M=85.5; SD=9.42) adolescents are more or less the same. The
present result indicates that urban - rural differences do not influence
adolescents' emotional intelligence.
Thus, the results obtained in this section show that, in general, the
rural adolescents perceive higher stress, and have poor psychological well-
being than the urban adolescents. The urban adolescents score higher in
the openness dimension of personality and in perceived authoritative
parenting style than the rural adolescents. The rural adolescents have higher
score in the conscientiousness dimension of personality, while there are no
differences between the two groups of adolescents in emotional intelligence.
218
4.1. D.COMPARISON OF ADOLESCENTS UNDER TWO STREAMS OF
STUDY(CBSE & STATE)
Compulsory education is society's way of introducing its new
members to the culture at large. Although socialization occurs mainly at
home, society holds schools primarily responsible for teaching basic literacy
skills, passing on cultural traditions and cultivating traditional social values
including competition and achievement (Csikszentmihaiyi & Larson, 1984;
Jackson & Hornbeck, 1989; Trickett & Schmid, 1993). The transition from
elementary to secondary school is an important milestone which occurs
during adolescence and it is stressful (Eccles et al., 1991). This section
examines whether there are differences between adolescents studying in the
central (CBSE) and the state streams of study. Accordingly, the adolescents
studying in colleges are exempted from the analysis.
4.1. D.I.Adolescent stress
The mean and the standard deviation scores obtained by the
adolescents studying in CBSE schools and state board schools in various
dimensions of stress and the corresponding't' values are given in Table
4.13. From the table, it can be seen that the two groups differ significantly in
all the stress dimensions as well as in total stress. The adolescents who are
studying under the CBSE stream are found to have higher scores in all the
stress subscales as well as in total adolescent stress.
In CBSE schools the academic pressure is quite high. Tight
competition coupled with parental pressures often become unhealthy for the
students. The academic records of the students become an important issue
219
that influences the status of parents. The workload and the difficulty level of
subject content are much more under CBSE stream than under the state
stream. This can lead to higher levels of perceived stress in the academic
performance, attendance, teacher interaction, home life, and school-leisure
conflict. The financial requirements of adolescents for affluent unifomris,
bags, conveyance, fee and the like in CBSE schools is several times greater
than those studying in state board schools. This will naturally increase the
stress of financial pressure.
Table 4.13
Means and SDs of the stress measures obtained by adolescents under the two
streams of study (CBSE & State) and the corresponding 't' values
CBSE( N=566) STATE( N=1009)
Mean S. D Mean S.D
Stress of home life 26.01 8.48 22.63 7.66 8.07**
Romantic relationships 11.54 4.52 11.01 4.58 2.22*
Peer pressure 15.57 5.39 14.31 5.04 4.63**
Emerging adult
9.02 3.03 7.79 2.98 7.79**
responsibility
Total stress 135.77 36.11 122.76 34.23 7.10**
Eccles and Midgley (1989) has reported that the secondary schools
emphasize competition and social comparison at a time when early
adolescents are self-conscious. Despite their desire for greater self-
regulation, teenagers have minimal opportunities to make decisions about
their course work. There is a greater emphasis on performance than on the
220
task at hand (Midgley, Anderman, & Hicks, 1995). Student teacher
interactions are increasingly strained (Wigfield & Eccles, 1994).
In the case of CBSE schools the peer relationships need not be
intense, but peer influences on dressing, hair style, physical appearance,
and academic achievement can be more as there is a possibility of wide
disparity in the social and economic status of these students.
As academic pressure is high romantic relationships become
increasingly stressful because the time and emotional investment need to be
done at the cost of academic performance. So adolescents in CBSE schools
may find it difficult to sustain romantic relationships and keeping the
academic records simultaneously.
Since the adolescent students and their parents in CBSE schools
are highly achievement oriented with specific interest, the future career and
adult responsibilities are more stressful for them than students studying in
state board schools. Their standard of living and ambitions seem to be
comparatively higher than that of the state school students.
Thus adolescents in CBSE schools are more stressed out than
students who are studying in state board schools. However research does
not suggest that one type of school is necessarily better than another at
educating students; whether it be large versus small, public versus private,
single gender versus coeducational, cooperative versus competitive - each
type of school or school programme presents advantages and
disadvantages to individual students (Good & Weinstein, 1986).
221
4.1. D.2. Psychological well-being
This section examines the impact of stream of education (CBSE
versus state board) on the psychological well-being of adolescents. Table
4.14 shows the mean and the standard deviation scores obtained by the
adolescent students who are studying in CBSE schools and by those who
are studying in state schools and the corresponding't' values. From the table,
it can be seen that there are significant differences between the two groups
in five dimensions of psychological well-being as well as in total well-being.
The obtained significant differences do not show any clear cut pattern. While
in positive affect and suicidal ideas, the adolescents studying under the state
stream have higher scores (better well-being), in meaninglessness, social
support, and tension components, the adolescents studying under the CBSE
stream have higher scores (better well-being). In the component of
meaninglessness, the adolescents studying under the CBSE stream have
higher mean score (M=1.60) than those studying under the state stream
(M=1.48). The better well-being of the CBSE students in this component
may be because they are more focused on future ambitions, career
opportunities and other aspects of life and hence enjoy better
meaningfulness.
The positive affect component of psychological well-being is more in
the case of state stream students (M=1.84) than CBSE stream students
(M=1.76). This is quite natural in the context of less stress experienced by
the state stream students. Again these students are more relaxed and
casual.
222
Table 4.14
Means and SDs of the psychological well-being obtained by adolescents under
the two streams of study (CBSE & State) and the corresponding 't' values
Psychological well- CBSE N=566) STATE (N=1009)
'f
being dimension Mean S. D Mean S.D
Meaninglessness 1.60 0.64 1.48 0.74 3.09**
Self esteem 1.35 0.71 1.30 0.74 1.12
Positive affect 1.76 0.50 1.84 0.43 3.23**
Suicidal ideas 1.45 0.68 1.55 0.69 2.63**
Social support 1.63 0.60 1.51 0.66 3.38**
Tension 1.18 0.79 1.10 0.79 2.10*
Wellness 1.43 0.72 1.45 0.69 0.59
Total well-being 19.85 4.98 19.55 5.03 1.14
In the suicidal ideas component of psychological well-being, the
state stream students score (M=1.55) more than (i.e. less suicidal ideas)
than the CBSE stream students (M=1.45). Here also the close interpersonal
relationships and less academic pressure in the state schools would have
contributed to the decreased suicidal ideas in this group.
The CBSE stream students score more in both the social support
and tension components of psychological well-being. That is they receive
more social support and experience less tension than the state stream
students. These students may have more accessibility and availability of
help and support as far as academics are concerned. The results with regard
to tension are quite contradictory to the results obtained in this section as
well in the previous section. That is, when CBSE students experience more
stress, suicidal ideas and less positive affect, they were expected to
223
experience more tension. The less tension may be due to the utilization of
any tension reduction strategies or due to higher social support they receive.
4.1. D.3.Parenting style
Young people who enjoy supportive, harmonious, egalitarian home
environments usually are better prepared to benefit from schooling (Burge,
Hammen, Davira, Daley, Paley, Herzberg and Lindberg, 1997; Hieshima, &
Schneider, 1994; Kurdeck, Fine, & Sinclair, 1995; Updegreff, McHale, &
Crouter, 1996). The mean and the standard deviation scores obtained by the
adolescents who are studying in CBSE schools and those who are studying
in state stream schools in parenting style are given in Table 4.15. It is clear
from the table that the two groups differ significantly in permissive and
authoritarian parenting styles of both the parents.
Table 4.15
Means and SDs of the parenting style obtained by adolescents under the two
CBSE( ^J=566) STATE (N=1009)
Mean S. D Mean S.D
Permissive father 31.90 5.65 32.50 5.74 1.99**
Permissive mother 32.03 5.40 32.94 5.62 3.14**
Authoritarian mother 33.81 5.75 35.18 6.20 4.38**
The state stream students score higher than the CBSE students on
permissive parenting styles of father (t=1.99; p<.01) and mother (t=3.14;
p<.01). The parents of state stream students may be less educated and
usually from a low to middle socioeconomic background. So they may be
less involved in their adolescent students' academic activities. This could be
a reason for perceiving them as permissive.
224
Again, the state stream students score higher than the CBSE
students in perceived authoritarian parenting style of both father (t=4.57;
p<.01) and mother (t= 4.38; p<.01). The parents of state stream students
might be more conventional and might be applying an autocratic decision
making pattern in many issues like friendships, fashion, dress, finance and
responsibility taking. This could contribute to the state stream students'
perception of their parents as authoritarian. Many studies show that it is
unlikely that parents employ a single parenting style, but may use different
strategies for different aspects of adolescent life(e.g., Mason et al., 1996;
Taylor, 1996; Taylor & Roberts, 1995). This may explain the contradictory
findings of the present investigation.
4.1. D.4.Personality
This section examines the influence of stream of study on various
personality dimensions. No one denies that schooling affects development.
Secondary to family, school plays an important role in shaping adolescents'
character and career. The mean and the standard deviation scores obtained
by the students who are studying in CBSE schools and state stream schools
in the different personality types and the corresponding 't' values are
presented in Table 4.16. It can be seen from the table that three of the five
personality dimensions of the Big Five inventory differ significantly between
the two groups.
Agreeableness is significantly higher in the case of adolescents in
the CBSE stream (M=34.02) than in the state stream of education
(M=32.79). This shows that the development of the agreeableness
225
dimension of personality is more facilitated by CBSE schools than state
schools. In CBSE schools there is lot of strictness and it is more of an
autocratic decision making and disciplining pattern. In such a situation the
students as well as their parents tend to confirm rather than complain about
school. These students hardly get a chance to question something or
express their opinion. This may facilitate the development of compliance and
non demanding behaviour.
Table 4.16
Means and SDs of the personality types obtained by adolescents under the two
CBSE( N=566) STATE( N=1009)
Mean S. D Mean S.D
Extraversion 27.13 4.68 27.26 4.78 0.58
Agreeableness 34.02 5.01 32.79 4.78 4.81**
Neuroticism 23.01 6.22 22.69 5.60 1.02
Openness 33.54 5.15 32.29 4.94 4.74**
In the conscientiousness dimension, adolescents under the state
stream (M=30.71) score significantly higher than those under the CBSE
stream (M=29.63). The students in the state stream usually come from
conventional home environment, which gives a lot of significance to
character and values than just career and money. State stream school
environments also usually emphasize these aspects as majority of the
teachers are also from such background. This would have contributed to the
development of conscientiousness among the state school students.
The students in the CBSE stream (M=33.54) score significantly
higher than those in the state stream (M=32.29) in the openness dimension
of personality. The students in the CBSE stream get lot of opportunities,
226
better exposure, and facilities to develop, and express a wide range of
interests and aptitudes. They go beyond the traditional practices and this
would have helped the development of creativity, originality and curiosity,
which come under the openness dimension. In the neuroticism and
extraversion dimensions the two groups did not differ significantly.
4.1. D.S.Emotional intelligence
The adolescent students in the CBSE stream (M=85.68; SD=10.45)
and the state stream (85.88; SD=9.47) did not differ significantly in emotional
intelligence. Both the streams exert similar influences in the emotional
intelligence of adolescents.
Summarizing the results with regard to the differences due to the
stream of education, it can be seen that the adolescents studying under the
CBSE stream do perceive higher levels of adolescent stress and have more
suicidal ideas and less positive affect. However, they receive more social
support and feel comparatively less tension. Moreover, they find life more
meaningful. The state stream students perceive their parents as more
permissive as well as more authoritarian. The two groups do not differ in the
neuroticism and extraversion dimensions of personality. With regard to the
other three dimensions of personality, the CBSE students are found to be
more agreeable and have more openness while the state stream students
are more conscientious. Both the groups do not differ significantly in
emotional intelligence.
227
4.1. E. COMPARISON OF THE PARTICIPANTS AND THE NON-
PARTICIPANTS IN EXTRACURRICULAR ACTIVITIES
Not all adolescents engage in extracurricular activities. A lot of them
just stick to studies and may have some hobbies. However, many
adolescents are actively involved in extracurricular activities. Participation in
extracurricular activities can have an impact on the experience of stress,
emotional intelligence and psychological well-being. Moreover, the perceived
parenting style and the kind of personality characteristics also may be
influenced by the adolescents' interests and involvement in extracurricular
activities. This section examines the difference between the adolescents
who participate in extracurricular activities and those who do not participate
in extracurricular activities in perceived stress, psychological well-being,
emotional intelligence, parenting style and personality. Here extracurricular
activities mean participation in dance, music, painting, craft work, and so on.
4.1. E.I. Adolescent stress
participants and the non-participants in extracurricular activities in the
various stress measures and the corresponding't' values are presented in
Table 4.17. From the table, it can be seen that the group of adolescents who
participate in extracurricular activities scored significantly higher than the
non-participants on total stress (t=3.41; p<.01), stress of home life (t=2.10;
p<.05), stress of romantic relationship (t=4.49; p<.01), stress of peer
pressure (t=2.56; p<.01), stress of teacher interaction (t=4.84; p<.01), and
stress of school-leisure conflict (t=4.25; p<.01).
228
Table 4.17
Means and SDs of the stress measures obtained by the participants and the
non- participants in extra curricular and the corresponding 't' values
Yes(N =1218) No (N=842)
Mean S. D Mean S.D
Stress of home life 24.17 8.28 23.39 8.32 2.10*
School attendance 5.94 2.75 5.85 2.73 0.76
Romantic relationships 11.56 4.58 10.64 4.47 4.49"
Peer pressure 15.06 5.27 14.46 5.20 2.56"
Teacher interaction 15.84 6.22 14.54 5.64 4.84"
School-leisure conflict 12.41 4.79 11.52 4.48 4.25"
Financial pressure 7.60 3.46 7.55 3.43 0.34
Emerging adult
8.33 3.08 8.12 3.14 1.54
responsibility
Total stress 129.70 36.08 124.29 34.42 3.41"
A person who engages in many extra activities has to make compromises
between his main role and these various activities. It is quite natural that
adolescents who engage in extracurricular activities do perceive more stress
than who do not participate in extracurricular activities because effective
distribution of time and effort in various activities becomes difficult. This may
lead to increased school-leisure conflict and stress of teacher interaction. At
home also compromises in academic activities, achievement, and study time
may not be acceptable.
Peer relationships and romantic relationships also become more
stressful as the participants are not able to spend adequate time with peers
and lovers. Though not significant, in all the other stress measures such as
stress of school performance, school attendance, stress of future
uncertainty, stress of financial pressure and stress of emerging adult
responsibility, adolescents who participate in extracurricular activities have
229
higher scores than the non-participants. Thus, the present results show that
participation in extracurricular activities generally increases the stress level
in adolescents and whether perceived stress levels adversely affect their
well-being is to be examined.
4.1. E.2.Psychological well-being
the corresponding't' values obtained by the adolescents who participate and
those who do not participate in extracurricular activities in psychological well-
being. From the table, it can be seen that there are significant differences
between the two groups in six of the twelve components of psychological
well-being and in total well-being, while the differences are not significant in
the remaining six components of psychological well-being.
Table 4.18
Means and SDs of the psychological well-being obtained by the participants
and the non- participants in extra curricular and the corresponding 't' values
Psychological well- Yes(N=1218) No (N=842)
'f
Meaninglessness 1.57 0.68 1.44 0.75 4.11"
Self esteem 1.39 0.70 1.19 0.77 6.09**
Positive affect 1.79 0.47 1.83 0.45 1.82
Life satisfaction 1.39 0.75 1.32 0.75 2.14*
Suicidal ideas 1.51 0.70 1.53 0.69 0.71
Social support 1.56 0.65 1.56 0.64 0.18
Tension 1.13 0.79 1.06 0.80 1.99*
Wellness 1.43 0.70 1.42 0.70 0.15
General efficiency 1.42 0.69 1.30 0.73 3.93**
Total well-being 19.84 5.02 19.08 5.15 3.33**
' Significant at the .05 level
'* Significant at the .01 level
230
The significant differences are noted on the meaninglessness
(t=4.11; p<.01), self-esteem (t=6.09; p<.01), daily activities (t=3.10; p<.01),
life satisfaction (t=2.14; p<.05), tension (t=1.99; p<.05), and general
efficiency (t=3.93; p<.01) components of psychological well-being and in
total well-being (t=3.33; p<.01). In all these cases the participant group has
higher mean score than the non- participant group which shows that the
participants have better self-esteem, life satisfaction, and general efficiency,
less meaninglessness feeling, less tension, able to do daily activities more
effectively and better over all well-being.
In view of their higher levels of perceived stress, the group of
adolescents who participate in extracurricular activities were expected to
have poor psychological well-being. However, contradictory to this
expectation, this group is found to have better psychological well-being than
the group of adolescents who do not participate in extracurricular activities.
This finding is of considerable significance as far as the adolescents are
considered. The obtained results clearly show that participation in
extracurricular activities, though poses some stress for the adolescents, is
beneficial as far as the psychological well-being of adolescents are
concerned. As pointed out eariier, the well-being of adolescents is not
determined by stress alone. Thus, the present results do point out that
engaging in extracurricular activities is of psychological benefit to
adolescents.
4.1. E.S.Parenting style
The mean and the standard deviation scores obtained by
adolescents who participate in extracurricular activities and those who do not
231
participate in extracurricular activities in perceived parenting style and the
corresponding't' values (Table 4.19) showed that none of the differences
between the two groups are statistically significant and the differences are
quite negligible. Thus, the present results show that there are no significant
differences in perceived parenting styles between adolescents who
participate in extracurricular activities and those who do not.
Table 4.19
Means and SDs of the parenting styles obtained by the participants and non
participants in extracurricular activities and the corresponding 't' values
Yes(N=1218) No (N=842)
Mean S. D Mean S.D
4.1. E.4.Personality
Table 4.20 shows the mean and the standard deviation scores
obtained by adolescents who participate in extracurricular activities and
those who do not in personality types and the corresponding't' values.
Table 4.20
Means and SDs of the personality types obtained by the participants and the
non- participants in extra curricular and the corresponding 't' values
Yes(N=1218) No(N=842)
Mean S.D Mean S.D
Extraversion 27.73 4.75 26.01 4.87 7.80"
Agreeableness 33.56 4.90 32.92 4.96 2.89**
Neuroticism 22.62 6.11 24.15 5.87 5.66**
Openness 33.63 5.00 31.13 4.71 11.43**
232
It is clear from the table that the adolescents who participate in
extracurricular activities have significantly higher mean scores in
extraversion, agreeableness, conscientiousness and openness dimensions
of the Big Five inventory, while the non-participant group has scored
significantly high on neuroticism dimension. These results go hand in hand
with the characteristics of each of these personality dimensions. Those who
participate in extracurricular activities tend to be gregarious, assertive,
enthusiastic, and out going (features of extraversion). Agreeableness
consists of characteristics such as forgiving, not demanding, sympathetic,
compliant and altruistic, and is found to be high in the case of the participant
group. The present investigations also show that the participant group is
more organized, efficient, dutiful, achievement striving and self-disciplined
(features of conscientiousness) than the non-participants. Compared to the
non-participants, the participant group is more curious, imaginative, artistic
and unconventional with wide range of interests. It may be noted that most of
the extracurricular activities require these kinds of personality characteristics
and participation in extracurricular activities may have facilitated the
development of these characteristics.
The adolescents who do not participate in extracurricular activities
have significantly higher scores in the neuroticism dimension. That is, the
anxious, irritable, depressed, shy, impulsive adolescents who lack self-
confidence are less involved in extracurricular activities. Since they lack
stability they may not be able to sustain the interest and performance level in
extracurricular activities. Thus, the present results are in agreement with
normal expectations.
233
4.1. E.S.Emotional intelligence
Testing for significant difference between the adolescents who
participate in extracurricular activities and those who do not participate in
extracurricular activities in emotional intelligence revealed significant
difference between the two groups (t=4.36; p<.01). The participant group
has sfgnificantly higher mean score on emotional Intelligence (M= 86.28;
SD=10.06) than the non-participant group (M=84.38; SD=9.30). Goleman's
(1998a) five-point framework of emotional intelligence includes self-
awareness, self-regulation, empathy, social skills and motivation as its
components. Those who participate in extracurricular activities need to
maintain good interpersonal relationships as many of these involve
teamwork. This explains the higher level of emotional intelligence in the
participant group. In other words, participating in extracurricular activities
facilitate the development of emotional intelligence among adolescents as
revealed by the present finding.
Thus, the results obtained with respect to participation in
extracurricular activities do provide evidence that participation in
extracurricular activities serve a facilitative role in the development of
adolescents. Although adolescents who participate in extracurricular
activities do perceive higher levels of stress, it does not adversely affect their
psychological well-being. Those adolescents who participate in
extracurricular activities have higher levels of psychological well-being, and
are higher in emotional intelligence. They are high in the desirable
personality dimensions like extraversion, agreeableness, conscientiousness
and openness while low in the neuroticism dimension.
234
4.1. F. COMPARISON OF ADOLESCENTS WHO ARE MEMBERS AND
NON - MEMBERS IN ORGANIZATIONS
Youths and adolescents become active agents of opposition and
cliange, using protests, demonstrations, strikes and other deterrents to
achieve their ends, which range from the cessation of fee hikes to the
dissolution of state assemblies. Productive civil activity of students is visible
by their participation in various community development activities through
schemes of both the government and the non governmental organizations
(NGOs). The governmental programs such as guides, scouts, the national
cadet corps, and national service scheme, and various religious and cultural
organizations have been instrumental in arousing social consciousness
among the youth while engaging them in community work and in promotion
of national integration (Chowdhury, 1988). Not all schools or colleges do
have such programmes and encourage the participation in such activities.
Even when facilities are available the adolescent participation may be
minimal. In general, there is greater participation in civic activities among the
middle and the lower class adolescents than among the well-to-do.
In the present investigation 894 students reported having
membership in any one or more (political, religious, cultural) organizations,
while the majority (1166) reported that they are not members in any
organization. However, membership does not ensure active participation in
the concerned organizational activities. This section examines the difference
between adolescents who are members in such organizations and
235
adolescents who are not members in organizations, in stress, psychological
well-being, parenting style, personality, and emotional intelligence.
4.1. F.1.Adolescents stress
members and the non-members in organizations in the various stress
subscales and the corresponding't' values are presented in Table 4.21.
Table 4.21
Means and SDs of the stress measures obtained by the members and the non-
members in organizations and the corresponding 't' values
Yes (N=894) No(N =1166)
Stress variables •f
Mean S. D Mean S.D
Stress of home life 24.49 8.12 23.37 8.42 3.03"
Romantic relationships 11.59 4.65 10.88 4.46 3.51**
Peer pressure 15.11 5.03 14.60 5.40 2.17**
Emerging adult
8.52 3.17 8.04 3.03 3.51**
responsibility
Total stress 131.82 34.95 124.18 35.58 4.87**
From the table, it can be seen that the two groups differ significantly
in total stress and in all the stress dimensions, except stress of future
uncertainty. In all these stress dimensions and in total stress, adolescents
who are members in different organizations have higher level of perceived
stress than the non-members. It may be noted that when adolescents
engage in many activities, they have to allocate adequate time and effort for
each activity based on their importance. They also have to assume more
responsibility and different roles. Adolescents in whom the cognitive abilities
236
are still in the developing and experimenting stage may not be able to do this
very efficiently (as it was noticed in the previous section). Again, in the case
of many adolescents, parents may not encourage the idea of taking
membership in organizations, as they are worried about its impact on their
academic performance. Sometimes students need to be away from school
and home for training programmes or camps of concerned organizations. In
such cases the adolescents may not be able to compensate and make up for
the missed lessons.
Many adolescents take active participation in student political
organizations which may add to the parental concern and apprehension.
Teachers also need not be always co-operative and not all teachers have a
positive attitude towards students' involvement in organizational activities.
Adolescents also may be troubled by membership fee, cost of special dress,
and the like as it make an extra financial burden on them. Again, whether the
membership is voluntary or assigned also contribute to the increased level of
stress in the membership groups. Once they become part of an organization
the stress of emerging adult responsibility also can be increased as the
social expectations, responsibilities and accountability become more.
Whether an adolescent become a member of an organization or not may not
contribute much to the stress of future uncertainty and the difference in this
dimension of stress between the two groups is not significant.
4.1. F.2.Psychological well- being
adolescents who are members in different organizations and those who are
237
not, in psychological well- being and the corresponding't' values are given in
Table 4.22.
Table 4.22
Means and SDs of the psychological well-being obtained by the members and
the non- members in organizations and the corresponding 't' values
Psychological well- Yes(N=894) No(N=1166)

'f
Meaninglessness 1.56 0.69 1.48 0.72 2.26*
Self esteem 1.34 0.71 1.29 0.75 1.51
Positive affect 1.81 0.46 13.81 0.46 0.24
Suicidal Ideas 1.53 0.68 1.52 0.71 0.38
Social support 1.54 0.66 1.57 0.64 1.27
Tension 1.12 0.80 1.08 0.79 1.14
Wellness 1.41 0.71 1.44 0.69 1.11
Total well-being 19.60 4.93 19.47 5.20 0.56
From the table, it can be seen that there is significant difference
between the two groups only in the meaninglessness component of
psychological well being while the differences are not significant in the
remaining 11 dimensions of psychological well-being as well as in total well-
being. The adolescents who have membership in organizations are found to
have higher mean score in meaninglessness (M=1.56) than those who do
not have membership (M=1.48). This shows that the former group feels less
meaninglessness than the latter. Active participation in activities like
sanitation drives, slum development projects, working with psychologically
and mentally challenged, and fulfilling the assigned responsibilities of an
organization may help the adolescents to view their life more meaningfully.
238
The present results show that the variable psychological well-
being as such is not influenced significantly by the adolescents' membership
in an organization. In other words, there is no significant difference in the
psychological well-being of the adolescents who are members in
organizations and who are not. However, research has shown that
participation in such activities helps adolescents engage in meaningful
pursuits and stay out of trouble (Hoyle & Leff, 1997; Hultsman, 1992).
Studies have found that adolescents list out cost of the activities, parents
denying permission to join or participate, lack of transportation, not being
old enough to participate and time commitment as reasons for their lack of
participation in sports and organized activities (Hultsman, 1992; Seppa,
1996).
4.1. F.3.Parenting style
Parents play a pivotal role in an adolescent's life. Membership in an
organization also may be related to the way of parenting. Table 4.23 shows
the mean and the standard deviation scores obtained by the adolescents
who are members in various organizations and who are not, in perceived
parenting style and the corresponding't' values.
It is clear from the table that there are significant differences
between the two groups in the authoritarian parenting style of father and in
the authoritative parenting style of both the parents. Adolescents who are
members in organizations perceive their parents as more authoritative and
their father as more authoritarian. Authoritative parents have open
communication with their children, encourage verbal give- and take and
facilitate their adolescents' sense of independence and individuality. So, they
239
Vnay encourage the adolescent children to take part in the activities of well
recognized organizations.
Table 4.23
Means and SDs of the parenting styles obtained by the members and the non-
Yes (N=894) No(N=1166)
Mean S. D Mean S.D
Authoritative father 37.72 6.73 37.11 6.78 2.03*
Authoritative mother 38.45 6.25 37.90 6.50 1.93*
Authoritarian parents attempt to shape and control their children's
behaviours to an absolute set of standards and they value respect for
authority, work, tradition and obedience (Baumrind, 1971). Thus,
adolescents who perceive their parents as more authoritarian may take
membership in organizations either because these activities are approved or
assigned by the authority figures so to please them or to make an escape
from a strict authoritarian father.
4.1. F.4.Personality
Membership in organizations and active participation in their
activities do influence adolescents' character and behavior, and will definitely
influence the development of certain personality traits. So this section looks
for the differences in personality, if any, between adolescents who are
members in various organizations and those who are not. Table 4.24 shows
the mean and the standard deviation scores obtained by the members and
240
the non-members in organizations, in the different personality types and the
corresponding 't' values. From the table, it can be seen that there are
significant differences between the two groups in four of the Big five
personality factors. Compared to the non-members, the members are
significantly higher in extraversion and openness and significantly low in
neuroticism and agreeableness. In the conscientiousness factor, the
difference between the two groups is not significant.
Table 4.24
Means and SDs of the personality types obtained by the members and the non-
Yes (N=894) No(N=1166)
Mean S. D Mean S.D
Extraversion 27.74 4.72 26.49 43.92 5.84**
Agreeableness 33.03 4.99 33.50 4.88 2.17*
Conscientiousness 30.22 5.79 30.09 5.60 0.49
Neuroticism 22.52 5.85 23.80 6.16 4.78**
Openness 33.30 5.14 32.08 4.88 5.49**
These results are more or less similar to the results obtained In the
case of adolescents who participate or do not participate in extracurricular
activities. Thus, adolescents who are members in different organizations are
found to be more gregarious, active, enthusiastic (extraversion); curious,
resourceful, ingenious and unconventional (openness); and less tense,
anxious, moody, worrying, fearful, emotionally unstable and self- pitying (low
neuroticism) than adolescents who are not members in any organization.
Those who are high in neuroticism may find it difficult to get along with any
kind of teamwork. These results are in line with the general expectations. In
the agreeableness dimension, the adolescents who are not members in any
organization have higher score than the other group. It may be that
241
adolescents, in general, question many of the elderly values and existing
customs and express their disagreements. And, those who are members in
organizations have the courage, support and tendency to do so more than
the non-members and hence may exhibit less traits of agreeableness.
4.1. F.S.Emotional Intelligence
Emotional intelligence is an important factor which influences the
effective participation of an individual in organizational activities.
Consequently membership and participation in organizational activities may
facilitate the development of emotional intelligence. In the present
investigation the adolescents who are members of different organizations
are found to have significantly higher emotional intelligence (M=86.16;
SD=9.62) than that of non-members (M=85.00; 9.90), the difference between
the two groups being significant at the .01 level. Emotional intelligence is
considered as an important factor for teamwork and co-operation. When
adolescents become part of organizations, they are required to maintain a
good relationship with the members of the organizations and for this they
need to have better emotional intelligence.
Bar-On (2000) explained emotional intelligence in terms of ability to
be aware of, to understand and to express oneself and others, to relate with
others, to deal with strong emotions and to control one's impulses, to adopt
to change and to solve problems of a personal or social nature. This clearly
supports the results of the present investigation that adolescents who
participate in different organizational activities have better emotional
intelligence than those who do not. As they become part of organizations,
and engage in varied activities along with other members, these interactions
242
may help them develop their ability to understand themselves and others
and develop their emotional intelligence.
Thus, the results obtained in this section clearly point out the
positive impact of participation in organizations. Even though the
adolescents who are participants in various organizations report higher
levels of perceived stress than their counterparts who do not participate in
any organization, these stressors do not adversely affect their psychosocial
and emotional development. In fact, it seems that these equip them better by
way of having less meaninglessness, higher emotional intelligence, and
desirable personality traits like extraversion, openness and lower level of
neuroticism. Thus, it seems that if adolescents are encouraged to participate
meaningfully in various organizational activities, it may further their transition
in to mature, and responsible balanced adult personalities.
4.1.G. COMPARISON OF THE PARTICIPANTS AND THE NON-
PARTICIPANTS IN SPORTS
There is an increased interest in sports in our ultra competitive
society. Although excessive competition can overshadow prosocial values,
athletics serve many desirable functions. They provide adolescents with
opportunities for leaming about sportsmanship and team work, building
character and self-esteem, making friends, fostering task orientation and
perceived competence, gaining prestige and popularity, intrinsic enjoyment
and vigorous exercise (Boyd & Yin, 1996; Burnette, 1996; Kirshnit, Ham, &
Richards, 1989). In the present investigation out of the 2,060 adolescent
students 1,021 students reported that they participate in games or sports.
243
4.1. G.1 .Adolescent stress
participants and the non-participants in sports in different stress subscales
and the corresponding't' values are presented in Table 4.25.
Table 4.25
Means and SDs of the stress measures obtained by the participants and the
non- participants in sports and the corresponding 't' values
Yes(N=1021) No(N=1039)
Stress variables 'f
Mean S. D Mean S.D
School performance 21.10 6.33 20.11 6.37 3.53"
School attendance 6.11 2.89 5.70 2.58 3.38"
Romantic relationships 11.60 4.56 10.77 4.51 4.14"
Peer pressure 15.13 5.24 14.51 5.24 2.70"
Teacher interaction 16.06 6.17 14.57 5.79 5.64"
School-leisure conflict 12.70 4.83 11.41 4.45 6.35"
Financial pressure 7.77 3.50 7.38 3.38 2.54"
Emerging adult
8.36 3.08 8.13 3.12 1.66
responsibility
Total stress 131.04 36.15 124.01 34.51 4.51"
From the table it is clear that the two groups differ significantly in eight
dimensions of stress and in total stress while in the remaining two
dimensions the difference is not significant. In all the significant cases, the
participant group scores higher than the non-participant group.
Researches have shown that participation in sports and formal
competition is time consuming, reducing time available for other activities
(Hultsman, 1992; Kirshnit et al., 1989). As it has been explained in the
previous sections difficulty in distributing time and effort and inability to
prioritize the works effectively may result in the perception of higher stress
by the participant group. As it is implied, this would affect the home life,
school performance, school attendance, romantic relationship, peer
244
pressure, teacher interaction, school-leisure conflict, and overall stress. The
cost of training and other accessories may increase the stress of financial
pressure. It is interesting to note that the two groups do not differ significantly
on stress of future uncertainty and stress of emerging adult responsibility.
Participation in sports does not have any significant influence on these
stress factors.
4.1. G.2.Psychological well-Being
participants and the non-participants in sports, in psychological well-being
and the corresponding't' values are given in Table 4.26.
Table 4.26
Means and SDs of the psychological well-being obtained by the participants
and the non- participants in sports and the corresponding 't' values
Psychological well- Yes(N=1021) No(N=1039)

'f
Self esteem 1.36 0.71 1.26 0.75 3.18"
Positive affect 1.80 0.47 1.82 0.45 1.37
Suicidal Ideas 1.51 0.69 1.53 0.70 0.65
Social support 1.54 0.65 1.58 0.64 1.26
Tension 1.12 0.79 1.08 0.81 1.32
Wellness 1.43 0.70 1.42 0.70 0.46
Total well-being 19.68 4.95 19.37 5.21 1.38
It can be seen from the table that the two groups differ significantly
only in the self-esteem component of psychological well-being, while in the
245
remaining eleven dimensions of psyciiological well-being as well as in total
well-being, the differences between the two groups are not significant. The
mean score in the self-esteem component of psychological well-being is
significantly higher for the adolescents who participate in sports (M=1.36)
than for the non-participants (M=1.26) and the difference is significant at the
.01 level.
This indicates that active participation in sports and related activities
facilitate the development of self-esteem among adolescents. Boyd and Yin
(1996) reported that sports help adolescents in building character and self-
esteem. The social rewards for athletic success usually outweigh those for
academic achievement, at least for boys (Chandler, 1990; Hultsman, 1992;
Kirshnit et al., 1989). Results in this section show that though adolescents
who participate in sports report higher levels of perceived stress than the
non-participants, the two groups do not show difference in psychological
well-being. Further, participation in sports adds to their self-esteem.
4.1. G.S.Parenting style
obtained by the participants and the non-participants in sports, in perceived
parenting style and the corresponding't' values. As is clear from the table,
only in perceived authoritative parenting style of father (t=2.57; p<.01) and
mother (t=2.92; p<.01) the two groups show significant differences. In both
these cases the non-participant group scores significantly higher than the
participant group. The non-participant group perceives their parents as more
authoritative than the participant group.
246
Table 4.27
Means and SDs of the parenting style obtained by the participants and the
Yes(N=1021) No(N=1039)
Mean S. D Mean S.D
Permissive fattier 32.52 5.86 32.42 5.57 0.37
It may be noted that the participant group may not be able to come
to temris with their parents' decisions on the compromises about time and
effort between academics and sports. This conflict may lead to the
perception of their parents as less authoritative. Moreover, the participants
who take the participation seriously might be facing the pressure to succeed
as it enhance their popularity and peer acceptance.
4.1. G.4.Personality
The sportsmanship, teamwork and sharing, competitive spirit,
exercise, enjoyment, status and popularity may influence the development of
adolescents' personality. Table 4.28 shows the mean and the standard
deviation scores of the participants and the non-participants in sports, in the
personality types and the corresponding't' values. It is clear from the table
that the two groups differ significantly on four of the five dimensions of the
Big Five personality inventory. On the extraversion (t=8.14, p<.01),
conscientiousness (t=3.03; p<.01) and openness (t=10.3; p<.01)
dimensions, adolescents who participate in sports have higher scores while
on the neuroticism dimension (t=6.94; p<.o1) the non-participant group has
obtained higher score.
247
Table 4.28
Means and SDs of the personality types obtained by the participants and the
Yes(N=1021) No(N=1039)
Personality types 'f
l\/1ean S. D Mean S.D
Extraversion 27.90 4.55 26.18 5.04 8.14**
Agreeableness 33.22 4.97 33.38 4.90 0.73
Neuroticism 22.32 5.89 24.15 6.09 6.94**
Openness 33.74 5.08 31.51 4.74 10.30**
** Significant at tlie .01 level
In the agreeableness dimension, the two groups do not differ
significantly. Thus, participation in sports contributes to the enhancement of
desirable personality traits like extraversion, openness and
conscientiousness and diminishes the neuroticism trait. The vigorous
exercise may relieve the tension and negative emotions which may
contribute to the lower level of neuroticism in the participant group. The
teamwork, new friendships, and the wide range of activities may contribute
to the development of extraversion, conscientiousness and openness among
the participants.
4.1. G.S.Emotional intelligence
The participant and the non-participant groups were tested for
significant difference in emotional intelligence. The result shows that the
participant group (M=86.39; SD=9.91) has significantly high emotional
intelligence than the non-participant group (M=84.64; SD=9.61). The
difference is significant at the .01 level. Participation in sports improves the
emotional intelligence of adolescents. It provides an opportunity to learn
social skills, appropriate ways of behaving in a group, the need to keep team
248
spirit, sliaring, cooperation, healthy competition, how to deal with failures, to
keep motivation sustained, how to regulate emotions, and the like, which
enhance the development of emotional intelligence in adolescents.
The results obtained in this section show that even though
adolescents who participate in sports perceive higher levels of stress than
those who do not participate in sports, this increased levels of perceived
stress are not affecting them adversely. On the contrary, the very act of
participation in sports plays a definite positive role in their psychosocial
development. Adolescents who participated in sports have higher levels of
self-esteem; high extraversion, conscientiousness, and openness and less
neuroticism; and higher emotional intelligence than their counterparts who
do not participate in sports.
4.1. H. COMPARISON OF HIGH AND LOW ACHIEVERS
Academic achievement can be defined as the knowledge attained or
skill developed in the academic subjects usually assessed by test scores, or
by marks assigned by teachers, or by both. Adolescents are expected to
spare a large amount of their time for the preparation to secure good
academic results. Since the society gives a lot of significance to academic
excellence, academic achievement becomes an important criterion
determining adolescents' self-concept, higher studies, job and social
acceptance. Hoge and colleagues (1990) found that grades were the critical
factor influencing adolescent self-esteem. At the same time this is again an
area which can make adolescent life quite stressful.
249
Researches have shown that there is a temporary decline in school
performance for boys and girls during the early adolescent years, partly
because achievement becomes secondary to issues of self-esteem, gender-
role identity, and autonomy (Elmen, 1991; Hill & Lynch, 1983; Simmons et
al., 1987). This may be because until middle and late adolescence most
students do not appreciate the potential benefits of schooling and do not
recognize the connection between education and their future lives. As
adolescents mature cognitively, they realize that their academic track
records set the stage for their adult life path (Brooks, 1995).
Apart from intelligence, several other factors like family stability,
parenting, inter personal relationships with teachers and peers contribute to
adolescents' academic achievement. Wentzel (1991) proposes that prosocial
behaviours contribute to academic achievement by promoting positive
academic exchanges among peers. Popular children earned higher grades
than rejected children. Thus several variations can be expected in the
experience of stress and well-being, personality, perceived parenting style
and emotional intelligence of adolescents with respect to academic
achievement. In order to identify these variations, in the present
investigation, the sample is divided into two groups -high achievers
(adolescents who have secured marks 60% and above; N=1,670) and low
achievers (adolescents who have secured below 60% marks; N=390).
4.1. H.1. Adolescent stress
The mean and the standard deviation scores obtained by the high
achievers and the low achievers in the various stress subscales and the
corresponding't' values are presented in Table 4.29.
250
Table 4.29
Means and SDs of the stress measures obtained by the high achievers and the
low achievers and the corresponding 't' values
60% and Above
Below 60% (N=390)
Stress variables (N=1670) 'f
Mean S. D Mean S.D
Stress of home life 23.82 8.30 24.02 8.34 0.42
School performance 20.45 6.34 21.27 6.46 2.28*
Peer pressure 14.86 5.28 14.63 5.09 0.81
School-leisure conflict 12.11 4.74 11.80 4.43 1.21
Emerging adult
8.19 3.08 8.51 3.20 1.81
responsibility
Total stress 126.95 35.55 129.83 35.24 1.45
From the table, it can be seen that the two groups differ significantly
in three dimensions of stress namely stress of school performance, stress of
school attendance, and stress of financial pressure. In all these dimensions
adolescents who are low achievers are reporting more stress than the high
achievers. It is quite understandable that the low achievers will be under
constant pressure to improve their academic performance and this
contributes to their increased experience of stress of school performance.
Their underachlevement can also be attributed to the higher levels of stress
experienced by them. This has been supported by the findings obtained by
Eadaoin (2000). The low achievers are likely to have less school attendance
and in order to improve their academic records they may be discouraged
from missing classes. So the low achievers are experiencing higher stress of
school attendance than the high achievers. The high achievers may be
naturally interested to attend the classes and attending school regularly may
not be stressful for them. There is a possibility that the majority of the low
251
achievers may be from low socioeconomic status groups, whicii could be a
reason for the increased stress of financial pressure in this group. In total
stress as well as in all the other dimensions of stress, except in stress of
peer pressure and school-leisure conflict, the adolescents from the low
achieving group experience more stress than the high achieving group, even
though the differences are not significant.
4.1. H.2. Psychological well-being
The mean and the standard deviation scores obtained by the high
achieving and the low achieving adolescents in psychological well-being and
the corresponding^ values are presented in Table 4.30. From the table, it
can be seen that there are significant differences between the two groups in
the meaninglessness and wellness components of psychological well-being.
In none of the other components of psychological well-being and in total
well-being there are significant differences between the two groups. This
means that the two groups do not differ much in psychological well-being. In
other words, the variable academic achievement does not have much impact
on the well-being of the adolescents. This is quite in agreement with the
findings reported by Joseph (2004).
In the meaninglessness component of psychological well-being, the
high achievers are found to have higher score than the low achievers. That
is, the high achievers have less meaninglessness compared to the low
achievers. The high achieving group has a goal in their life and they work
towards it and successful accomplishment of the task may help them to feel
life very meaningful. While the low achieving group may have feelings of
helplessness as far as academic achievement is concerned, and as
252
academic records are extremely valued by the society, the low achieving
group may experience more meaninglessness than their high achieving
counterparts.
Table 4.30
Means and SDs of the psychological well-being obtained by the high achievers
and the low achievers and the corresponding 't' values
60% and Above
Psychological well- Below 60% (N=390)
(N=1670) 'f
being dimensions
IVIean S. D Mean S.D
Meaninglessness 1.54 0.70 1.41 0.76 3.24**
Self-esteem 1.31 0.73 1.29 0.75 0.64
Positive affect 1.81 0.46 1.81 0.47 0.19
Suicidal ideas 1.53 0.68 1.46 0.74 1.72
Social support 1.56 0.65 1.57 0.63 0.54
Tension 1.11 0.80 1.07 0.80 0.89
Wellness 1.41 0.71 1.49 0.66 2.16*
Total well-being 19.59 5.02 19.26 5.36 1.12
In the wellness component of psychological well-being, the low
achievers have scored significantly higher than the high achievers. That is,
the low achieving group has better wellness than the high achieving group.
The component wellness focuses on the physical health and well-being of
adolescents. Here, compared to the low achievers, the high achievers may
be taking more effort and pains which may be affecting their physical health.
Rather than engaging in hard work, the low achieving students may be
concentrating on physical health, fitness and other physical aspects.
253
4.1. H.3. Parenting style
the corresponding't' values obtained by the high and the low achieving
adolescents in perceived parenting styles. The results show that there are no
significant differences between the two groups in any of the perceived
parenting styles. This indicates that academic achievement in no way affects
their perception of parenting. This has been supported by previous findings
obtained in the study of home environment (Joseph, 2007). However,
generally when academic records are low, the parents may be more strict
and restrictive; but this may probably work out only with early adolescent
group.
Table 4.31
Means and SDs of the parenting style obtained by the high achievers and the
60% and Above
Below 60% (N=390)
Parenting styles (N=1670) •f
Mean S. D iVIean S.D
4.1. H.4. Personality
This section examines the influence of academic achievement on
various personality dimensions. The mean and the standard deviation scores
obtained by the high and the low achievers in the different personality
dimensions and the corresponding't' values are presented in Table 4.32. It
254
can be seen from the table that three of the five personality dimensions of
the Big Five Inventory differ significantly between the two groups.
Table 4.32
Means and SDs of the personality types obtained by the high achievers and the
60% and Above
Below 60% (N=390)
Personality types (N=1670) •f
IVIean S. D Mean S.D
Extraversion 27.20 4.90 26.29 4.69 3.44**
Agreeableness 33.52 4.93 32.35 4.87 4.27**
Conscientiousness 30.24 5.77 29.76 5.24 1.59
Neuroticism 23.19 6.08 23.48 5.94 0.87
Openness 32.79 5.08 31.84 4.74 3.54**
Extraversion is significantly higher in the case of high achieving
adolescents than the low achieving group. The high achieving students may
be actively involved in social gatherings and spend time with peers. They
may be more popular and may have more peer acceptance. They tend to be
active, enthusiastic and assertive. The low achievers may tend to restrict
their lives to studies, may have difficulty in finding out friends and may be
hesitant to participate in group activities probably because of their low status
in academic achievement.
In the agreeableness dimension also the high achievers (M=33.52)
score significantly more than the low achievers (M=32.35). That is, the high
achievers are more agreeable than the low achievers. In order to excel in
academic records students require some amount of compliance and
pleasant nature. They also tend to be straight forward and trusting.
The high achieving students score significantly higher than the low
achieving group in the openness dimension also. Openness is a dimension
255
of personality which incorporates the intellectual and creative abilities of
individuals. The high achievers are more open to experiences, are curious,
imaginative with wide range of interests. So it is only natural that the high
achieving adolescents possess this trait more than the low achieving group.
In the neuroticism factor, the low achievers are found to have higher
scores than the high achievers while in the conscientiousness dimension,
the picture is just the opposite. However, these differences are not
statistically significant. These findings are largely in agreement with those
reported by Simmons et al. (1987), Hoge et al. (1990), Elmen (1991), and
Wentzel(1991).
4.1. H.5. Emotional intelligence
The high achieving students have significantly higher scores
(M=85.89) than the low achievers (M=83.84) in emotional intelligence
(t=3.83, p<.01). This is quite natural because in order to get good academic
results the students need to have good emotional stability. This has been
supported by severel studies conducted in different parts of the world
(Chong, Habibah, & Rahi, 2004; Ellen, 2002; Grace, 2002; Ronald &David,
2004; Vladimir, Vesna, Svjetlana, & Teme, 2002).
Summarizing the results with regard to the differences due to the
level of academic achievement, it can be seen that the high achieving
adolescents have less perceived stress of school performance, school
attendance, and financial pressure and less meaninglessness feeling than
the low achievers. At the same time they have less physical wellness also.
The two groups do not differ in any of the perceived parenting styles. In the
case of the Big Five personality dimensions, the high achievers are more
256
extraverts, agreeable and have more openness than the low achievers. In
the neuroticism and conscientiousness dimensions of the Big Five, the two
groups do not differ. Again, the high achievers have significantly more
emotional intelligence than the low achievers. Thus, the results obtained in
this section, in general, point out that academic achievement is a significant
event in the lives of adolescents having its impact on their levels of
perceived stress, well-being, personality and emotional intelligence.
4.1. I.COMPARISON OF ADOLESCENTS WHO HAVE CLOSE FRIENDS
AND WHO DO NOT HAVE CLOSE FRIENDS
Almost all young people are eager to participate in shared activities
and to exchange ideas and opinion with their age mates (Youners & Smoller,
1995). Most teenagers come to prefer companionship of peers to that of their
family members (BIyth et al., 1982; Csikszentmihalyis & Larson, 1984;
Larson et al., 1996; Montemayor & Hanson, 1985; Reisman, 1985). To some
extent, this reflects their realization that parents dominate parent-child
relationship. Friends are less likely than parents to coerce, criticize, and
lecture, and are more willing to give each other what they really want -
validation and status. This does not mean that they do not have close
relationships with family members.
Friendships vary in terms of intimacy. Adolescents become
embedded in a complex network of relationships with best friends, close
friends, acquaintances, cliques, crowds, and romantic relationships. It has
been found that the number of best friends peaks at about five during early
adolescence and then gradually declines until adulthood (Dunphy, 1972). No
257
two friends are alike. Each friendship reflects the personal qualities of each
participant (e.g., temperament), each child's history of early relationships, a
child's status and reputation among other children, and the specific
environmental conditions that prevail.
Personal needs and social pressures also compel each to identify
with at least one friendship group. Some factors which influence the
formation of peer groups are availability, proximity, goodness of fit in
personal qualities, shared interests and preferences, race, gender, ethnic
group similarities, frequent and pleasing contacts, and mode of
transportation to and from school or college.
In view of their significance in the life of adolescents, having close
friends and not having such confiding relationships is expected to influence
their perception of problems, their personality, emotional development and
psychological well-being. So this section examines the differences, if any,
between adolescents having close friends and those having no close friends
in the different variables explored in the study.
4.1.1.1 .Adolescent stress
adolescents having and not having close friends in the various stress
dimensions and the corresponding't' values are presented in Table 4.33.
From the table, it can be seen that there are significant differences between
the two groups only in three dimensions of stress while the differences are
not significant in the remaining seven dimensions as well as in total stress.
258
Table 4.33
Means and SDs of the stress measures obtained by the adolescents who have
close friends and who do not have close friends and the corresponding 't'
values
Yes(N=1987) No (N=73)
Mean S. D Mean S.D
School attendance 5.88 2.73 6.34 3.05 1.40
Peer pressure 14.76 5.21 16.32 5.99 2.48*
School-leisure conflict 12.06 4.67 11.68 5.04 0.68
Financial pressure 7.55 3.43 8.26 3.76 1.73
Emerging adult
8.21 3.09 9.11 3.32 2.42*
responsibility
Total stress 127.23 35.50 134.71 35.10 1.77
In stress of home life, the adolescents with close friends scored
significantly lower (M=23.73) than those without close friends (M=27.27).
That is, adolescents with close friends experience less stress of home life
than those without close friends. Researches have shown that peer
relationships are more egalitarian than adult-child relationships (e.g.,
Laursen, Hartrup, & Koplas, 1996). Explanations and understanding are
more balanced (Hunter, 1985). Moreover, friendships provide adolescents
with "opportunities to express, test and verify alternative views freely with
someone who shares similar life experiences" (Hunter, 1985 p.349). Thus
the adolescents who have close friends are able to share their uneasiness at
home, if any, with their friends while those who do not have close friends
have to deal with these problems on their own.
In stress of peer pressure, the adolescents having close friends
score significantly lower than the adolescents having no close friends
(t=2.48; p <.05). This result indicates that adolescents without close friends
259
experience more stress of peer pressure. It may be noted that the
adolescents who do not have close friends may feel isolated, may
experience criticism and teasing for not joining with anyone and may be
ridiculed about appearance, and tend to have a poor opinion about
themselves and their appearance. These may contribute to the elevated
score on peer pressure in this group. While those who have close friends
identify with them and become smoothly integrated into the peer culture, this
natural and spontaneous identification do not take place in the case of
adolescents who do not have close friends. Rather, they feel compelled to
accept the group culture and consequently experience greater peer
pressure.
Researches also show that all adolescents are not susceptible to
peer influence, most are somewhat susceptible to a given type of peer
influence at certain times under specific conditions. Again, adolescents are
more likely to experience subtle pressure to conform to group values and
standards than blatant attempts to control or manipulate them (Brown,
1990). Everyday family life provides children with countless opportunities to
learn about self-disclosure, trust, loyalty, conflict, compromise and respect
(Collins & Repinski, 1994). Those adolescents with close friends would have
acquired many of these skills (compared to those without close friends),
which would have helped them to build and maintain close relationship and
equip them to keep the distance and standards.
The adolescent group having close friends score significantly lower
than those without close friends in stress of emerging adult responsibility
also (t=2.42; p<.05). The adolescents without close friends experience more
stress of adult responsibility. Here also the adolescents with close friends get
260
an opportunity to share and discuss their apprehensions about
responsibilities and expectations. Friends rely on each other for
companionship, feedback, practical information and emotional support
(Seltzer, 1989; Sullivan, 1953). Peer groups provide a relatively safer haven
for trying out new beliefs and behaviors, and for experimenting with adult
roles and values.
Though the differences between the two groups on the other
dimensions and total stress are not statistically significant, on most of these
subscales the adolescents who are having close friends have low scores
and there by experience less stress than adolescents having no close
friends.
4.1. l.2.Psychological well-being
Although peer influence can be positive or negative, it is more likely
to be positive (Ball, 1981; Brown, Clasen, & Eicher, 1986; Mcintosh, 1996).
Typically, friends are more accepting than family members, at least for
unconventional ideas. Earlier researches have highlighted the positive
aspects of peer relations in adolescents' life.
obtained by the adolescents having close friends and those who do not
have, in psychological well-being and the corresponding't' values. It is
evident from the table that there are significant differences between the two
groups in all the components of psychological well-being except in the
personal control component. In all these cases, the adolescents having
close friends score higher (higher well-being) than adolescents having no
close friends. In other words, adolescents having close friends have less
261
meaninglessness (t= 6.7; p < .01), better self-esteem (t= 5.48; p< .01), more
positive affect (t= 2.62 ; p <.01) ,do well in daily activities (t=4.42 ; p <.01),
less somatic complaints (t=4.15 ; p <.01) better life satisfaction(t= 5.18 ; p
<.01), less suicidal ideas (t=2.42 ; p <.05), more social support(t=4.59 ; p
<.05), less tension(t= 3.63 ; p <.01), more wellness(t=3.63 ; p<,01), better
general efficiency(t=5.42 ; p<.01), and better total well-being (t=8.86 ; p
<.01). Children and adolescents who are disliked and rejected by their peers
may be deficient in social skills and thus difficult to get along with, or they
may just be perceived as being different by intolerant peers (Merten, 1996).
Rejected adolescents suffer from loneliness and low self-esteem. Some
develop a reputation for nasty or unfriendly behavior, which solidify their
rejected status (Asher &Coie, 1990; Coie & Bodge, 1983).
Table 4.34
Means and SDs of the psychological well-being obtained by the adolescents
who have close friends and who do not have close friends and the
corresponding 't' values
Psychological well- Yes(N =1987) No (N=73)
'f
being dimensions Mean S. D Mean S.D
Meaninglessness 1.54 0.70 0.97 0.80 6.70"
Self esteem 1.33 0.73 0.85 0.83 5.48"
Positive affect 1.81 0.45 1.67 0.60 2.62"
Daily activities 1.48 0.68 1.12 0.80 4.42"
Somatic complaints 1.07 0.82 0.67 0.78 4.15"
Life satisfaction 1.38 0.74 0.92 0.80 5.18"
Suicidal ideas 1.53 0.69 1.33 0.80 2.42*
Social support 1.57 0.64 1.22 0.80 4.59"
Tension 1.11 0.80 0.77 0.77 3.63"
Wellness 1.44 0.70 1.04 0.73 4.81"
General efficiency 1.39 0.70 0.93 0.84 5.42"
Total well-being 19.71 4.96 14.44 5.80 8.86"
262
Peer group is a source of powerful social rewards, Including
prestige, acceptance, status, and popularity, that can enhance an
adolescent's self-esteem (Bishop & Inderbitzen, 1995; Muuss, 1988).
Friendship also plays a key role in constructing a personal identity (Berndt &
Savin-Williams, 1993; Erickson, 1960; Younis & Haynie, 1992). Adolescents
who are accepted by their peers and who have reciprocal friendships usually
have higher self-esteem and do better in school (Berndt & Savin-Williams,
1990; Bishop & Inderbitzen, 1995). The feeling that they are considered
important among their close friendships and such relationships themselves
may reduce the feelings of meaninglessness.
Again, love, affection and positive emotions experienced by the
adolescents in close relationships would enhance happiness and empathy.
The daily activities also may improve because there is discussion of what
each one does in a day among close friends. This would help them to enrich
their daily activities and resolve some of their difficulties in carrying out the
daily activities. As they feel better emotionally and cognitively, they tend to
have less somatic complaints and suicidal ideas. Earlier studies have shown
that girls typically are more positive about their close relationships, report
more intimacy than boys do and report getting more intensive social support
from their peers (Frey & Rothlisberger,1996; Jones & Costin,1995;
0'koon,1997).
For adolescents, friends are fun to be with, assist them with
personal problems and help them avoid feeling lonely. This generally
improves life satisfaction and wellness. The sharing and self-disclosure
reduces tension and at times becomes a means to resolve difficulties.
Adolescents who are spumed by their age mates are at risk for a host of
263
adjustment problems, the seriousness of which depends on the intensity and
frequency of rejection. Adjustment problems include absenteeism from
school, lower achievement and aggressive or withdrawn behavior, or both
(DeRosier, Kupersmidt, & Patterson, 1994; Parker & Asher, 1987).
Bronfenbrenner (1979, 1989), and Erickson (1968) allege that the
breakdown in adolescents' social networks leads to impairment in their
mental health, social behavior, and academic performance. As adults they
will be at high risk for marital, psychological, sexual and vocational problems
(Parker & Asher, 1987; Reisman, 1985). Thus friendship becomes an
important determinant of adolescents' psychological well-being.
4.1. l.3.Parenting style
This section examines whether parenting styles have any influence
on adolescent peer relationships. Fear of deviant pressure leads some
parents to attempt to restrict their children's choice of companions. However,
most teenagers resist having their social lives regulated by their parents.
Actually parents and peer influence complement each other in ways that
prepare adolescents for adult like relationships with friends and family
members. Peers usually model and reinforce each other the same behaviors
and values that they learn from their parents (Gavin & Furman, 1996).
adolescents having close friends and those who do not have close friends in
perceived parenting styles and the corresponding 't' values are given in
Table 4.35. From the table it is clear that the two groups differ significantly in
the permissive and the authoritative parenting styles of both the parents.
264
There are no significant differences between the two groups in the
authoritarian parenting styles.
Table 4.35
Means and SDs of the parenting style obtained by the adolescents who have
close friends and adolescents who do not have close friends and the
Yes(N =1987) No (N=73)
Parenting styles 'f
Mean S. D Mean S.D
Permissive father 32.53 5.66 30.89 6.97 2.41*
Permissive mother 32.88 5.48 30.74 6.50 3.26**
Adolescents having close friends score significantly higher than
those not having close friends in the permissive parenting styles of father
t=2.41; p<.05) and mother (t=3.26;p<.01), which suggests that permissive
parenting style facilitates close peer relationships in adolescent's life. In
permissive parenting there is lack of control and restriction which entitle the
y
adolescents to do whatever they want. As adolescence is an age of
experimenting peer relationships, in the context of minimum restrictions, the
adolescents may get the opportunity to make close friends. Earlier research
has shown that adolescents are more prone to mindless conformity when
their parents are permissive and inconsistent or if they simply don't monitor
their children's activities (Feldman & Wentzel, 1990).
In the case of authoritative parenting style also, the adolescents
having close friends get higher scores than those without close friends. The
parents of adolescents having close friends are more authoritative than
those adolescents without close friends. It has been found that children of
265
parents who act collaborately and who show caring by considering their
opinions are lil<ely to bring these skills into their peer relationships which
would facilitate the making of close relationships (Fuligini & Eccles, 1993;
Hunter, 1985; Levitt, Guacci- Franco, & Levitt, 1993; Parke «& Ladd, 1992;
Steinberg & Silverberg, 1986; Wilks, 1986). Authoritative parents take the
time to learn and talk about their children's friends and to help them solve
friendship related problems (Gauze, Bukowski, Aquan-Assee, and Sippola,
1996). They also demonstrate their children how to get along with other
people. These may facilitate better friendship bonds among adolescents.
4.1. l.4.Personality
Whether adolescents make close friends or not might be influenced
by the kind of personality make up they possess. Table 4.36 shows the
mean and the standard deviation scores obtained by the adolescents having
close friends and those having no close friends in the Big Five personality
factors and the corresponding't' values.
Table 4.36
Means and SDs of the personality types obtained by the adolescents who have
close friends and adolescents who do not have close friends and the
Yes(N =1987) No (N=73)
Personality types 1'
Mean S. D Mean S.D
Extraversion 27.13 4.83 24.44 5.37 4.65**
Agreeableness 33.42 4.88 29.99 5.30 5.88**
Neuroticism 23.13 6.01 26.32 6.48 4.43**
Openness 32.64 5.04 31.82 4.87 1.37
It can be seen from the table that except in the openness dimension,
all the other four Big Five personality factors differ significantly between the
two groups. On extraversion, agreeableness, and conscientiousness the
266
adolescent group with close friends score significantly higher than those
without close friends, while in the neuroticism factor, the adolescents having
no close friends have significantly higher score.
The adolescents having close friends (M=27.13) are more in
extraversion than adolescents without close friends (M= 24.44). This is quite
understandable because adolescents who are more sociable, talkative, fun
loving and affectionate (extravert characteristics) tends to make friends
easily. Children who are sociable and cooperative are more popular with
peers (Coie, Bodge, & Kupersmidt, 1990). Merten (1996) also have reported
that adolescents who are actively disliked and rejected by their peers may be
deficient in social skills and thus difficult to get along with. Again, the
easygoing nature of extraverts helps adolescents to ignore conflicts in
relationships.
In agreeableness dimension also adolescents having close friends
have higher scores (M=33.42) than their counterparts having no close
friends (M= 29.99). Eariier studies also have shown that for most
adolescents, interactional qualities such as intimacy (sharing, caring,
validation), nurturance, dependability, and interpersonal skills play an
increasingly important role in maintaining closeness (Claes,1992;
Hartup,1989; Jarvinen & Nicholls,1996; Savin- Williams & Berndt,1990;
Seltzer, 1989; Zarbatany, Ghesquiere, & Mohr,1992). Claes (1992) further
reports that loyaty, frankness and trust are highly valued traits in friendships.
Selman (1980) emphasized the importance of empathetic understanding in
close relationships. Thus the traits such as trust, straight forwardness,
altruism, compliance, modesty and tender mindedness which are the
267
characteristics of agreeableness, facilitates peer relationships, as is evident
in the present investigation.
In the conscientiousness dimension also the adolescents having
close friends score significantly higher (M=30.24) than those without close
friends (M= 27.53). Hartup (1996) has reported that children and
adolescents use their friendship as cognitive and social resources for
developing moral judgment and values. Thus peer relationships help
adolescents to expand their understanding of moral principles such as trust,
loyalty, availability, give and take, and so on. This type of learning is life long
and it would contribute to higher conscientiousness in adolescents with
friends.
The adolescents without close friends score significantly higher (M=
26.32) than the adolescents with close friends (M= 23.13) in the neuroticism
dimension of the Big Five personality inventory. As in line with general
observation, the moody, anxious, irritable, shy, vulnerable adolescents find it
difficult to build close relationships. Earlier researches also have shown
similar results. Some rejected adolescents are just shy, self conscious and
simply anxious (George & Hartmann, 1996; Parkhurst & Asher, 1992). The
lack of emotional stability, typical characteristic of neurotics, makes it difficult
for others to get along with them.
4.1.1.5. Emotional intelligence
Emotional intelligence of adolescents having close friends is
significantly higher (M=85.82) than those who do not have close friends
(M=76.82). The obtained 'f value (t=3.26) is significant at the .01 level.
Emotional intelligence and sustained close relationships are seen to be
268
complementary to each other. That is, emotional intelligence which involves
self awareness, ability to manage mood, self motivation, empathy, self
regulation, ability to analyze and understand situations, creative and flexible
thinking, and an integrated self and balanced life is an essential element of
any interpersonal relationships. At the same time as we have seen in earlier
sections, a healthy close relationship will contribute to the development of
emotional intelligence. It is especially true in the case of adolescents as they
are in the growing age. Rice (1999), and Rubin (1990) reported that children,
adolescents and adults who score high on emotional intelligence are found
to have positive interpersonal relationships.
Thus the results obtained in this section clearly bring out the
significance of having close friendship bonds among adolescents. The
results obtained with respect to all the main variables reveal the facilitative
role or positive impact of having close friends upon adolescents. As already
noted, the adolescents having close friends are found to have lower level of
perceived stress, higher levels of psychological well-being, and higher
emotional intelligence than the adolescents who do not have close friendship
bonds. The former group of adolescents is also found to possess more
desirable personality dimensions such as extraversion, agreeableness, and
conscientiousness, and less neuroticism than the latter group. Further,
adolescents having close friends perceive their parents as having more
permissive and authoritative parenting styles than those adolescents who do
not have close friendships.
269
4.1. J. COMPARISON OF MAIN VARIABLES WITH RESPECT TO ORDER
OF BIRTH
This section examines whether there are significant differences
between the adolescents due to order of birth in adolescent stress,
psychological well-being, perceived parenting styles, personality, and
emotional intelligence. For this purpose, the sample was divided into 3
groups based on order of birth namely, first born, middle born, and last born,
and the differences among these groups on the above variables were tested
using one-way ANOVA. In cases where significant F-values were obtained,
further multiple comparisons of the group means were made using Scheffe's
post hoc test.
4.1. J.I.Adolescent stress
The results of the ANOVA on various stress dimensions with respect
to order of birth reveal that the differences among the categories such as
first born, middle born and last born are not significant (Table 4.37). This
indicates that order of birth do not have any significant impact in the
experience of stress in adolescents.
270
Table 4.37
Results of the ANOVA of adolescent stress with respect to order of birth
Sum of Mean
df F
Squares Square
Between Groups 190.756 2 95.378 1.384
Stress of home life Within Groups 141791.6 2057 68.931
Total 141982.3 2059
Between Groups 18.418 2 9.209 0.227
Stress of school
Within Groups 83440.559 2057 40.564
performance
Total 83458.976 2059
Between Groups 15.424 2 7.712 1.025
Stress of school
Within Groups 15478.374 2057 7.525
attendance
Total 15493.798 2059
Between Groups 43.779 2 21.89 1.055
Stress of romantic
Within Groups 42674.123 2057 20.746
relationship
Total 42717.903 2059
Between Groups 7.033 2 3.517 0.128
Stress of peer
Within Groups 56705.79 2057 27.567
pressure
Total 56712.823 2059
Between Groups 24.438 2 12.219 0.336
Stress of teacher
Within Groups 74695.205 2057 36.313
interaction
Total 74719.643 2059
Between Groups 26.958 2 13.479 1.412
Stress of future
Within Groups 19639.792 2057 9.548
uncertainty
Total 19666.750 2059
Between Groups 64.905 2 32.453 1.479
Stress of school -
Within Groups 45144.044 2057 21.947
leisure conflict
Total 45208.95 2059
Between Groups 3.589 2 1.794 0.151
Stress of financial
Within Groups 24431.598 2057 11.877
pressure
Total 24435.186 2059
Between Groups 54.898 2 27.449 2.857
Stress of emerging
Within Groups 19763.321 2057 9.608
adult responsibility
Total 19818.219 2059
Between Groups 1913.872 2 956.936 0.759
Total stress Within Groups 2593011.004 2057 1260.579
Total 2594924.876 2059
4.1. J.2.Psychological well-being
The results of the one-way ANOVA and the post hoc test are given
in Table 4.38 and Table 4.39 respectively. From Table 4.38, it can be seen
that the F- ratio obtained in the one-way ANOVA is significant only in the
case of suicidal ideas component of psychological well-being while there are
no significant differences between the 3 groups in the other components of
psychological well-being as well as in total well-being. This indicates that
271
order of birth makes significant influence only in the intensity of suicidal
ideas in adolescents (F= 3.57; P< .05).
Table 4.38
Results of the ANOVA of Psychological well-being with res|3ect to order of birth
Sum of Mean
df F
Squares Square
Between Groups 2.116 2 1.058 2.088
Meaninglessness Within Groups 1042.387 2057 0.507
Total 1044.503 2059
Between Groups 0.123 2 6.167E-02 0.114
Self-esteem Within Groups 1109.519 2057 0.539
Total 1109.643 2059
Between Groups 0.348 2 0.174 0.826
Positive affect Within Groups 433.676 2057 0.211
Total 434.025 2059
Between Groups 0.309 2 0.155 0.327
Daily activities Within Groups 972.943 2057 0.473
Total 973.252 2059
Between Groups 0.258 2 0.129 0.191
Somatic complaints Within Groups 1385.157 2057 0.673
Total 1385.415 2059
Between Groups 0.667 2 0.333 0.594
Life satisfaction Within Groups 1154.348 2057 0.561
Total 1155.015 2059
Between Groups 3.428 2 1.714 3.566*
Suicidal ideas Within Groups 988.633 2057 0.481
Total 992.06 2059
Between Groups 2.557 2 1.278 2.56
Personal control Within Groups 1027.064 2057 0.499
Total 1029.621 2059
Between Groups 8.087E-02 2 4.044E-02 0.097
Social support Within Groups 859.812 2057 0.418
Total 859.893 2059
Between Groups 0.275 2 0.137 0.216
Tension Within Groups 1307.523 2057 0.636
Total 1307.798 2059
Between Groups 0.803 2 0.401 0.816
Wellness Within Groups 1011.129 2057 0.492
Total 1011.932 2059
Between Groups 0.451 2 0.225 0.445
General efficiency Within Groups 1040.716 2057 0.506
Total 1041.167 2059
Between Groups 33.687 2 16.843 0.651
Total well-being Within Groups 53237.898 2057 25.881
Total 53271.584 2059
272
Suicidal ideas
Table 4.39
Results of the post hoc test - Suicidal ideas
N Subset for Alpha = 0.05
Order of birth 1 2
Middle born 273 1.42
Last born 741 1.53
First born 1046 1.54
Sig: 1.00 0.977
As can be seen from Table 4.39, in the case of suicidal ideas the
highest mean score is obtained by the first born (M=1.54), followed by the
last born (M = 1.53) and the middle born (M= 1.42).The results of the post
hoc test reveals that there is significant difference between the middle born
and both the last born and the first born groups in suicidal ideas, while the
difference between the last born and the first born is not significant. Thus,
suicidal ideas are comparatively less intense in the first born and last bom
than in the middle born. It may be noted that from the beginning, middle bom
has a pacesetter in the older sibling. The second child is not alone but
always has the example of the older child's behaviour as a model, a threat, a
source of competition. This may contribute a sense of failure and
hopelessness in the middle-born who are not competent enough with the
first born. Again, the middle born have some disadvantage compared to last
born, though there is room for comparison in the case of last born also; they
often become the pet of the family which may bring in the middle born a
sense of disappointment.
Though the present results do not show any significant difference in
any of the other components including self-esteem of psychological well-
being, previous studies have found middle born to be lower in self-esteem
273
than first born or last born. Moreover first born are anxious in stressful
situations and have a higher need for social relationships (Schachter, 1963,
1964). First born scored lower than later-born on tests of depression and
anxiety but scored higher on self-esteem (Gates, Lineberger, Crockett, &
Hubbard, 1988).
4.1. J.S.Parenting Style
Table 4.40
Results of the ANOVA of Parenting Style with respect to order of birth
Sum of Mean
df F
Squares Square
Between Groups 19.163 2 9.581 0.293
Permissive father Within Groups 67253.911 2057 32.695
Total 67273.073 2059
Between Groups 9.857 2 4.928 0.161
Permissive motiier Within Groups 63060.474 2057 30.657
Total 63070.330 2059
Between Groups 26.978 2 13.489 0.341
Authoritarian father Within Groups 81371.964 2057 39.559
Total 81398.941 2059
Between Groups 32.356 2 16.178 0.432
Authoritarian mother Within Groups 76944.419 2057 37.406
Total 76976.775 2059
Between Groups 120.228 2 60.114 1.315
Authoritative father Within Groups 94050.939 2057 45.722
Total 94171.167 2059
Between Groups 76.019 2 38.009 0.929
Authoritative mother Within Groups 84120.591 2057 40.895
Total 84196.610 2059
The results of the ANOVA with respect to perceived parenting styles
of first, middle and last born show that the differences among these three
categories are not significant (Table 4.40). This means that the adolescents'
perceived parenting style is not influenced by their birth order in the family.
However, Adier, who wrote extensively on birth order opined that though
274
siblings have the same parents and live in the same house, they do not have
been exposed to similar kind of parenting. But the present investigation
focused mainly on the disciplining and communication aspects of parenting.
Moreover, in many of the families the number of children is limited to two
which again may influence the relation between order of birth and parenting.
4.1. JAPersonality
The results of the ANOVA with respect to personality given in Table
4.41 show that there are no significant differences in personality types
among the first, middle and the last born adolescents. Order of birth does not
make any significant impact on the development of Big Five personality traits
such as extraversion, agreeableness, conscientiousness, neuroticism, and
openness. Adier (1963) explained that being older or younger than one's
sibling create different childhood conditions that help determine personality.
Further researches in Adier's theory revealed that first born tend to be more
dependent on other people and more suggestive and have a higher need for
social relationships (Schachter, 1963, 1964). First born girls were found to
be more obedient and socially responsible than later born and tended to feel
closer to their parents. They are also outgoing and enjoy romanticizing
(Sutton-Smith & Rosenber, 1970). First born tend to be considered as
aggressive by their teachers and also exhibit some of the characteristics of
Type A personality (Ivancevich, Matterson, & Gamble, 1987; Lahey,
Hammel, Crumrine, & Forehand, 1980). Now-a-days with increasing
educational background and decrease in number of children, parents may
be able to provide a similar social environment for their children.
275
Tab le 4.41
Results of the ANOVA of Persona ity Type with respect to order of birth
Sum of Mean
df F
Squares Square
Between Groups 127.635 2 63.817 2.689
Extraversion Within Groups 48814.377 2057 23.731
Total 48942.012 2059
Between Groups 46.460 2 23.230 0.954
Agreeableness Within Groups 50093.316 2057 24.353
Total 50139.776 2059
Between Groups 120.869 2 60.435 1.876
Conscientiousness Within Groups 66262.857 2057 32.213
Total 66383.726 2059
Between Groups 54.176 2 27.088 0.738
Neuroticism Within Groups 75512.550 2057 36.710
Total 75566.726 2059
Between Groups 0.985 2 0.492 0.019
Openness Within Groups 52155.887 2057 25.355
Total 52156.872 2059
4.1. J.S.Emotional intelligence
The highest mean score in emotional intelligence is obtained by the
middle-born (M=86.02), followed by the last-born (M=85.84) and the first
born (M=85.13). However, result of the ANOVA (F= 1.58) shows that the
differences among these groups are not significant. This indicates that order
of birth does not have any significant impact on the emotional intelligence of
adolescents.
4.1.K.C0MPARIS0N OF MAIN VARIABLES WITH RESPECT TO
RELIGION
Even though, constitutionally, India defines itself as a secular
country, religion and caste are deeply entrenched in the identity of Indians
across ages and play direct or indirect roles in the daily lives of people.
Hindus predominate, with Muslims and Christians as well as other religious
276
groups forming about 20 percent of the population. Religion is a significant
part of young person's cultural experience and is omnipresent. Most homes
have a place of worship and youth do participate in brief periods of daily
worship, most marked during times of stress such as examinations.
Adolescents and their families do visit religious places and offer prayers to
the several deities at least during festival seasons. In sum, religion is ever
present in the lives of adolescents, though it plays more of a social than
religious role in most cases (Verma & Saraswathi, 2002). In this context, the
present section compares the predominant religions such as Hindu,
Christian and Muslim in Kerala on the main study variables namely
adolescent stress, psychological well-being, parenting style, personality, and
emotional intelligence. For this purpose the sample was divided into 3
groups based on religion and one- way ANOVA was carried out. In cases
where significant 'F' values were obtained, further multiple comparisons of
the group means were made using Scheffe's test.
4.1. K.1.Adolescent stress
The results of the analysis of variance with respect to religion is
given in Table 4.42. The results show significant differences due to religion
for total stress and all the dimensions of stress except stress of financial
pressure. The results are discussed in detail in the following pages.
277
Table 4.42
Results of the ANOVA of adolescent stress with respect to religion
Sum of Mean
df F
Squares Square
Between Groups 2177.985 2 1088.993 16.023**
Total 141982.311 2059
Between Groups 1017.6 2 508.8 12.695**
Stress of school
Within Groups 82441.376 2057 40.078
performance
Total 83458.976 2059
Between Groups 170.637 2 85.319 11.453**
Stress of school
Within Groups 15323.161 2057 7.449
attendance
Total 15493.798 2059
Between Groups 274.281 2 137.141 6.646**
Stress of romantic
Within Groups 42443.621 2057 20.634
relationship
Total 42717.903 2059
Between Groups 408.046 2 204.023 7.454**
Stress of peer
Within Groups 56304.778 2057 27.372
pressure
Total 56712.823 2059
Between Groups 1549.935 2 774.967 21.786**
Stress of teacher
Within Groups 73169.708 2057 35.571
interaction
Total 74719.643 2059
Between Groups 66.59 2 33.295 3.494*
Stress of future
Within Groups 19600.16 2057 9.529
uncertainty
Total 19666.75 2059
Between Groups 586.668 2 293.334 13.522**
Stress of school -
Within Groups 44622.281 2057 21.693
leisure conflict
Total 45208.95 2059
Between Groups 57.565 2 28.783 2.429
Stress of financial
Within Groups 24377.621 2057 11.851
pressure
Total 24435.186 2059
Between Groups 273.897 2 136.948 14.414**
Stress of emerging
Within Groups 19544.322 2057 9.501
Total 19818.219 2059
Between Groups 49314.83 2 24657.415 19.925**
Total 2594924.876 2059
Significant at the . 05 level
Stress of home life
Table 4.42 provides the results of the analysis of variance and Table
4.43 provides the results of the post hoc analysis. The F- value obtained is
16.02 and it is significant at the .01 level. Multiple comparisons, of the group
means (Table 4.43) reveal significant differences between each of the 3
religious groups.
278
Table 4.43
Results of the post hoc test - Stress of home life
Subset for alpha = .05
N
Religion 1 2 3
Hindu 771 22.66
Christian 989 24.25
Muslim 300 25.61
Sig. 1.00 1.00 1.00
The Muslim adolescents are found to have higher stress of home life
(M=25.61), followed by the Christians (M = 24.25) and the Hindus
(M=22.66). This is in agreement with the general observation that Muslim
religion exerts very stringent rules and regulations and they seem to be less
open to the adolescents' need for autonomy and individual perspective.
Again, Muslim religion does not allow any room for deviation from religious
practices even for adolescents at whatever circumstances. Christians are
comparatively less in these aspects than Muslims but more rigid than Hindu
religion.
Stress of school performance
Table 4.44
Results of the post hoc test - Stress of school performance
N
Religion 1 2
Hindu 771 19.75
Christian 989 20.95
Muslim 300 21.65
Sig. 1 0.201
Table 4.44 shows that the mean scores in stress of school
performance obtained by the adolescents belonging to different religions are
279
in the order Muslims (l\/l=21.65), Christians (M=20.95) and Hindus
(M=19.75). Multiple connparisons of the group means reveal that the Muslim
and the Christian adolescents do not differ among themselves, both these
groups have significantly higher stress than the Hindu adolescents. Christian
and Muslim religions have more competitive spirit and pressurise their
adolescents for academic excellence.
Stress of school attendance
The F - ratio obtained for this dimension of stress is 11.45 and it is
significant at the .01 level. Table 4.45 gives the results of the post hoc
analysis which reveals that the Hindu students have the lowest stress of
school attendance (M=5.56) followed by the Christian (M=6.03) and the
Muslim (M=6.36) students.
Table 4.45
Results of the post hoc test - Stress school attendance
N
Religion 1 2
Hindu 771 5.56
Christian 989 6.03
Muslim 300 6.36
Sig. 1 0.152
Here also the Hindu students show significant difference with the
Christian as well as Muslim students, while the latter two groups do not
significantly differ among themselves. The Muslim and the Christian religions
are quite strict in regular involvement in assigned activities than the Hindu
religion which may contribute to higher stress in these. Again, most of these
students may be studying in schools run by their respective religious groups
280
where again the schools run by Christians and Muslim religions are very rigid
on attendance.
Stress of romantic relationship
Table 4.46
Results of the post hoc test - Stress of romantic relationship
N
Religion 1 2
Hindu 771 10.74
Christian 989 11.38 11.38
Muslim 300 11.71
Sig. 0.072 0.486
The F - value obtained for stress of romantic relationship is
significant. The mean scores obtained by the three groups are in the order
Muslims (M=11.71), Christians (M=11.38), and Hindus (M= 10.74). It is clear
from the above table that the Muslim adolescents have significantly higher
stress of romantic relationship than the Hindu adolescents while the
Christian adolescents do not significantly differ from either the Hindu or the
Muslim adolescents. If a young person's own choice of partner transgresses
religious and caste barriers the whole family risks social ostracism. This is
very much true in the case of Muslims as they never tolerate intercaste
marriages. On the other hand, Hindu and Christian religions show much
more tolerance in this aspect.
Stress of peer pressure
From Table 4.42 it is seen that the F - value obtained with respect to
the stress of peer pressure (F= 7.54) is significant at the .01 level. Table
4.47 gives the results of the post hoc analysis. It is clear from the post hoc
analysis that the Muslim adolescents have the highest score in peer
281
pressure (M=15.62), followed by the Christian (M=14.97) and the Hindu
adolescents (14.32). The Muslim adolescents differ significantly from Hindu
adolescents but both Muslim and Hindu adolescents do not differ
significantly from Christian adolescents in the case of peer pressure. Muslim
adolescents may have a lot of pressure to conform to their peer group in
dressing, physical appearance, and other activities which their religion insists
rigidly. But Hindu adolescents experience comparatively less pressure of this
sort as their religion does not restrict their life much.
Table 4.47
Results of the post hoc test -Stress of peer pressure
N
Religion 1 2
Hindu 771 14.32
Christian 989 14.97 14.97
Muslim 300 15.62
Sig. 0.132 0.123
Stress of teacher interaction
Table 4.48
Results of the post hoc test - Stress of teacher interaction
N
Religion 1 2
Hindu 771 14.25
Christian 989 15.75
Muslim 300 16.58
Sig. 1 0.08
The analysis of variance for stress of teacher interaction show that
the F - ratio is significant (F=21.79; P<.01) and post hoc analysis (Table
4.48) show that the Hindu students have the lowest score in stress of
teacher interaction (M=14.25) and it is significantly different from both the
Christian (M=15.75) and the Muslim adolescents (M=16.58). However, the
282
differences between the Christian and the Muslim adolescents are not
significant. Thus, the Hindu adolescents have less difficulty in interacting
with teachers and less conflict between freedom and control in the school
environment. The autonomy/control tension is more for the Christian and the
Muslim students.
Stress of future uncertainty
The F-ratio obtained is significant (F=3.40; P<.05) indicating that the
differences among the groups are significant for stress of future uncertainty.
The highest mean score is obtained by the Muslim adolescents (M=8.27),
followed by the Christian (M=8.01) and the Hindu adolescents (7.74).
Table 4.49
Results of the post hoc test - Stress of future uncertainty
N
Religion 1 2
Hindu 771 7.74
Christian 989 8.01 8.01
Muslim 300 8.27
Sig. 0.365 0.408
Multiple comparisons of the group means show that the Muslim
adolescents have significantly higher score than the Hindu adolescents.
However the difference between the Hindu and the Christian groups, and the
Christian and the Muslim groups are not significant. Thus the present results
show that the Muslim adolescents have the highest and significantly high
apprehension about future than the Hindu students. Comparatively smaller
number of Muslim students goes for higher education and many of the
Muslim girls are forced to get married at an early age and not encouraged to
283
go for jobs or higher studies. The feeling that their educational life is coming
to an end may be quite stressful for them.
Stress of school -leisure conflict
In the case of school-leisure conflict the F- ratio obtained is
significant (F=13.52) at the .01 level. From Table 4.50, it can be seen that
the highest mean score in stress of school-leisure conflict is obtained by the
Muslim adolescents (M=12.53), followed by the Christian (M=12.44) and the
Hindu (M=11.36) adolescents. Both the Muslim and the Christian students
have significantly higher scores in stress of school-leisure conflict than the
Hindu students, but there is no significant difference between the Christian
and the Muslim students. The rigid religious practices, rituals and religious
classes of Muslim and Christian religions may be interfering with the leisure
activities of adolescents. Hindu religion is comparatively more flexible than
the other two religions in practicing the rituals.
Table 4.50
Results of the post hoc test - Stress of school-leisure conflict
N
Religion 1 2
Hindu 771 11.36
Christian 989 12.44
Muslim 300 12.53
Sig. 1 0.952
Stress of financial pressure
In stress of financial pressure, the obtained mean scores for the
three religious groups are in the order, Muslims (M=7.93), Christians
(M=7.60), and Hindus(M=7.41). The ANOVA results (F=2.43) shows that
the differences among the three religious groups are not significant. In other
words religion as such does not make any impact on the stress of financial
284
pressure in adolescence. This is quite reasonable because in all religions
there are people from all kinds of socio-economic status.
Stress of emerging adult responsibility
The F-ratio obtained in stress of emerging adult responsibility
(F=14.41) is significant at the .01 level. Subsequent post hoc analysis (Table
4.51) reveals that the highest mean score is obtained by the Muslim
adolescents (M=8.84), followed by the Christian (M=8.40) and the Hindu
(M=7.81) adolescents. Both the Muslim and the Christian adolescents have
significantly higher scores in stress of emerging adult responsibility than the
Hindu adolescents. But the Muslim adolescents do not differ significantly
from the Christian adolescents in this regard. Muslim and Christian
adolescents are expected to share more household and other
responsibilities than Hindu adolescents.
Table 4.51
Results of the post hoc test - Stress of emerging adult
responsibility
N
Religion 1 2
Hindu 771 7.81
Christian 989 8.4
Muslim 300 8.84
Sig. 1 0.073
Total Stress
Results of the analysis of variance with respect to total adolescent
stress show that the obtained F-ratio is significant at the .01 level. The
results of the post hoc analysis are given in Table 4.52. As seen from the
table, all the three religious groups differ significantly from each other.
Muslim adolescents have the highest total stress (M=135.09) and Hindu
285
adolescents have the lowest stress (M=121.60), with the middle position
occupied by Christian adolescents (M=129.79). Muslim religion with its
strong religious practices put maximum overall stress in adolescents.
Though Christians also enforce religious practices, it is less than Muslim
religion and more than Hindu religion. Adolescents from Hindu religion are
the least pressurised because in Hindu religion there is a lot more flexibility
in carrying out rituals. Moreover, apart from major ceremonies Hindu rituals
are short and less time consuming.
Table 4.52
Results of the post hoc test - Total stress
N
Religion 1 2 3
Hindu 771 121.6
Christian 989 129.79
Muslim 300 135.09
Sig. 1.00 1.00 1.00
Thus, the results obtained with respect to the impact of religion on
adolescent stress reveal that in all the dimensions of adolescent stress as
well as in total stress the adolescents belonging to the Muslim religion
perceived higher levels of stress, followed by the Christian adolescents,
while the Hindu adolescents experienced the lowest level of stress.
4.1. K.2.Psychological well-being
The mean scores obtained by the three religious groups in
psychological well-being were tested for significance using analysis of
variance and the results of the same are given in Table 4.53. The obtained
F-ratios are significant in the case of daily activities (F=3.88; P<.05), life
satisfaction (F=9.76; P<.01), and general efficiency (F=4.23;P<.05)
286
components of psychological well-being and in total well-being (F=4.20;
P<.05).
TabI e 4.53
Results of the ANOVA of psycholog cal well-bein g with 1'aspect to re igion
Sum of Mean
df F
Squares Square
Between Groups 0.963 2 0.481 0.949
Total 1044.503 2059
Between Groups 0.177 2 8.84E-02 0.164
Total 1109.643 2059
Between Groups 1.036 2 0.518 2.46
Total 434.025 2059
Between Groups 3.659 2 1.829 3.881*
Total 973.252 2059
Between Groups 1.314 2 0.657 0.976
Total 1385.415 2059
Between Groups 10.856 2 5.428 9.759**
Total 1155.015 2059
Between Groups 1.959 2 0.98 2.035
Total 992.06 2059
Between Groups 0.119 2 5.94E-02 0.119
Total 1029.621 2059
Between Groups 2.034 2 1.017 2.438
Total 859.893 2059
Between Groups 0.846 2 0.423 0.666
Total 1307.798 2059
Between Groups 0.293 2 0.146 0.297
Total 1011.932 2059
Between Groups 4.264 2 2.132 4.23*
Total 1041.167 2059
Between Groups 216.621 2 108.31 4.199*
Total 53271.584 2059
Significant at the. 05 level
The subsequent post hoc analysis done for the significant cases,
reveal that there are significant differences among the religious groups in life
287
satisfaction, general efficiency, and total well-being and no significant
difference is obtained for stress of daily activities. This indicates that religion
is an important determinant of life satisfaction, general efficiency, and total
well-being of adolescents.
In daily activities the F-ratio is comparatively small and the
difference among the religious groups might be negligible. Again, the
components such as meaninglessness, self esteem, positive effort, somatic
complaints, suicidal ideas, personal control, social support, tension, and
wellness of psychological well-being receive more or less similar
contributions from all the religions. In other words, Muslim, Hindu and
Christian religions enhance these aspects of well-being in adolescents
almost equally. A closer look at these factors shows that irrespective of
religious beliefs, finding meaning in life is aimed at by all religions. The need
to have self respect or self- esteem and personal control is emphasized in all
religions, and they provide strong social support for its members, reduce
tension, enhance wellness, provide various healing procedures to deal with
wellness, and discourage suicidal ideas. These may be the reasons for not
obtaining a significant difference in these aspects among the various
religious groups. The significant cases are discussed in detail.
Life satisfaction
Table 4.54
Results of the post hoc test - Life satisfaction
N
Religion 1 2
Muslim 300 1.24
Christian 989 1.33
Hindu 771 1.44
288
Sig. 0.111
From Table 4.54, it can be seen that the highest mean score is
obtained by the Hindu adolescents (M=1.44), followed by the Christian
(M=1.33) and the Muslim (M= 1.24) adolescents. This indicates that the
Hindu adolescents have the highest life satisfaction and they are significantly
different from the other two religious groups in life satisfaction. Christian
adolescents do not differ significantly in life satisfaction from Muslim
students. As it was seen in the previous section Hindus experience less
stress, and hence experience better life satisfaction. Hinduism is usually
defined as a way of life rather than a religion, and has a strong philosophical
base and the present investigation shows that this way of life provides more
life satisfaction for adolescents than either Muslim or Christian religions.
General efficiency
Table 4.55
Results of the post hoc test -General efficiency
N
Religion 1 2
Muslim 300 1.3
Christian 989 1.35 1.35
Hindu 771 1.43
Sig. 0.435 0.25
Post hoc analysis as given in the above table shows that the Hindu
adolescents have significantly higher general efficiency than the Muslims
while the Christians do not differ significantly from either the Hindus or the
Muslims. Hindu religion promotes different kinds of skills and aptitudes and it
also encourage more independence and self-sufficiency than Muslim
289
religion, where there are lot of taboos and restrictions in the development of
various skills. These would have contributed to the lower level of general
efficiency in Muslims compared to Hindus.
Total well-being
Table 4.56 shows the results of the post hoc analysis and the mean
scores obtained by the various religious groups in total psychological well-
being. Hindu adolescents have got the highest mean score (M= 19.92),
followed by the Christians (M=19.36) and the Muslims (M=19.06). It can also
be seen from the table that the Hindus have significantly higher mean score
than the Muslims but not from Christians. Similarly, there is no significant
difference in well-being between the Muslims and the Christians. This result
is in quite agreement with the results obtained in the previous section related
to stress and religion. Thus, Hindu adolescents experience less stress and
better well-being while Muslims experience more stress and less well-being.
Hindu religion promotes well-being and inner peace and they keep it as the
ultimate goal in life whereas in Muslim religion such a strong emphasis on
well-being cannot be seen. Thus religion has a significant influence on
adolescent's well-being.
Table 4.56
Results of the post hoc test -Total well-being
N
Religion 1 2
Muslim 300 19.06
Christian 989 19.36 19.36
Hindu 771 19.92
Sig. 0.626 0.191
290
4.1. K.3.Parenting style
There is a possibility that one's faith and religious practices may
influence the way they bring up their children. This has been examined in
this section. Table 4.57 provides the results of the analysis with respect to
the different parenting styles across the different religious groups. The
obtained F-ratios show significant differences in permissive and authoritarian
parenting styles of both the parents, but the difference is not significant in
the case of authoritative parenting styles of both the parents.
Table 4.57
Results of the ANOVA of parenting style with respect to religion1
Sum of Mean
df F
Squares Square
Between Groups 394.049 2 197.024 6.06**
Total 67273.073 2059
Between Groups 282.142 2 141.071 4.622**
Permissive mother Within Groups 62788.188 2057 30.524
Total 63070.33 2059
Between Groups 485.659 2 242.83 6.173**
Total 81398.941 2059
Between Groups 287.657 2 143.829 3.858*
Total 76976.775 2059
Between Groups 10.003 2 5.001 0.109
Total 94171.167 2059
Between Groups 37.242 2 18.621 0.455
Total 84196.61 2059
However, post hoc analysis reveals significant differences only in the
permissive and authoritarian parenting styles of father and not mother. The
F-ratios obtained in the pennissive and authoritarian parenting styles of
mother is 4.62 and 3.86 respectively. These are comparatively lower than
291
the F - ratios obtained in tlie same parenting styles of fatlier. So, in the case
of perceived parenting styles of mother the difference among the religious
groups may not be large enough to be significant, when taken separately.
In authoritative parenting style there are no significant differences
among the three religious groups. Religion does not make a significant
influence in the authoritative way of parenting. It may be noted that all
religions encourage a balance between control and support in dealing with
their adolescents. The significant cases are discussed in detail below.
Permissive parenting style of father
Table 4.58
Results of the post hoc test - Permissive parenting style of father
Subset for alplia = .05
N
Religion 1 2
Christian 989 32.06
Muslim 300 32.45 32.45
Hindu 771 33.01
Sig. 0.535 0.275
As seen in Table 4.58, the Hindu adolescents perceive their father
as significantly more permissive (M=33.01) than the Christian adolescents
(M=32.06). The Muslim adolescents perception of their father as permissive
(M=32.45) is not significantly different from either the Christian or the Hindu
adolescents. Jt may be noted that in traditional Hindu families the
significance and role of father is comparatively less. Mother seems to be
dominant and has an upper hand and right on their children. Even by law,
children are bound to mothers rather than fathers. But in the case of
Christian families, just the opposite can be observed. Father is the
292
predominant leader and decision maker in the family and hence they are
perceived as less permissive.
Authoritarian parenting style of fattier
Table 4.59
Results of the post hoc test - Authoritarian parenting style of
father
N
Religion 1 2
Hindu 771 32.95
Muslim 300 33.32 33.32
Christian 989 33.99
Sig. 0.629 0.215
Table 4.59 shows that the mean scores obtained by the adolescents
belonging to three religious groups in perceived authoritarian parenting style
of father are in the order, Christian (M=33.99), Muslim (M=33.32) and Hindu
(M=32.95). As can be seen from the table, the Christian adolescents
perceive their fathers as significantly more authoritarian than the Hindu
adolescents. But Muslim adolescents do not differ significantly from both the
Christian and the Hindu adolescents in this style. In the context of the results
obtained in the case of permissive parenting style, these results are quite
valid. Compared to Hindu families where father has a minimal submissive
role, in Christian families father plays a dominant role which contribute to the
higher level of authoritarianism among them. The parenting strategies of
Muslim fathers are in between the other two religious groups.
4.1. K.4.Personality
Religion seems to play an important role in shaping adolescents'
personality. This section examines the differences between the three

293
religious groups in the Big Five personality dimensions. Table 4.60 shows
the results of the analysis of variance and Table 4.61 and 4.62 give the
results of the post-hoc analysis in significant cases.
From Table 4.60, it can be seen that the F - ratios obtained in the
agreeableness (F=10.19) and conscientiousness (F=10.71) dimensions of
personality are significant at the .01 level. However, there are no significant
differences among the three religious groups in the extraversion, openness
and neuroticism dimensions of personality.
Table 4.60
Results of the ANOVA of personality types with respect to religion
Sum of Mean
df F
Squares Square
Between Groups 37.836 2 18.918 0.796
Extraversion Witliin Groups 48904.176 2057 23.775 ^
Total 48942.012 2059
Between Groups 491.76 2 245.88 10.187"
Total 50139.776 2059
Between Groups 684.408 2 342.204 10.714**
Total 66383.726 2059
Between Groups 191.038 2 95.519 2.607
Total 75566.726 2059
Between Groups 94.507 2 47.254 1.867
Total 52156.872 2059
The personality dimensions of agreeableness and
conscientiousness in which significant differences have been obtained are
discussed below.
294
Agreeableness
From Table 4.61, it can be seen that in the case of agreeableness
the mean scores obtained are in the order, Hindus (M=33.92), Muslims
(M=33.04) and Christians (M=32.88). The post hoc analysis as given in the
table shows that the Hindu adolescents have significantly higher score in
agreeableness than both the Christian and the Muslim adolescents. The
Christian and the Muslim adolescents do not differ significantly among
themselves. Hindu religion is more close to nature and is governed by
natural laws and have shown lot of coherence which may contribute to the
more helpful, generous and courteous nature in Hindu adolescents. Again,
they tend to take more satvik food which might contribute to the soft hearted,
good-natured and lenient behaviours. While Christian and Muslim religions
preach to inculcate soft hearted and helpful behaviours in adolescents, these
are ingrained in Hindu adolescents.
Table 4.61
Results of the post hoc test -Agreeableness
N
Religion 1 2
Christian 989 32.88
Muslim 300 33.04
Hindu 771 33.92
Sig. 0.876 1
295
Conscientiousness
Table 4.62
Results of the post hoc test - Conscientiousness
N
Religion 1 2
Christian 989 29.63
IVIuslim 300 29.99
Hindu 771 30.88
Sig. 0.584 1
From Table 4.62, it can he seen that as in the case of
agreeableness, conscientiousness is highest for the Hindu adolescents
(M=30.88), followed by the Muslim (M=29.99) and the Christian (M=29.63)
adolescents. The Hindu adolescents have significantly higher mean score
than the other two groups while the difference between the Christian and the
Muslim adolescents in conscientiousness is not significant. Hindu religion
value and give significance to the life of even minute organisms. They
believe in rebirth for every living thing based on their deeds or karma in the
world. Hindu religion respects and worships nature and natural forces which
emphasize the silliness of human beings. They also have auspicious timings
for most of the important activities which demand an organized, punctual and
careful life. Their moral principles are so deep that they emphasize the need
to have self-control and promote the ways to develop it. These are inborn in
them as they are in this rhythm for years. In Christians and Muslims, a lot of
these kinds of moral principals are only in writing and preaching.
These results suggest that Hindu religion facilitates the development
of agreeableness and conscientiousness traits among the adolescents.
296
4.1. K.5. Emotional intelligence
This section looks at the differences in emotional intelligence among
the three religious groups. Results of the analysis of variance shows that the
F - ratio obtained (F=2.23) is not significant which indicates that there are no
significant differences among the three religious groups in emotional
intelligence. In other words, religion does not have any significant role in the
development of emotional intelligence, or all the religions contribute to the
development of emotional intelligence in a more or less similar way.
Thus, the results obtained in this section clearly show that religion
has a significant impact on the adolescent experience of stress, well-being,
personality and perceived parenting style but not on emotional intelligence.
In all stress dimensions and in total stress, there are significant differences
across the three religions and in all these cases, the Muslim adolescents
experienced higher levels of stress, followed by the Christians and the least
level of stress of stress is experienced by the Hindu adolescents. Religious
influence can be seen in psychological well-being also. Here also the Hindu
adolescents experience better well-being than the Muslims and the
Christians. Significant differences are found in permissive and authoritarian
parenting styles between the three religious groups. Adolescents from Hindu
religion perceived their father as more permissive while those from Christian
families perceived their father as more authoritarian. In the case of
personality also significant differences are obtained for the three groups in
agreeableness and conscientiousness dimensions, but not in extraversion,
neuroticism, and openness dimensions. Hindu adolescents are found to be
significantly high on agreeableness and conscientiousness dimensions than
both the Christian and Muslim adolescents.
297
4.1.L. COMPARISON OF THE MAIN VARIABLES WITH RESPECT TO
TYPE OF FAMILY
While compositions and living arrangements within families are
rapidly changing in our society, the jointness, in terms of interdependence in
major family decisions, remains for a majority of families (Khatri, 1972). This
has direct consequences for adolescent development in India, since most
young people stay with the family until early adulthood or even later in the
case of joint families. The family continues to play a major role in
socialization despite the fast pace of social change. The fast pace and all -
embracing character of sociopolitical and economic changes in India has
significant consequences for the individual and the family (Sinha 1988).
Parents themselves appear ill - prepared to cope with the social change,
having grown up in hierarchically structured and interlinked social groups
and collectivities such as the extended family, kinship network and caste
groups that provided stability and solidarity (Sinha, 1982; Singual & Misra,
1994). Indian families have moved from joint family system to nuclear and
extended families.
Like any change that has positive and negative effects, the shift to
nuclear families also yielded a lot of negative aspects such as lack of social
support, emotional ties, caring for the elderly, sharing, and so on. Clinical
practitioners have expressed concern regarding implications for mental
health, especially the tensions experienced by the weakening of social
support from kinship groups and the community. This section examines the
influence of different types of families (nuclear, extended, and joint) on the
298
main variables under study, such as adolescent stress, psychological well -
being, parenting style, personality, and emotional intelligence.
4.1. L.1. Adolescent stress
Table 4.63 shows the results of the analysis of variance with respect
to adolescent stress. From the table, it can be seen that only in the case of
stress of financial pressure significant difference is present among the three
family types.
Table 4.63
Results of the ANOVA of adolescent stress with respect to family type
Sum of Mean
df F
Squares Square
Between Groups 44.593 2 22.297 0.323
Total 141982.3 2059
Between Groups 27.483 2 13.741 0.339
Stress of school
Within Groups 83431.493 2057 40.56
performance
Total 83458.976 2059
Between Groups 35.644 2 17.822 2.372
Stress of school
Within Groups 15458.154 2057 7.515
attendance
Total 15493.798 2059
Between Groups 21.647 2 10.823 0.521
Stress of romantic
Within Groups 42696.256 2057 20.757
relationship
Total 42717.903 2059
Between Groups 32.098 2 16.049 0.582
Stress of peer
Within Groups 56680.725 2057 27.555
pressure
Total 56712.823 2059
Between Groups 25.138 2 12.569 0.346
Stress of teacher
Within Groups 74694.505 2057 36.312
interaction
Total 74719.643 2059
Between Groups 31.49 2 15.745 1.649
Stress of future
Within Groups 19635.259 2057 9.546
uncertainty
Total 19666.750 2059
Between Groups 16.315 2 8.158 0.371
Stress of school -
Within Groups 45192.634 2057 21.97
leisure conflict
Total 45208.95 2059
Between Groups 70.886 2 35.443 2.992*
Stress of financial
Within Groups 24364.300 2057 11.845
pressure
Total 24435.186 2059
Between Groups 31.689 2 15.844 1.647
Stress of emerging
Within Groups 19786.530 2057 9.619
Total 19818.219 2059
Between Groups 1099.678 2 549.839 0.436
Total 2594924.876 2059
299
In all the other stress measures such as stress of home life, school
performance, school attendance, romantic relationship, peer pressure,
teacher interaction, future uncertainty, school-leisure conflict, and stress of
emerging adult responsibility and total stress, there are no significant
differences among the adolescents belonging to the three types of families.
Multiple comparisons of the group means were made in the case of stress of
financial pressure and the results are presented in Table 4.64.
Table 4.64
Results of the post hoc test -Stress of financial pressure
Type of family 1 2
Extended 486 7.45
Nuclear 1518 7.58
Joint 56 8.64
Sig: 0.956 1.00
As can be seen from the table, the highest mean score is obtained
by adolescents who come from joint families (M = 8.64), followed by those
from nuclear (M = 7.58) and extended (M = 7.45) families. This indicates
that the adolescents from joint families have significantly higher stress of
financial pressure than those from nuclear and extended families, where
they experience more or less similar stress of financial pressure. This
finding is in agreement with the general observation of different types of
families.
The unique characteristics of the traditional joint family in India are a
composition that includes the patriarch of the household and his spouse,
children, married sons, their spouses and children, as well as other members
300
of the extended family such as single brothers, sisters, widowed aunts and
other dependent kin, who share the same roof and health; common
production and consumption, be it through farming, business, or craft
production; interdependence among the members with more emphasis on
the family than the individual ; and absolute authority of the head of the
household regarding all major decisions from arrangement of marriages to
the sale, purchase, or management of property (Sinha 1994). Thus, in joint
families there are a lot of financial constraints for the individual members, but
in nuclear as well as extended families, the number of members are less and
there is more financial freedom. This explains the increased stress of
financial pressure in adolescents from joint families.
301
4.1. L.2.Psychological well-being
Table 4.65
Results of the ANOVA of psychological well-being1 with respect to famiytype
Sum of Mean
df F
Squares Square
Between Groups 3.461 2 1.731 3.420*
Total 1044.503 2059
Between Groups 1.86 2 0.930 1.727
Total 1109.643 2059
Between Groups 1.438 2 0.719 3.418*
Total 434.025 2059
Between Groups 0.481 2 0.241 0.509
Total 973.252 2059
Between Groups 1.298 2 0.649 0.965
Total 1385.415 2059
Between Groups 2.761 2 1.381 2.465
Total 1155.015 2059
Between Groups 0.793 2 0.397 0.823
Suicidal Ideas Within Groups 991.267 2057 0.482
Total 992.06 2059
Between Groups 0.674 2 0.337 0.674
Total 1029.621 2059
Between Groups 3.285 2 1.642 3.944*
Total 859.893 2059
Between Groups 5.98E-02 2 2.988E-02 0.047
Total 1307.798 2059
Between Groups 0.291 2 0.146 0.296
Total 1011.932 2059
Between Groups 1.278 2 0.639 1.264
Total 1041.167 2059
Between Groups 163.708 2 81.854 3.17*
Total 53271.584 2059
The results of the analysis of variance for psychological well-being
with respect to type of family are given in Table 4.65. The F-ratios obtained
show that out of the 12 components of psychological well-being, only 3
302
components namely, meaninglessness, positive affect, and suicidal ideas
differ significantly among the three types of family groups. However, further
post hoc analysis revealed significant differences only in the case of positive
affect.
Positive affect
In positive affect, the highest mean score was obtained by
adolescents from extended family (M = 1.84), followed by those from nuclear
(M = 1.80) and joint families (M = 1.68). It is clear from the table (Table
4.66) that the difference between extended family and joint family is
significant while there is no significant difference either between nuclear and
extended families or nuclear and joint families.
Table 4.66
Results of the post hoc test - Positive affect
Type of family 1 2
Joint 56 1.68
Nuclear 1518 1.80 1.80
Extended 486 1.84
Sig: 0.065 0.807
The above results indicate that adolescents from extended families
are significantly higher on positive affect than those from joint families.
Again, adolescents who belong to nuclear families do not differ significantly
on positive affect from those belonging to joint or extended families. There is
a possibility that there is less freedom, personal space, independent
decision-making, and so on, in joint families, which may influence the
emotional development of adolescents. But in extended families there is a
possibility of adequate freedom, independence and personal space, and
303
along with that there is adequate emotional support from the grand parents
which may contribute to their positive affect. In nuclear family there is
freedom of the extended family, but it lack the emotional support obtained in
extended families. So adolescents receive both support and independence
more in extended families and that might have contributed to the highest
positive affect in this group.
None of the other components of psychological well-being show
significant difference across the three different types of families. Thus the
present results show that the type of family does not have a major impact on
the psychological well-being of adolescents. An earlier study by Joseph
(2007) revealed that irrespective of the type of family, the group of
adolescents has the same adjustment status. However, there are also
studies which have reported better adjustment in adolescents belonging to
nuclear families (Menon, 2003). The present results do not lend empirical
support to this.
4.1. L.3.Parenting style
The results of the one-way ANOVA with respect to parenting styles
and type of family show that there are no significant differences between the
three groups in parenting styles (Table 4.67). This reveals that type of family
does not make any significant impact on parenting style. This may be
because, parenting styles are more dependent on the personality of parents
as well as adolescents irrespective of which kind of family constellation they
live in. Parents' attitude and behaviour towards their children are profoundly
influenced by their perception of their children's attitude to them (Adelson et
a!., 1979).
304
Table 4.67
Results of the ANOVA of Parentin g Style with respect to family type
Sum of Mean
df F
Squares Square
Between Groups 11.702 2 5.851 0.179
Total 67273.073 2059
Between Groups 37.418 2 18.709 0.611
Total 63070.330 2059
Between Groups 42.829 2 21.414 0.541
Total 81398.941 2059
Between Groups 34.941 2 17.470 0.467
Total 76976.775 2059
Between Groups 92.279 2 46.140 1.009
Total 94171.167 2059
Between Groups 195.840 2 97.920 2.398
Total 84196.610 2059
4.1. L.4.Personality
In order to find out the differences between adolescents belonging to
different types of families on personality types, analyses of variances were
carried out and the obtained results (Table 4.68) show that none of the
obtained F-ratios are significant. This indicates that fanfiily type as such does
not make any significant impact on the development of different personality
traits among adolescents. Personality development is definitely influenced by
the socio-cultural environment. But it may be that the family environment of
nuclear, extended, and joint families are not extremely different in the
present scenario to make a significant difference in their impact on
adolescents' personality.
305
Table 4.68
Results of the ANOVA of Personality Type with respect to family type
Sum of Mean
df F
Squares Square
Between Groups 9.949 2 4.974 0.209
Total 48942.012 2059
Between Groups 1.551 2 0.776 0.032
Total 50139.776 2059
Between Groups 52.743 2 26.372 0.818
Total 66383.726 2059
Between Groups 145.670 2 72.835 1.986
Total 75566.726 2059
Between Groups 34.723 2 17.361 0.685
Total 52156.872 2059
4.1. L.S.Emotional intelligence
The results of the ANOVA for emotional intelligence with respect to
nuclear, extended, and joint families revealed no significant difference in
emotional intelligence. Thus, emotional intelligence of adolescents is not
significantly influenced by family type. In all the three types of families there
are more or less equal opportunities for emotional development of children.
The results obtained in this section show that type of family is not
having much impact on the lives of adolescents. While relatively minor
differences are observed between adolescents belonging to the three family
types in adolescent stress and psychological well-being, no difference is
observed for parenting style, personality, and emotional intelligence.
306
4.1. M. COMPARISON OF THE MAIN VARIABLES WITH RESPECT TO
THE CLASS (COURSE) OF STUDY
This section examines the impact of the class/course in which the
adolescents are studying on the main variables such as adolescent stress,
psychological well-being, parenting style, personality type and emotional
intelligence. The whole sample is divided into six groups namely, 9'^, 10'^,
plus one, plus two, college, and professional college, and their mean scores
were tested for significance using one-way analysis of variance. In cases
where significant F - values were obtained, further multiple comparisons of
the group means were made using Scheffe's test.
4.1. M.I.Adolescent stress
The results of the analysis of variance with respect to adolescent
stress are given in Table 4.69. As can be seen from the table, the F-ratios
obtained for all the stress measures as well as for total stress are significant
at the .01 level of significance. In order to find out the specific differences
among the six groups post hoc analysis was done, which also revealed
significant differences in all the stress variables. The results obtained for
each stress measure and total stress is discussed in detail in the following
pages.
307
Table 4.69
Results of the ANOVA of adolescent stress wit h respect to class of study
Sum of Mean
df F
Squares Square
Between Groups 6532.165 5 1306.433 19.811**
Stress of home
Within Groups 135450.146 2054 65.945
life
Total 141982.311 2059
Between Groups 3257.875 5 651.575 16.687**
Stress of school
Within Groups 80201.101 2054 39.046
performance
Total 83458.976 2059
Between Groups 556.869 5 111.374 15.315**
Stress of school
Within Groups 14936.929 2054 7.272
attendance
Total 15493.798 2059
Stress of Between Groups 600.282 5 120.056 5.855**
romantic Within Groups 42117.621 2054 20.505
relationship Total 42717.903 2059
Between Groups 987.707 5 197.541 7.281**
Stress of peer
Within Groups 55725.116 2054 27.13
pressure
Total 56712.823 2059
Between Groups 2909.898 5 581.98 16.647**
Stress of teacher
Within Groups 71809.745 2054 34.961
interaction
Total 74719.643 2059
Between Groups 1290.568 5 258.114 28.851**
Stress of future
Within Groups 18376.182 2054 8.947
uncertainty
Total 19666.75 2059
Between Groups 1763.182 5 352.636 16.672**
Stress of school -
Within Groups 43445.767 2054 21.152
leisure conflict
Total 45208.95 2059
Between Groups 900.671 5 180.134 15.721**
Stress of financial
Within Groups 23534.516 2054 11.458
pressure
Total 24435.186 2059
Stress of Between Groups 766.185 5 153.237 16.52**
emerging adult Within Groups 19052.034 2054 9.276
responsibility Total 19818.219 2059
Between Groups 117467.758 5 23493.552 19.478**
Total 2594924.876 2059
Stress of home life
As seen from Table 4.69, the F-ratio obtained is 19.81 and it is
significant at the .01 level. Results of the post hoc test are given in Table
4.70. It can be seen that the mean scores in stress of home life are in the
order, plus two (M=26.89), college (M=25.43), 10"" (M=24.72), professional
(M= 23.32) 9^*^ (M=22.39) and plus one (M=22.0) students.
308
Table 4.70
N
class in which the student studying 1 2 3 4
plus one 433 22
9th 419 22.39 22.39
professional 377 23.32 23.32 23.32
10th 349 24.72 24.72 24.72
college 99 25.43 25.43
plus two 383 26.89
Sig. 0.631 0.056 0.114 0.097
The highest stress of home life is experienced by the plus two
students and the lowest by the plus one students. The plus two students'
stress of home life is significantly higher than that of the plus one, 9'^ and
professional students. This is understandable because during the plus two
course the parents' expectations and demand for obtaining good results in
examinations and entrance examinations, coupled with a late teenager's
need for autonomy, power and independence make their home life much
more stressful than any other period of adolescent life. The stress of home
life of plus two students does not differ significantly from those of college and
10^^ standard students. The adolescents who are studying in 10'^ standard
and college are found to have equally stressful home life, may be because in
10*^ standard also, there is the stress of too much parental expectations and
arguments between adolescents and parents on various aspects. For
college students, abiding the petty rules at home and parents comments
about their appearance, and the feeling that they are not taken seriously,
can cause significant amount of stress.
309
Plus one, 9"^, and professional students experience more or less
similar levels of stress of home life. This may be because of a lenient attitude
from parents due to lack of academic pressures.
Table 4.71
N
class in which the student studying 1 2 3
college 99 18.99
plus one 433 19.19
9th 419 19.96 19.96
10th 349 20.62 20.62
professional 377 21.1 21.1
plus two 383 22.81
Sig. 0.115 0.503 0.08
From Table 4.71, it can be seen that the mean scores
obtained in stress of school perfonnance are in the order, plus two
(M=22.81), professional (M= 21.10). 10"^ (M=20.62), 9*^ (M=19.96), plus one
(M=19.19), and college (M=18.99) students. Again, it can be seen from the
table that the plus two students have significantly higher stress of school
performance than 10'^, 9^, plus one and college students but no significant
difference with professional students. It may be noted that plus two school
performance is quite crucial in determining one's career. Students from
professional courses are equally stressful with regard to academic
performance and they have higher mean score than plus one and college
students. College students have the least stress of school performance and
it is understandable as they have comparatively less workload and more
freedom. Their mean score is not significantly different from that of plus one,
310
9'^ and 10'^^ standard students. The 9*^ 10*^ and professional students also
have more or less similar levels of stress of school performance.
Table 4.72
N
10th 349 5.17
9th 419 5.58 5.58
plus one 433 5.72 5.72
college 99 6.67
plus two 383 6.68
Sig. 0.356 0.309 0.427
Results of the post hoc test (Table 4.72) show that the plus two
students have the highest score in stress of school attendance (M=6.68),
followed by the college (M=6.67), the professional (M=6.15), the plus one
(M=5.72), the 9"^ (M=5.58), and the 10'^ standard students (M=5.17). The
plus two students have significantly higher score than the plus one, 9"^ and
10*^ students and their mean score do not differ significantly from the college
and the professional students. Attending classes regularly and prescribed
minimum number of attendance may be more crucial for these groups of
students. College students have significantly higher stress than the plus one,
9"^, and 10*^ standard students, while professional students have significantly
higher stress than 10*^ standard students. The least stress of school
attendance is for the 10'^ standard students.
311
stress of romantic relationships
Table 4.73
N
class in which the student studying 1 2
9th 419 10.49
plus one 433 10.92 10.92
10th 349 11.67 11.67
college 99 11.76 11.76
plus two 383 11.95
Sig. 0.07 0.21
From Table 4.73, it can be seen that the mean scores
obtained by the different groups are in the order, plus two (M=11.95), college
(M=11.76), 10'^ (M=11.67), plus one (10.92), professional (M=10.89), and 9'^
(M=10.49) standard students. The plus two students have significantly
higher mean score than the 9*^ standard students while the differences
between the other groups are not significant. The higher stress of romantic
relationships experienced by the plus two students than the 9*^ standard
students may be quite reasonable in view of their age or stage of life.
Table 4.74
Results of the post hoc test -Stress of peer pressure
N
plus one 433 14.02
9th 419 14.12 14.12
college 99 14.34 14.34 14.34
professional 377 15.12 15.12 15.12
plus two 383 15.56 15.56
10th 349 15.64
Sig. 0.327 0.073 0.148
312
The mean scores for stress of peer pressure are in the
following order: 10*^ (M=15.64), plus two (M=15.56), professional (M=15.12),
college (M=14.34), 9^^ (M=14.12) and plus one (M=14.02) students (Table
4.74). The results of the post hoc analysis clearly indicate that the 10"^
standard students have significantly higher stress of peer pressure than the
9*^ standard and the plus one students. It may be because after 10*''
standard, many students change schools and they may not be able to
continue long standing friendships. This may exert a pressure to conform
with their friends, keep the relationships stronger and deeper. The college,
professional, and plus two students do not differ significantly from the 10"^
standard and the 9*^ standard students. Plus one students have the least
stress of peer pressure. During plus one, the students are just forming
friendships and then their relationships are in budding state, and hence exert
less peer pressure.
Table 4.75
N
plus one 433 14
college 99 14.3
9th 419 14.41
10th 349 16.27 16.27
plus two 383 17.22
Sig. 0.339 0.547 0.639
313
The results of the post hoc test with respect to the stress of teacher
interaction are given in Table 4.75. It is clear from the table that the plus two
students have significantly higher stress of teacher interaction than the 9'^,
the professional college, and plus one students. The 10'^ standard students
also have higher stress levels than the professional, 9**^, college, and plus
one students. This is quite in agreement with the general observation that
academic pressure is too high in plus two and 10*^ standard students which
make teachers to be stricter with these students which may strain the
students' relationships with them. Professional students do not differ
significantly from 10*^ students but have a significantly less stress than the
plus two students. The differences among all the other student groups are
not significant.
Stress of future uncertainty
Table 4.76
N
9th 419 7
plus one 433 7.39
10th 349 7.61
professional 377 8.54
college 99 8.84
plus two 383 9.12
Sig. 0.36 0.428
The results of the post hoc test for stress of future uncertainty are
given in Table 4.76. It is clear from the table that plus two, college and
professional students have significantly higher mean scores than 9"^, 10'^
and plus one students. This is quite understandable because 9^, 10"' and
314
plus one students are not that anxious and worried about their future and
career. As age and education increase apprehension about future also
increase. Here the obtained results show a very clear pattern. Children
become anxious about their future as they approach adulthood and
approach the end of education. Usually adolescents become worried about
getting jobs while their education is entering the final stages.
Stress of school-leisure conflict
Table 4.77
N
college 99 10.83 10.83
9th 419 12.01 12.01
plus one 433 12.35
10th 349 12.75
plus two 383 13.05
Sig. 0.954 0.127 0.24
As seen in Table 4.77, the results of the post hoc test show that the
plus two, 10* and plus one students have significantly higher stress of
school- leisure conflict than college and professional students and do not
have significant difference with 9* standard students who have significantly
higher distress than professional students. The younger age group has more
need for leisure time activities, and are less equipped to handle time
appropriately which might have contributed to the higher stress in this group.
Professional and college students do have less time but they would have
developed better time management skills and have more freedom to arrange
315
their class room activities, and hence they perceive less stress of school-
leisure conflict.
Table 4.78
Results of the post hoc test -Stress of financial pressure
N
class in which the student studying 1 2 3 4
9th 419 6.7
plus one 433 7.11 7.11
professional 377 7.61 7.61 7.61
10th 349 7.83 7.83
plus two 383 8.46 8.46
college 99 8.86
Sig. 0.096 0.32 0.139 0.88
As seen in Table 4.78, the stress of financial pressure is found
to be the highest for the college students and they have significantly higher
financial pressure than the 10*^ standard, professional, plus one, and 9"^
standard students, but do not differ significantly from plus two students.
College students may not be receiving adequate financial support from their
parents and many of them have to find financial aid for studies on their own.
Plus two students also may experience a greater stress of financial pressure
as they have to find out money for higher studies. The 9"^ standard students
have the lowest stress of financial pressure. Being young they may be less
aware of the financial pressure and have less financial requirements.
Results of the post hoc analysis (Table 4.79) show that the plus two
students have significantly higher stress than the 10**^, professional, 9'^^' and
plus one students. But they do not differ from college students. The late
316
adolescents are expected to take more adult responsibilities and till they
move into a career oriented professional course they may find these
responsibilities more stressful.
Table 4.79
Results of the post hoc test - Stress of emerging adult responsibility
N
class in whicii the student studying 1 2 3
plus one 433 7.69
9th 419 7.81
10th 349 8.16 8.16
college 99 8.87 8.87
plus two 383 9.39
Sig. 0.682 0.164 0.564
Plus one, 9*^, professional and 10*^ standard students do not differ
significantly among themselves in the stress of emerging adult responsibility.
Here plus one, 9**^, and 10^^ students are not assigned to take up adult
responsibilities while professional students might be equipped for it, and
there by not much stressed about it.
Total stress
Table 4.80
Results of the post hoc test -total stress
N
plus one 433 120.4
9th 419 120.46
college 99 128.89
10th 349 130.44
plus two 383 141.14
Sig. 0.053 1
The level of total stress experienced by the different student groups
are in the order, plus two students (M=141.14), lO*' standard students
317
(M=130.44), college students (M=128.89), professional students
(M=126.49), 9'*^ standard students (M=120.46), and plus one students
(M=120.40). Table 4.80 gives the results of the post hoc test and it clearly
shows that plus two students have significantly higher total stress than all the
other student groups. None of the other groups differ significantly among
themselves. It may be noted that in todays highly competitive world, plus two
is a crucial junction/tuming point where one's career choices are determined,
so the stress of academic pressure is at the peak during this period. Along
with this there can be interpersonal difficulties, financial problems and
apprehension about future which make the life of plus two students more
stressful. As already seen the plus two students had significantly higher
levels of stress in almost all the dimensions of adolescent stress.
4.1. M.2.Psychological well-being
This section examines the differences between adolescents studying
in different classes (courses) in psychological well-being. The results of the
analysis of variance are presented in Table 4.81.
It is seen from the table that out of the 12 components of
psychological well-being, the F-ratios obtained in nine components are
significant, while in the remaining 3 components namely, self esteem,
somatic complaints, and wellness and in total well-being, the F-ratios are not
significant. However, among these 9 components subsequent post hoc
analyses revealed significant differences with respect to class of study, in
only the components of suicidal ideas, personal control, and tension.
318
Table 4.81
Results of the ANOVA of psychological well-being with respect to class of
study
Sum of Mean
df F
Squares Square
Between Groups 5.505 5 1.101 2.177
Total 1044.503 2059
Between Groups 5.192 5 1.038 1.931
Total 1109.643 2059
Between Groups 4.082 5 0.816 3.90**
Total 434.025 2059
Between Groups 5.97 5 1.194 2.535*
Total 973.252 2059
Between Groups 4.203 5 0.841 1.25
Total 1385.415 2059
Between Groups 6.299 5 1.26 2.253*
Total 1155.015 2059
Between Groups 9.618 5 1.924 4.021**
Suicidal Ideas Within Groups 982.443 2054 0.478
Total 992.06 2059
Between Groups 5.785 5 1.157 2.321*
Total 1029.621 2059
Between Groups 6.503 5 1.301 3.13**
Total 859.893 2059
Between Groups 11.922 5 2.384 3.779**
Total 1307.798 2059
Between Groups 4.913 5 0.983 2.004
Total 1011.932 2059
Between Groups 5.699 5 1.14 2.261*
Total 1041.167 2059
Between Groups 239.611 5 47.922 1.856
Total 53271.584 2059
In the other 6 components namely meaninglessness, positive affect, life
satisfaction, social support, general efficiency and daily activities, though the
F-ratios are found to be significant the post hoc analysis did not reveal any
significant differences between the distinct groups. This shows that
319
significance as revealed by the F-values miglit liave been the result of
overall effect but do not show in when distinct groups are connpared. These
results indicate that class of study has significant impact on the suicidal
ideas, personal control and tension components of psychological well-being.
These are discussed in detail in the following pages.
Suicidal ideas
Table 4.82
Results of the post hoc test - suicidal ideas
N
10th 349 1.4
plus two 383 1.49 1.49
9th 419 1.54 1.54
college 99 1.57 1.57
plus one 433 1.61
Sig. 0.161 0.564
The F-ratio obtained for suicidal ideas in the analysis of variance is
4.02 and is found to be significant at the .01 level. The results of the post
hoc analysis are given in Table 4.82. It is clear from the table that plus one
students are found to have the highest score in suicidal ideas (better well-
being) which is significantly different from that of 10**^ standard students. As ,
already seen, 10'^ standard students are more stressed out than plus one
students who do not even have to face board exam. The plus two, 9^^^'
professional and college students do not differ significantly in suicidal ideas
either with 10"^ standard students or with plus one students. Thus the results
indicate that compared to the plus one students, the 10**^ standard students
are more prone to suicidal ideas.
320
Personal control
Table 4.83
Results of the post hoc test - personal control
N
college 99 1.09
9th 419 1.18 1.18
plus two 383 1.23 1.23
10th 349 1.26 1.26
plus one 433 1.3
Sig. 0.166 0.572
The analysis of variance showed that the obtained F-ratio for
personal control (F=2.32) is significant at the .05 level. Subsequent post hoc
analysis (Table 4.83) show that the means for adolescents studying in
various classes are in the order, plus one (M=1.30), 10'^ (M=1.26), plus two
(M=1.23), professional (M=1.21), 9*'' (M=1.18), and college students
(M=1.09). The results clearly show that the plus one students have the
highest personal control and it is significantly higher than the college
students. It may be that the plus one students are comparatively quite
relaxed and their need for personal control may be less. But in college their
need for control over whatever happens in and around them may be high,
so they may perceive lack of control. The professional, plus two, 9*^, and 10'*^
standard students do not differ significantly in personal control from both plus
one and college students and among themselves.
Tension
As seen in Table 4.81, the F-ratio obtained for tension is 3.78 and is
significant at the .01 level. Results of the post hoc analysis (Table 4.84)
321
reveal that the plus one students have the highest score in tension (which
means lower tension and better well-being) and their mean score in tension
is significantly different from that of the professional students. It is quite in
agreement with the general observation that professional students have
more work load and are learning to carry out both their academic work and
practical experiences.
Table 4.84
Results of the post hoc test - Tension
N
10th 349 1.08 1.08
9th 419 1.08 1.08
college 99 1.1 1.1
plus two 383 1.12 1.12
plus one 433 1.22
Sig. 0.529 0.542
Plus one students are relatively free and not much worried about
their future or career. The plus two, college, 9**^, and 10**^ standard students
do not differ significantly in the level of tension from both the professional
and the plus one students or among themselves. Thus, the results obtained
in this section indicate that class of study as such has minimal impact upon
the well-being of adolescents. Plus one students are found to have the
highest well-being.
4.1. M.3.Parenting style
Table 4.85 provides the results of the analysis of variance with
respect to parenting styles and class of study, and it reveals that there are
322
significant differences in all the three parenting styles (both parents) across
the different classes of study. Each one of these is discussed in detail in the
following pages.
Table 4.85
Results of the ANOVA of parenting style with respect to class of study
Sum of Mean
df F
Squares Square
Between Groups 723.585 5 144.717 4.467"
Total 67273.073 2059
Between Groups 641.339 5 128.268 4.22**
Total 63070.33 2059
Between Groups 2436.292 5 487.258 12.675**
Total 81398.941 2059
Between Groups 2546.193 5 509.239 14.053**
Total 76976.775 2059
Between Groups 2167.762 5 433.552 9.679**
Total 94171.167 2059
Between Groups 1920.803 5 384.161 9.59**
Total 84196.61 2059
Permissive parenting style of fattier
The F-ratio obtained for father's pennissive parenting style is 4.47
and is significant at the .01 level. Post hoc analysis show that the students
from professional courses, perceive their father as most permissive and it is
significantly higher than those studying in plus two (Table 4.86). It may be
noted that the professional students are about to enter into adulthood and
parents' control over them will naturally be less than that for plus two
students. The college, plus one, 9'^^, and 10**^ standard students do not differ
significantly either from plus two students or from professional students, and
neither among themselves.
323
Table 4.86
N
plus two 383 31.44
10th 349 32.08 32.08
9th 419 32.63 32.63
plus one 433 32.84 32.84
college 99 33.09 33.09
Sig. 0.051 0.508
Permissive parenting style ofmottier
The results of the analysis of variance (Table 4.85) show that the
obtained F-ratio (F=4.22) is significant at the .01 level.
Table 4.87
Results of the post hoc test - Permissive parenting style of mother
N
plus two 383 31.94
10th 349 32.33 32.33
9th 419 32.83 32.83
plus one 433 33.24 33.24
college 99 33.64
Sig. 0.11 0.196
Table 4.87 gives the results of the post hoc analysis and it reveals
that the college students have the highest score in permissiveness of
mothers which is significantly higher than that of the plus two students.
College students are also in the late adolescent stage and are equipped to
take care of themselves while plus two is a crucial period in determining
career and future, and plus two students also need to learn about keeping
personal boundaries in interpretational relationships. So their mothers may
324
not be very permissive towards them. There are no significant differences
between any of the other student groups in this regard.
Authoritarian parenting styie of father
The F - ratio in this case (F=12.68) is found to be significant at the
.01 level indicating significant differences in perceived authoritarian
parenting style across different classes of students. Table 4.88 gives the
results of the post hoc analysis and it reveals that the 9^^ standard students
have the highest mean score in authoritarian parenting which is significantly
different from that of plus two, 10^^, and professional students, while the
professional students perceive their father as least authoritarian. It is clear
that the 9**^ standard students are in the middle adolescent stage and father
may still consider them as young children and they will be and can be
controlled by father than the grown up independent professional students.
The plus one and college students also have significantly higher mean
scores on authoritarian parenting style than professional students, may be
due to similar reasons. Plus two and 10"^ standard students do not differ
significantly from professional college and plus one students.
Table 4.88
Results of the post hoc test - Authoritarian parenting style of father
N
10th 349 32.76 32.76
plus two 383 32.92 32.92
college 99 34.06 34.06
plus one 433 34.35 34.35
9th 419 35
Sig. 0.739 0.128 0.697
325
Authoritarian parenting style ofmotiier
Here the results are more or less similar to that of authoritarian
parenting style of father. The obtained F-ratio is 14.05 and it is significant at
the .01 level. As shown in Table 4.89 the post hoc analysis reveals that the
9'^ standard students perceive their mother as most authoritarian and it is
significantly higher than the plus two, 10*^, and professional students. Like
father, mother also uses excessive control over the 9**^ standard students
and since the need for power and autonomy emerges during this period
even minor control can be perceived with more severity. Plus one students
have significantly higher authoritarian mothers than lO*'^ and professional
students but no significant difference in the perception of their mothers as
authoritarian in the case of students from 9^^, college and plus two students.
Professional students perceive their mother as least authoritarian and the
difference among professional, 10'^, plus two, and college students in their
perception of their mothers as permissive are not significant.
Table 4.89
Results of the post hoc test - Authoritarian parenting style of mother
N
10th 349 33.56
plus two 383 33.77 33.77
college 99 34.46 34.46 34.46
plus one 433 35.35 35.35
9th 419 35.81
Sig. 0.084 0.11 0.261
326
Authoritative parenting style of fattier
The F -ratio obtained in this case is 9.68 indicating significant
difference in the perception of father as authoritative by adolescents
studying in the various classes. Table 4.90 provides the results of the post
hoc test and it shows that the 9'*^ standard students perceive their father as
most authoritative and it is significantly different from that of plus two and
10'*^ standard students. This is contradictory to the results obtained in the
previous section. The 10"^ standard students perceive their father as least
authoritative and they differ significantly from plus one and 9**^ standard
students. The plus two, college and professional students do not differ
among themselves in perceiving fathers as authoritative. Compared to plus
one and 9^"^ standard, the 10'^ standard students may be pressurized for
academic work leaving out other activities which may be reason for their
perception of fathers as least authoritative.
Table 4.90
Results of the post hoc test - Authoritative parenting style of father
N
10th 349 35.81
plus two 383 36.35 36.35
college 99 37.21 37.21 37.21
professional 377 37.6 37.6 37.6
plus one 433 38.28 38.28
9th 419 38.5
Sig. 0.093 0.054 0.436
327
Authoritative parenting style of mother
In the case of authoritative parenting style of mother, the F-ratio
obtained is 9.59 and is significant at the .01 level. Results of the post hoc
analysis as given in Table 4.91 reveal that the plus one, 9*"^ standard, and
professional students perceive their mother as significantly more
authoritative than the 10^ standard students, where plus one students have
the highest score and 10*^ standard students have the lowest score. There
are no significant differences among the 10*^, college, and plus two students
in the perception of their mother as authoritative. Plus one students do not
experience the academic pressure of 10**^ standard, so mothers may be
more lenient to them especially after a stressful period of 10'^ standard.
Table 4.91
Results of the post hoc test - Authoritative parenting style of
mother
N
10th 349 36.44
college 99 37.57 37.57
plus two 383 37.6 37.6
9th 419 38.84
plus one 433 39.26
Sig. 0.495 0.096
Thus, the results in this section show that class in which
adolescents are studying has a significant influence on adolescents'
perception of their parents' parenting style. Adolescents studying in higher
classes (professional, college, etc.) perceive their parents as more
permissive, less authoritarian, and less authoritative while adolescents
328
studying in lower classes, in general, perceive their parents as more
authoritarian, more authoritative and less permissive.
4.1. M.4.Personality
TabUi 4.92
Results of the ANOVA of Personalityf Type with respect to Class of Study
Sum of Mean
df F
Squares Square
Between Groups 528.047 5 105.609 4 . 4 8 1 "
Total 48942.012 2059
Between Groups 447.57 5 89.514 3.70"
Total 50139.776 2059
Between Groups 2289.374 5 457.875 14.673"
Total 66383.726 2059
Between Groups 1797.778 5 359.556 10.011"
Total 75566.726 2059
Between Groups 358.16 5 71.632 2.84*
Total 52156.872 2059
This section examines the differences among adolescents studying
in different classes along the different personality types. The results of the
one-way ANOVA in this respect are given in Table 4.92. It can be seen from
the table that the F-ratios obtained for all the five personality dimensions of
the Big Five personality inventory are significant indicating an influence of
class of study on personality type. However, further post hoc analysis
revealed significant differences only in three dimensions namely,
conscientiousness, extraversion, and neuroticism and no significant
differences are found in the case of agreeableness and openness. This
suggests that class of study does not have highly significant influence on the
329
agreeableness and openness dimensions of adolescent personality. The
significant cases are discussed in detail.
Extraversion
Table 4.93
Results of the post hoc test -Extraversion
N
college 99 26.04
plus one 433 26.82 26.82
plus two 383 26.87 26.87
9th 419 27.47
10th 349 27.81
Sig. 0.576 0.087
In the case of extraversion the F-ratio is 4.48 and is significant at the
.01 level. The results of the post hoc test as given in table 4.93 show that
the 10"^ standard students are found to be the most extraverted and the 10*^
and 9**^ standard students are significantly higher on extraversion than the
college students. It may be noted that the 10'^^ and 9**^ standard students
may not have much inhibition and hence more sociable, affectionate, and
talkative than college students. The professional, plus one and plus two
students do not differ significantly on extraversion from college, 9"^, and 10**^
standard students, and among themselves.
Conscientiousness
The F-ratio for conscientiousness is (F = 14.67) significant at the
.01 level indicating the influence of class of study on conscientiousness.
Table 4.94 gives the results of the post hoc analysis. It is clear from the
330
table that 10'^^ standard students have the highest degree of
conscientiousness and 10'*^ standard and college students have significantly
higher mean scores on conscientiousness than plus one, plus two and
professional students. The professional students are found to have the
lowest mean score in conscientiousness and it is significantly lower than that
of the college and 10'^ standard students. The correlation between age and
conscientiousness in the present investigation has shown that as age
increases the conscientiousness decreases. Once entered into the
professional courses, students may not sustain their ambitious, organized
and punctual behaviours and the pressure from the parents to keep these
also would have ceased.
Table 4.94
Results of the post hoc test - Conscientiousness
N
plus two 383 29.12
plus one 433 29.68 29.68
9th 419 30.97 30.97
college 99 31.55
10th 349 31.69
Sig. 0.874 0.223 0.819
Neuroticism
In the case of neuroticism the F -ratio (F=10.01) is found to be
significant at the .01 level. The results of the post hoc analysis (Table 4.95)
show that professional students have the highest mean score in neuroticism
and they are significantly higher on neuroticism than plus one, 9^, plus two
and 10'^ standard students. It may be noted that the professional students
may not be able to reach upto their expectations and keep up their
331
standards which may result in anxious, insecure, self-pitying, and emotional
behaviours. The 10^"^' plus two, 9^^, plus one, and college students do not
differ significantly in neuroticism among themselves.
Table 4.95
Results of the post hoc test - Neuroticism
N
10th 349 22.05
plus two 383 22.87
9th 419 23.00
plus one 433 23.19
college 99 23.34 23.34
Sig. 0.301 0.062
Thus the results obtained in this section show that the personality
dimensions of extraversion, conscientiousness and neuroticism are
influenced by the class in which adolescents are studying. The 10'^ standard
students have highest extraversion and conscientiousness while
professional students are high in the neuroticism dimension.
4.1. M.S. Emotional Intelligence
The F-ratio obtained for emotional intelligence is 2.44 and is
significant at the .05 level indicating significant differences in emotional
intelligence among adolescents studying in different classes. However, the
results of the post hoc analysis show no significant differences in emotional
intelligence across the different groups. Although there is an overall
significant difference as revealed by the F- value, multiple comparisons of
the group means do not yield any significant differences between the
332
groups. This indicates that class of study as such as is not an important
variable affecting the emotional intelligence of adolescents.
4.1. N. COMPARISON OF THE MAIN VARIABLES WITH RESPECT TO
THE TYPE OF COURSE
The sample for the present investigation consisted of students from
different professional courses as well as from different groups like science,
humanities and commerce. In order to find out whether there are significant
differences among the students from various courses on the main variables,
the students from the professional courses such as BCA, BBA, BSc Nursing,
BSc MLT, BPT, BAMS, TTC, and also students from the Science,
Humanities and Commerce groups were compared. High school students
were excluded from this analysis. The results of the comparison of these
students on the main variables like stress, psychological well-being,
parenting style, personality, and emotional intelligence are discussed in the
following pages.
4.1.N.1. Adolescent Stress
The results of the analysis of variance for the various dimensions of
stress are given in Table 4.96. These results show that significant
differences due to the type of course exist in all the ten stress measures and
in total stress. Subsequent multiple comparisons also reveal significant
differences among adolescents pursuing different courses of study.
333
Table 4.96
Results of the ANOVA of adolescent stress with respect to the type of course
Sum of Mean
df F
Squares Square
Between Groups 8055.173 9 895.019 13.33"
Total 93257.457 1278
Between Groups 3138.314 9 348.702 8.988"
Stress of school
Within Groups 49230.757 1269 38.795
performance
Total 52369.071 1278
Between Groups 618.432 9 68.715 9.066"
Stress of school
Within Groups 9617.707 1269 7.579
attendance
Total 10236.139 1278
Between Groups 855.092 9 95.01 4.456"
Stress of romantic
Within Groups 27059.872 1269 21.324
relationship
Total 27914.963 1278
Between Groups 1016.95 9 112.994 4.177"
Stress of peer
Within Groups 34332.548 1269 27.055
pressure
Total 35349.498 1278
Between Groups 3532.107 9 392.456 11.218"
Stress of teacher
Within Groups 44395.566 1269 34.985
interaction
Total 47927.673 1278
Between Groups 439.184 9 48.798 5.086"
Stress of future
Within Groups 12175.665 1269 9.595
uncertainty
Total 12614.849 1278
Between Groups 3029.506 9 336.612 17.169"
Stress of school -
Within Groups 24879.465 1269 19.606
leisure conflict
Total 27908.971 1278
Between Groups 864.237 9 96.026 8.267"
Stress of financial
Within Groups 14740.286 1269 11.616
pressure
Total 15604.524 1278
Between Groups 1083.627 9 120.403 12.537"
Stress of emerging
Within Groups 12187.328 1269 9.604
Total 13270.955 1278
Between Groups 135211.393 9 15023.488 12.586"
Total 1650026.227 1278
" Significant at the .01 level
Stress of home life
The F - ratio obtained for stress of home life is 13.33, and is
significant at the .01 level (Table 4.96). The results of the post hoc
comparisons are presented In Table 4.97. It is clear from the table that the
BCA students have the highest stress of home life and their mean score is
significantly higher than that of the science, humanities, commerce, nursing,
TTC, MLT, BPT and BAMS students. It may be noted that BCA is
comparatively a strict professional course and those who have taken this
334
course may experience more stress of home life due to the high expectation
of their parents. BBA is also a demanding course and BBA students are
significantly higher on stress of home life than BPT and BAMS students. The
group which has got the least stress of home life is BAMS students.
Table 4.97
N
Group which the student has taken 1 2 3 4
BAMS 36 18.03
BPT 50 20 20
MLT 58 20.52 20.52 20.52
TTC 58 20.98 20.98 20.98
Nursing 54 22.8 22.8 22.8
Commerce 251 23.21 23.21 23.21
Humanities 78 24.87 24.87
Science 573 24.9 24.9
BBA 55 26.38 26.38
BCA 66 31.47
Sig. 0.16 0.23 0.053 0.182
Table 4.98
N
Group which the student has taken 1 2
TTC 58 17 <
BAMS 36 17.19
Nursing 54 19.8 19.8
Commerce 251 19.8 19.8
BPT 50 21.12 21.12
Science 573 21.17 21.17
MLT 58 22.84
BBA 55 23.89
BCA 66 24.02
Sig. 0.102 0.092
335
The results of the analysis of variance and post hoc comparisons
are given in Table 4.96 and Table 4.98 respectively. It is clear from these
tables that there are significant differences among different groups in the
stress of school performance. The BCA students are found to have the
highest stress while students from TTC and BAMS courses are found to
have the lowest stress of school performance. The BCA, BBA, and MLT
students are significantly higher on stress of school attendance than TTC
and BAMS students. It may be noted that compared to TTC and BAMS
courses the BCA, BBA and MLT courses are rather tough, academic
pressure is quite high and career opportunities largely based on their
performance. The nursing, commerce, humanities, BPT, and science
students do not differ significantly among themselves as well as with any
other group
Table 4.99
N
Group which the student has taken 1 2 3
TTC 58 4.4
MLT 58 5.22 5.22
Nursing 54 5.26 5.26
Commerce 251 5.93 5.93 5.93
Science 573 6.25 6.25 6.25
BPT 50 6.56 6.56
BAMS 36 6.64 6.64
BCA 66 7.39
BBA 55 7.71
Sig. 0.095 0.058 0.137
336
The F-ratio obtained for stress of school attendance with respect to
course of study is 9.07 and is significant at the .01 level. The results of the
post hoc comparisons are given in Table 4.99. It is clear from the table that
as in the case of school performance, BBA and BCA students have got the
highest stress of school attendance and these students have significantly
higher stress than the nursing, MLT, and TTC students. Regular attendance
may be essential in order to understand the subject matter in the case of
BBA and BCA students. The TTC students are found to have the lowest
stress of school attendance and it is significantly lower than the BPT, BAMS
and humanities students. The TTC students may be finding their classes
quite interesting and hence may not be considering attendance as very
stressful.
Stress of romantic relationship
Table 4.100
N
BAMS 36 8.61
MLT 58 9.71 9.71
Nursing 54 9.72 9.72
TTC 58 10.76 10.76
Commerce 251 11.31 11.31
Science 573 11.39 11.39
BBA 55 11.65 11.65
BPT 50 11.82 11.82
Humanities 78 12.4
BCA 66 12.94
Sig. 0.072 0.067
The results of the analysis of variance given in Table 4.96 show that
the F-ratio (4.46) is significant at the .01 level. The post hoc analysis (Table
337
4.100) reveals that the highest scores were obtained by students from BCA
and humanities courses while lowest score is obtained by BAMS students.
The BCA and humanities students differ significantly from BAMS students.
The BCA students may have less time for romantic relationships and the
humanities students may be more involved in romantic relationships but may
have difficulty in sustaining it. The BAMS students experience comparatively
less stress from all other sources which would facilitate smooth romantic
relationships.
Table 4.101
Results of the post hoc test - Stress of peer pressure
N
TIC 58 13.71
Nursing 54 13.83
Commerce 251 13.86
BAMS 36 14.39 14.39
BPT 50 14.7 14.7
Science 573 15.06 15.06
MLT 58 15.24 15.24
BBA 55 15.65 15.65
BCA 66 17.77
Sig. 0.868 0.129
The results of the analysis of variance shows that the F-ratio
(F=4.18; p<.01) is significant. Table 4.101 provides the results of the post
hoc test and it reveals that the BCA students have the highest stress of peer
pressure and it is significantly higher than that experienced by commerce,
nursing and TTC students. The BAMS, BPT, humanities, science, MLT, and
338
BBA students do not differ significantly among themselves or with other
groups on stress of peer pressure.
Table 4.102
N
BAMS 36 10.67
MLT 58 12.41 12.41
TTC 58 12.43 12.43
Commerce 251 14.53 14.53 14.53
BPT 50 14.68 14.68 14.68
Science 573 15.79 15.79
Nursing 54 18.11
BCA 66 18.21
BBA 55 18.35
Sig. 0.09 0.301 0.136
The F-ratio obtained for stress of teacher interaction is 11.22 and is
significant at the .01 level (Table 4.94). The results of the post hoc test are
given in Table 4.102. The BBA, BCA, and nursing students experience more
or less similar stress of teacher interaction and they have significantly higher
stress of teacher interaction than TTC, MLT, and BAMS students. The BBA,
BCA and nursing courses are known to have high academic pressures and
demand professionalism in their behaviour, which may contribute to the
problems in getting along with teachers. The humanities and science
students also have significantly higher stress than BAMS students. Majority
of the humanities and the science students in the sample are from plus two
which again is a period where student-teacher relationships are strained.
339
stress of future uncertainty
Table 4.103
N
TTC 58 7.41
BAMS 36 7.42
Commerce 251 7.76 7.76
Nursing 54 7.78 7.78
MLT 58 8.45 8.45
Science 573 8.56 8.56
BPT 50 9.16 9.16
BBA 55 9.27 9.27
BCA 66 9.82
Sig. 0.226 0.11
The results of the analysis of variance given in Table 4.96 show
that the obtained F-ratio (F=5.09) is significant at the .01 level. The post hoc
analysis (Table 4.103) reveals that the BCA students have the highest stress
of future uncertainty and they have significantly higher stress than the BAMS
and TTC students. The BCA students may be more worried about the future
because their job opportunities are a lot dependent on their perfomiance and
BCA degree alone may not equip them for a job while TTC and BAMS
students are assured of a job, even in the absence of higher studies. The
commerce, nursing, humanities, MLT, science, BPT, and BBA students do
not differ significantly among themselves as well as with other groups in
stress of future uncertainty.
Stress of school- leisure conflict
Table 4.96 gives the results of the analysis of variance and it
shows that the F-ratio (F=17.17; p<.01) is significant. Table 4.104 provides
340
the results of the multiple comparisons and it reveals that the BCA students
have the highest stress of school - leisure conflict and it is significantly
higher than that experienced by the TTC, BPT, nursing, MLT and BAMS
students. It may be due to their tight academic schedule that they have less
time for leisure activities. Students from humanities group are found to have
significantly higher stress than students from the BPT, nursing, MLT, and
BAMS courses. The BBA and commerce students have significantly higher
stress than nursing, MLT and BAMS students.
Table 4.104
N
BAMS 36 7.75
MLT 58 8.55
Nursing 54 8.56
BPT 50 9.58 9.58
TTC 58 10.33 10.33 10.33
Commerce 251 12.04 12.04 12.04
BBA 55 12.29 12.29 12.29
Science 573 12.6 12.6 12.60
BCA 66 14.23
Sig. 0.27 0.086 0.225 0.532
The F-ratio obtained for stress of financial pressure with respect to
course of study is 8.27, and is significant at the .01 level. The results of the
multiple comparisons of group means are given in Table 4.105. It is clear
from the table that the BCA students have the highest stress of financial
pressure and it is significantly higher than that of the nursing, MLT, TTC, and
BAMS students. The BCA students might have spent a large amount of
money for getting admissions and they may realize that they still have to
341
spend on higher studies to get a job. The students from job guaranteed
courses lil<e BAMS, TTC, MLT, and nursing experience comparatively less
stress than students from the other groups. BAMS students have the least
stress of financial pressure.
Table 4.105
Results of the post hoc test - Stress of financial pressure
N
BAMS 36 5.03
TTC 58 6.81 6.81
MLT 58 6.83 6.83
Nursing 54 6.85 6.85
Science 573 7.78 7.78
Commerce 251 7.79 7.79
BPT 50 7.88 7.88
BBA 55 8.89 8.89
BCA 66 9.79
Sig. 0.404 0.176 0.255
Table 4.106
Results of the post hoc test - Stress of emerging adult responsibility
' Subset for alpha = .05
N
Group which the student has tal<en 1 2 3
BAMS 36 6.19
TTC 58 7.02 7.02
MLT 58 7.1 7.1
BPT 50 7.32 7.32
Nursing 54 7.72 7.72
Commerce 251 8.12 8.12
Science 573 8.72
BBA 55 9.11 9.11
BCA 66 11.18
Sig. 0.051 0.094 0.102
342
The results of the analysis of variance given in Table 4.96 show that
the F-ratio(F=12.54) is significant at the .01 level. The post hoc analysis
(Table 4.106) reveals that the BCA students experience the highest stress
and BAMS students experience the lowest stress. The BCA students have
significantly higher stress of ennerging adult responsibility than all the other
groups except the the BBA students. The science and BBA students have
significantly higher stress than the BAMS students. These students may
have to take up new family responsibilities and they experience these
activities as interfering with their studies. The BAMS students are generally
less stressed out and may be because of this they are able to take up their
new responsibilities more smoothly.
Total Stress
Table 4.107
100 Results of the post hoc test - Total Stress
N
BAMS 36 101.92
TTC 58 110.84 110.84
MLT 58 116.88 116.88
Nursing 54 120.43 120.43 120.43
BPT 50 122.82 122.82 122.82
Commerce 251 124.35 124.35 124.35
Science 573 132.22 132.22 132.22
Humanities 78 133.74 133.74 133.74
BBA 55 143.2 143.2
BCA 66 156.82
Sig. 0.131 0.111 0.116 0.057
The F-ratio obtained in the case of total stress is 12.59 and is
significant at the .01 level. The post hoc comparisons (Table 4.107) reveal
that the BCA students have the highest overall stress while the BAMS
343
students have the lowest overall stress. The BCA students experience
significantly higher stress than the commerce, BPT, nursing, MLT, TTC, and
BAMS students and have more or less similar levels of stress when
compared to science, humanities and BBA students. The BAMS, BPT,
nursing, MLT, TTC and BAMS students do not differ significantly in total
stress.
Thus, the results obtained in this section show that of the
different courses of study, it is the BCA and BBA students who experience
higher levels of stress in all the 10 dimensions of stress as well as in total
stress. The BAMS and TTC students are experiencing lower levels of stress
in most of the stress dimensions, while students belonging to the other
courses have moderate levels of stress.
4.1. N.2.Psychological well-being
Analysis of variance was carried out for the total well-being
and the 12 components of psychological well-being, and the results are
given in Table 4.108. Out of the 12 components, the F-ratio obtained for 9
components namely meaninglessness, self-esteem, positive affect, daily
activities, somatic complaints, life satisfaction, suicidal ideas, tension,
wellness, and for total well-being are found to be significant. The F-ratios
obtained for personal control, social support, and general efficiency
components of psychological well-being are found to be non significant,
indicating that the course of study has no influence on these dimensions of
psychological well-being.
344
Table 4.108
Results of the ANOVA of psychological well-being with respect to the type of
course
Sum of Mean
df F
Squares Square
Between Groups 9.25 9 1.028 1.963*
Total 673.726 1278
Between Groups 21.016 9 2.335 4.36**
Total 700.688 1278
Between Groups 13.207 9 1.467 7.864**
Total 249.998 1278
Between Groups 11.507 9 1.279 2.642**
Total 625.64 1278
Between Groups 21.264 9 2.363 3.568**
Total 861.614 1278
Between Groups 22.808 9 2.534 4.451**
Total 745.253 1278
Between Groups 29.131 9 3.237 7.393**
Total 584.696 1278
Between Groups 1.742 9 0.194 0.389
Total 632.402 1278
Between Groups 4.86 9 0.54 1.264
Total 546.793 1278
Between Groups 24.03 9 2.67 4.215**
Total 827.961 1278
Between Groups 19.377 9 2.153 4.415**
Total 638.203 1278
Between Groups 6.419 9 0.713 1.42
Total 643.969 1278
Between Groups 911.204 9 101.245 3.85**
Total 34282.793 1278
In cases where significant differences were obtained, further multiple
comparisons of the group means were made using the Scheffe's test. The
results of this test showed significant differences only in the case of five
components, namely, self-esteem, tension, life satisfaction, positive affect,
and suicidal ideas. In the case of the three components such as

345
meaninglessness, daily activities, and wellness, and also in total well-being
the differences between distinct groups are not significant. The significant
cases are discussed below.
Self-esteem
Table 4.109
Results of the post hoc test -Self-esteem
N
BPT 50 0.92
MLT 58 1.00 1.00
TTC 58 1.21 1.21
Science 573 1.32 1.32
Nursing 54 1.35 1.35
BAIVIS 36 1.36 1.36
BBA 55 1.38 1.38
Commerce 251 1.42 1.42
BCA 66 1.45
Sig. 0.081 0.181
The F-ratio obtained for self-esteem is 4.36, and is significant at the
.01 level. The results of the post hoc comparisons are given in Table 4.109.
It is clear from the table that the BCA students have the highest self-esteem
and it is significantly higher than the BPT students who have the lowest self-
esteem. It may be noted that BCA is a course which has comparatively
better reputation, and higher studies in this area offer better incentives. The
other groups do not differ significantly among themselves or with either BCA
or BPT students.
346
Positive affect
Table 4.110
Results of the post hoc test - Positive Affect
N
BCA 66 1.48
BBA 55 1.76 1.76
Science 573 1.81
Commerce 251 1.85
BPT 50 1.88
TTC 58 1.95
MLT 58 1.95
Nursing 54 1.96
BAMS 36 2
Sig. 0.137 0.085
The results of the analysis of variance for positive affect show that
the obtained F-ratIo (F=7.86) Is significant at the .01 level. Table 4.110
provides the results of the multiple comparisons. It Is clear from the table that
BAMS students have the highest positive affect and the BCA students have
the lowest positive affect. This result Is In agreement with the findings In the
previous section that the BCA students experience more stress and in the
case of BAMS students the stress is comparatively low. Since BCA students
experience more stress their positive affect is low. BCA students' score Is
significantly lower than that of the science, commerce, BPT, TTC, MLT, and
nursing students. Except BCA and BAMS, the other groups do not differ
significantly among themselves In the case of positive affect.
Life satisfaction
The F-ratIo obtained for life satisfaction Is 4.45, and Is significant at the .01
level. The results of the post hoc comparisons are given in Table 4.111.
347
Table 4.111
Results of the post hoc test - Life satisfaction
N
BBA 55 0.89
Nursing 54 1.22 1.22
BPT 50 1.24 1.24
MLT 58 1.24 1.24
Science 573 1.32 1.32
BCA 66 1.35 1.35
TTC 58 1.4 1.4
Commerce 251 1.46
Humanities 78 1.5
BAMS 36 1.67
Sig. 0.101 0.253
From the table, it can be seen that the BAMS students have the
highest life satisfaction, while the BBA students have the lowest life
satisfaction. The humanities and commerce students also have significantly
high life satisfaction than the BBA students. It may be noted that the BBA
students may have some field work and they experience significantly more
stress than humanities, commerce and BAMS students, and consequently
have less life satisfaction.
Suicidal ideas
The results of the analysis of variance for suicidal ideas show that
the obtained F-ratio (F=7.39) is significant at the .01 level. Table 4.112 gives
the results of the multiple comparisons and it indicates that the BAMS
students have the lowest degree of suicidal ideas, while the BCA students
have the highest degree of suicidal ideas. This is quite understandable in the
light of the findings in the previous section which showed that the BCA
students experienced the highest level of stress, while BAMS students
experienced the lowest level of stress. Since BAMS students are quite
348
relaxed they do not yield to suicidal ideas. They are also significantly lower in
suicidal ideas than the humanities students. The nursing, TTC, and
commerce students have significantly lower levels of suicidal ideas than the
BCA students.
Table 4.112
Results of the post hoc test - Suicidal ideas
N
BCA 66 1.14
MLT 58 1.4 1.4 1.4
BBA 55 1.47 1.47 1.47
Science 573 1.54 1.54 1.54
BPT 50 1.56 1.56 1.56
Commerce 251 1.65 1.65
TTC 58 1.76 1.76
Nursing 54 1.8 1.8
BAMS 36 1.86
Sig. 0.146 0.051 0.065
Tension
Table 4.113
Results of the post hoc test - Tension
N
Group which the student has tal<en 1 2
IVILT 58 0.66
BPT 50 0.76 0.76
BCA 66 0.95 0.95
BBA 55 1.04 1.04
Nursing 54 1.07 1.07
BAMS 36 1.14 1.14
Science 573 1.15 1.15
Commerce 251 1.2 1.2
TTC 58 1.26
Sig. 0.09 0.171
349
The F-ratio obtained for tension is 4.22, and is significant at tlie
.01 level. The results of the post hoc test are given in Table 4.113. From the
table, it can be seen that the TTC students have the highest score and
hence the lowest tension. Their level of tension is significantly lower than
that of the MLT students who experience the highest amount of tension. The
MLT students are found to experience significantly higher stress of school
performance than the TTC students which may explain their higher level of
tension. The rest of the other groups do not significantly differ among
themselves or either from TTC or MLT students.
4.1. N.3.Parenting Styles
Table 4.114
Results of the ANOVA of parenting style with respect to the type of course
Sum of Mean
df F
Squares Square
Between Groups 1427.836 9 158.648 4.934"
Total 42233.562 1278
Between Groups 1289.075 9 143.231 4.932"
Total 38139.091 1278
Between Groups 1844.606 9 204.956 5.398"
Total 50025.002 1278
Between Groups 2132.589 9 236.954 6.676"
Total 47173.351 1278
Between Groups 2391.955 9 265.773 5.905"
Total 59509.631 1278
Between Groups 2135.204 9 237.245 6 . 1 1 1 "
Total 51399.253 1278
Significant at .01 level
The results of the analysis of variance for the perceived parenting
style with respect to different courses of study are given in Table 4.114. It is
clear from the table that the F-ratios pertaining to all the three parenting
350
styles of both the parents are significant at the .01 level. So, further multiple
comparisons of the group means were made. The results obtained in the
case of each parenting style are discussed in the following pages.
Permissive parenting style of father
Table 4.115
N
BCA 66 30.47
Commerce 251 32.1 32.10
Science 573 32.14 32.14
BBA 55 32.18 32.18
Nursing 54 32.19 32.19
OPT 50 33.14 33.14
BAIVIS 36 34.42 34.42
MLT 58 35.03
TTC 58 35.09
Sig. 0.071 0.43
The F- ratio obtained for the permissive parenting style of father is
4.93 and is significant at the .01 level. The results of the subsequent post
hoc comparisons are given in Table 4.115. It is clear from the table that the
TTC and MLT students perceive their father as most permissive and they
perceive their father as significantly more permissive than the BCA students
who perceive their parents as least permissive. It is interesting to note that
BCA students experience highest stress including stress of home life. The
other groups do not significantly differ among themselves or with these three
groups in their score on permissive parenting.
351
Permissive parenting style of mother
Table 4.116
Results of the post hoc test - Permissive parenting style of mother
N
BCA 66 31.06
BBA 55 32.29 32.29
Science 573 32.37 32.37
Nursing 54 32.87 32.87
Commerce 251 33.05 33.05
BPT 50 33.16 33.16
BAMS 36 34.47 34.47
TTC 58 35.12
MLT 58 35.22
Sig. 0.158 0.376
The F-ratio obtained for permissive parenting style of motlier
(F=4.93) is significant at the .01 level. Table 4.116 provides the results of the
post hoc comparisons. It is clear from the table that as in the case of
permissive parenting style of father, here also the MLT and TTC students
perceive their mothers as most permissive and the BCA students perceive
their mothers as least permissive. The MLT and TTC students perceive their
mothers as significantly more permissive than the BCA students. The
students from the other groups such as BBA, science, nursing, commerce,
BPT, humanities, and BAMS do not differ significantly among themselves or
with the BCA, TTC or MLT students.
Authoritarian parenting style of father
For the authoritarian parenting style of father, the obtained F-
ratio (F=5.40) is significant at the .01 level. . Table 4.117 gives the results of
the post hoc comparisons, and it indicates that the humanities students
352
perceive their fathers as most authoritarian and their mean score is
significantly higher than that of the TTC and BCA students. The TTC
students perceive their fathers as least authoritarian. It may be noted that the
TTC students perceived their fathers as most permissive, so naturally they
will perceive their fathers as least authoritarian. However, this is not true in
the case of BCA students and this may be because they may perceive their
fathers as less authoritarian in certain situations and less permissive in some
other.
Table 4.117
father
N
TTC 58 30.34
BCA 66 30.74
Nursing 54 31.91 31.91
BPT 50 31.96 31.96
BAIVIS 36 32.08 32.08
BBA 55 32.64 32.64
Science 573 33.49 33.49
Commerce 251 33.56 33.56
IVILT 58 34.72 34.72
Humanities 78 35.81
Sig. 0.057 0.159
Authoritarian parenting style ofmottier
The F-ratio obtained for authoritarian parenting style of
mother with respect to course of study is 6.68 and is significant at the .01
level. The post hoc comparisons (Table 4.118) reveal that the humanities
students perceive their mothers as most authoritarian and their mean score
is significantly higher than that of the BPT, nursing, TTC, and BCA students.
The results obtained here are similar to those obtained in the case of
authoritarian parenting style of father. Humanities students may not be very
353
serious about studies or other activities which may mal<e their parents to
display more authoritarian behaviour.
Table 4.118
mother
N
BCA 66 31.55
TTC 58 31.79
Nursing 54 32.17
BPT 50 32.86
BBA 55 32.93 32.93
BAMS 36 33.11 33.11
Science 573 34.16 34.16
Commerce 251 34.71 34.71
MLT 58 35.78 35.78
Humanities 78 37.19
Sig. 0.058 0.053
Authoritative parenting style of father
Table 4.119
father
N
Group which the student has tai<en 1 2
BCA 66 32.71
Commerce 251 36.86 36.86
TTC 58 37.14 37.14
Science 573 37.5 37.5
BBA 55 37.64
BPT 50 38.48
Nursing 54 39.22
BAMS 36 39.78
MLT 58 40.07
Sig. 0.055 0.584
354
The results of the analysis of variance for authoritative
parenting style of father with respect to course of study shows that the
obtained F-ratio (F=5.91) is significant at the.01 level. Table 4.119 provides
the results of post hoc comparisons. It is clear from the table that the MLT
students perceive their fathers as most authoritative and the BCA students
perceive their fathers as least authoritative. The MLT, BAMS, nursing, BPT,
and BBA students perceive their fathers as significantly more authoritative
than the BCA students. Thus, the students from the MLT, BAMS, nursing,
BPT and BBA courses report that their parents provide adequate support
and consider their opinion while taking important decisions.
Authoritative parenting style ofmottier
Table 4.120
mother
N
BCA 66 33.73
TTC 58 38.03 38.03
BBA 55 38.25
Commerce 251 38.29
Science 573 38.34
BPT 50 38.52
Humanities 78 38.54
BAMS 36 40.31
Nursing 54 40.39
MLT 58 40.81
Sig. 0.076 0.689
The F-value obtained for authoritative parenting style of mother is
6.11 and is significant at the .01 level. Table 4.120 gives the results of post
hoc comparison test and it shows that the BCA students perceive their
355
mothers as least authoritative and they perceive their mothers as
significantly less authoritative than students from all the other courses,
except TTC. Students from all the other courses, except BCA, do not differ
significantly among themselves in the perception of authoritative parenting
style of mother.
4.1. N.4.Personality
Table 4.121
Results of the ANOVA of personality type with res pect to the type of course
Sum of Mean
df F
Squares Square
Between Groups 564.188 9 62.688 2.517**
Total 32171.079 1278
Between Groups 538.451 9 59.828 2.504**
Total 30861.389 1278
Between Groups 1062.624 9 118.069 3.818**
Total 40310.546 1278
Between Groups 1299.241 9 144.36 3.909**
Total 48165.021 1278
Between Groups 534.024 9 59.336 2.42**
Total 31647.709 1278
** Significant at .01 level
This section examines whether the course chosen for studies
have any impact on the Big Five personality dimensions. The results of the
analysis of variance in this regard are given in Table 4.121. The F-ratios
obtained for extraversion, agreeableness, conscientiousness, neuroticism,
and openness dimensions of personality are 2.52, 2.50, 3.82, 3.91, and 2.42
respectively and all these are significant at the .01 level indicating significant
differences in the personality dimensions between students from various
courses of study. However, subsequent post hoc comparisons did not reveal
356
any significant differences in any of tiie dimensions of personality. It may be
that the significance revealed in one- way ANOVA is produced due to over
all effects, but when specific groups are examined the effects are not
significant.
4.1. N.S.Emotional intelligence
The impact of different courses of study on emotional intelligence
was examined using one-way ANOVA. The F-ratio obtained is 3.68 and is
significant at the .01 level. However, the post hoc comparisons did not show
any significant differences among the groups. This indicates that emotional
intelligence is not influenced by the course of study, as such.
The results presented in this section show that there are significant
differences in adolescent stress, perceived parenting style of both the
parents, and some components of psychological well-being between
students pursuing different courses of study. Regarding stress, the BCA
students experience the highest level of stress in most of the stress
dimensions as well as in total stress, while the BAMS students have the
lowest stress. The results of the analyses in psychological well-being
revealed significant differences in five components such as self-esteem,
positive affect, life satisfaction, suicidal ideas and tension, and the results in
these components are in quite agreement with the results obtained in the
case of stress. The BAMS, BPT, MLT, TTC, nursing, commerce, humanities,
science, BBA and BCA students did not differ significantly either on
personality types or in emotional intelligence.
357
4.2. RELATIONSHIPS AMONG ADOLESCENT STRESS AND
OTHER MAIN VARIABLES
In chapter one, ten hypotheses regarding the relationships among
the main variables under the study - stress, psychological well-being,
personality, parenting style and emotional intelligence - were proposed.
These hypotheses are tested and the results of the analyses are presented
in this section. In other words, the correlations between the above five main
variables are obtained and presented. In addition to this, the correlations
between age and the main variables are also computed.
Before examining the relationships obtained, it may be born in mind
that all the different measures employed in the study are scored in such a
way that a high score in each indicates a high prevalence of the variable
measured. In order to facilitate evaluation and interpretation of the obtained
relationships, the results and related discussions are presented in the
following order: correlations between adolescent stress and other variables
(psychological well-being, parenting style, personality, and emotional
intelligence); correlations between psychological well-being and other
variables (parenting style, personality and emotional intelligence);
correlations between parenting style and other variables (personality and
emotional intelligence); and correlations between personality and emotional
intelligence. Finally, the correlations between age and all the above
variables are presented.
358
4.2.1. STRESS AND PSYCHOLOGICAL WELL-BEING
The correlations that each of the ten adolescent stress subscales
has with the 12 different components of psychological well-being as well as
those between total stress and total psychological well-being are given in
Table 4.122. From the table, it can be seen that all of the stress factors as
well as total stress have significant negative correlations with most of the
psychological well-being components and total well-being, except in the case
of personal control component. Out of the 143 correlations obtained, 131 are
significant at the .01 level and one significant at the .05 level, while only 11
of the obtained correlations are not significant. These results clearly indicate
that psychological well-being of adolescents is significantly related to the
levels of stress experienced by them. All the obtained correlations are
negative in direction indicating an inverse relationship between adolescent
stress and psychological well-being. In other words, as levels of stress
experienced by the adolescents increase, there occurs a decrease in their
psychological well-being. These results are in agreement with the findings of
a large number of studies in the field of adolescent stress (Chen,1991;
Curt, 1998; Holahan, Valentiner, & Moos, 1994; Joan, 1996; Pitakpol, 2004;
Rudolph, 2002; Rudolph et al., 2000; Suh, Diener, & Fujita,1996).However,
the magnitude of the correlations between stress and well-being are low,
which suggests that psychological well-being of adolescents is not solely
determined by their perceived stress. But, it may be an aggregate of
contributions from many other aspects also, including personality, parenting,
support, cognitive style, and the like.
359
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The dimension of psychological well-being which is not at all related
to stress is personal control. None of the stress factors, other than stress of
peer pressure, has any significant impact on the personal control of
adolescents. It is quite understandable because personal control is more
intrinsic and personality determined.
The highest correlations obtained are those between the stress of
peer pressure and the various components of psychological well-being (-.05
to -.37). This is quite reasonable due to the fact that during adolescence,
peer group is the most important external source of influence. So any
difficulties in the peer relationships can have serious adverse effects on the
adolescents' state of well-being.
Now let us examine the relationships between each of the well-being
components and adolescent stress factors. All the stress factors have
significant negative correlations with the meaninglessness component of
psychological well-being. Total stress, stress of home life and peer pressure
has higher degrees of relationships with meaninglessness. Stress of teacher
interaction and stress of school attendance have the least impact on the
meaninglessness factor of psychological well-being. When family and peer
group, which are the two major socializing groups of adolescents, become
stressful, adolescents experience meaninglessness in life.
From Table 4.122, it can be seen that all the stress factors are
significantly and negatively correlated with adolescent self-esteem. A close
observation of the table reveals that the major sources of stress in terms of
its relationship to self-esteem are peer pressure, stress of home life, stress
of future uncertainty, stress of school perfomnance, and total stress. It is a
361
well established fact that peer interaction, home atmosphere, and academic
achievement play a major role in building up self-esteem, especially in
adolescents. The uncertainty about future, vagueness of career options, and
indecisiveness about future goals also have significant impact on
adolescents' self esteem.
The correlations that the various stress measures have with positive
affect show that all the obtained correlations are negative and significant.
These correlations vary within the range of -.07 to -.15. The obtained
correlation coefficients show that the major sources of stress which influence
positive affect are emerging adult responsibility (-.15), school attendance (-
.14), home life (-.13), and financial pressure (-.13). As the responsibilities of
becoming an adult become stressful, their positive feelings decrease.
From Table 4.122 it is clear that stress has negative impact on the
daily activities of adolescence. All the stress variables have small but
significant negative correlations with the daily activities component. In terms
of the magnitude of the correlations, the stress factors having major impact
on this well-being component are stress of peer pressure (r= -.18), stress of
future uncertainty (r= -.17), stress of home life (r=-.15), total stress (r= -.15),
emerging adult responsibility (r= -.13), and stress of school perfonnance (r= -
.13). The stress of school-leisure conflict is not having any relationship to this
component of well-being.
The correlations that the different stress factors have with the
somatic complaints component of psychological well- being show that all of
the correlations are small but significant. Four stress factors have
correlations within the range of -.16 to -.18. Thus stress of home life, peer
pressure, stress of future uncertainty, and total stress are possible predictors
362
of somatic complaints in adolescents. Several studies have reported small
but significant negative correlations between stress and somatic complaints
(McEwen & Dhabhar, 2002; Moos, 2002; Rabin, 2002).
All the stress factors have significant negative correlations with the
life satisfaction component of well-being. These correlations are within the
range of -.09 to -.20. The highest correlations are obtained for stress of
home life (r= -.20), school performance (r= -.15), peer pressure (r= -.18),
stress of future uncertainty (r= -.17) emerging adult responsibility (r= -.15),
and total stress (r= -.20). Happy family atmosphere, school environment and
clarity about future goals and fulfillment of studies and responsibilities can
always contribute to an adolescent's life satisfaction.
From Table 4.122, it can be seen that all the stress factors have
significant negative correlations with the suicidal ideas component of
psychological well-being. Out of the different stress factors, the major ones
in terms of their relationship to suicidal ideas are stress of home life (r= -.30),
peer pressure (r= -.26), total stress (r= -.30), stress of emerging adult
responsibility ( r= -.23), romantic relationships (r= -.22), stress of school
performance (r= -.21), stress of future uncertainty (r= -.19) and stress of
teacher interaction ( r= -.19). As evident from earlier studies as well as
common experience, all these factors are crucial for the well-being of
adolescents. Most of the reasons for adolescent suicide and suicidal ideas
emerge from factors like peer pressure, home life problems, romantic
relationships, pressure of school performance, and the like.
As already discussed, out of the 11 correlations between personal
control and various stress factors, only one is significant at the .05 level.
Stress of peer pressure is the only factor which correlates with personal
363
control. The adolescents' personal control is questioned only when they are
under the pressure of peer influence. As peer evaluations and peer relations
are the most influential aspects in an adolescent's life, when peer pressure
increases adolescents personal control decreases.
The correlation coefficients given in Table 4.122 show that the social
support component is having significant negative correlations with all of the
stress factors. These correlations vary within the range of -.08 to -.23. A
close observation reveals that when total stress, stress of home life, peer
pressure, romantic relationship, stress of future uncertainty, financial
pressure, and emerging adult responsibility increase social support
decreases. It is very clear from these findings that when the perceived
stressors are beyond adolescents' control, they require social support to deal
with them effectively.
In the case of tension, it is found to have significant negative
correlations with all of the stress factors and total stress. When stress
increases tension naturally tends to increase. The significant stress factors in
terms of their magnitude of relationships with tension are in the order, stress
of future uncertainty (r= -.24), stress of peer pressure (r= -.22), total stress
(r= -.21), stress of home life (r= -.20), stress of school performance (r= -.18),
and stress of romantic relationships(r= -.15). These sources of stress
contribute to adolescent tension. The significance and gravity of these stress
variables during adolescent period have been highlighted in eariier sections
also.
The psychological well-being component of wellness correlates
significantly negatively with all of the 10 stress factors and total stress. Total
stress has got a congelation of -.19 with the wellness of adolescents. Among
364
the various sources of stress, peer pressure has got the highest correlation
(r =-.20) with wellness, followed by stress of home life (r =-.19), and stress of
emerging adult responsibility (r =-.15). As it has been mentioned in the
earlier section, these three factors have got the highest negative correlations
with suicidal ideas also. Moreover, in an adolescent's life, peer group
relationships and home life are important factors for their wellness.
Table 4.122 shows that all the stress factors and total stress have
negative correlations that are significant at the .01 level of significance with
the general efficiency component of psychological well-being. The factors
which have got high negative correlations are stress of home life (r= -.18),
stress of peer pressure (r= -.17), school performance (r= -.15), future
uncertainty (r= -.15) and stress of emerging adult responsibility (r= -.15). So,
general efficiency of adolescents is largely dependent upon these sources of
stress and total stress (r= -.17). These findings are in the same line with the
results obtained in the case of wellness and tension.
Examining the correlations between total psychological well-being
and various sources of stress (Table 4.122), it is clear that all the stress
factors as well as total stress have correlated significantly and negatively
with total psychological well-being. The total stress has obtained a major
correlation (r= -.36) with total psychological well-being. This has been
consistently supported by previous research findings. Compas (1989) and
Compas et al. (1989) have suggested that multiple stressful events in
adolescents' life foretell emotional and behavioural problems later in life. De
Longis et al. (1982) and Kitty and David (1993) have reported that hassle
levels were related inversely to daily health, daily mood, and overall health
status.
365
Among the different dimensions of stress, stress of peer pressure
(r= -.37), stress of home life (r= -.36) and stress of future uncertainty (r= -.31)
have got major correlations (r's above .30) indicating that the corresponding
stress factors are potential predictors of psychological well-being. Stress of
emerging adult responsibility (r= -.28) and stress of school performance (r= -
.27) also show relatively high relationship with the well-being of adolescents.
Boldero and Fallon (1995), and Murray (1996) identified strained
relationships, pressure for achievement and ill health, school work and tests
as the most difficult circumstances adolescents' experience. Researches
have also shown that adolescents who are raised in impoverished, violent,
emotionally abusive or neglecting families are at significantly higher risk of
developing serious emotional and behavioural problems (Compas, 1987a, b;
Hoge, Andrews, & Leschied, 1996; Reese & Roosa, 1991). The stress
factors that are having relatively low correlations with psychological well-
being are stress of school attendance (r= -.18), stress of romantic
relationship (r= -.22), stress of teacher interaction (r= -.20), stress of school-
leisure conflict (r= -.18), and stress of financial pressure (r= -.21), and these
indicate that these factors have only weak relationships with psychological
well-being, compared to other major adolescent stress factors.
The results obtained in this section cleariy show that most of the
correlations between stress and psychological well-being are significant. The
important psychological well-being correlates of adolescent stress in terms of
it's magnitude are meaninglessness and suicidal ideas, both of which are
related themselves. In view of adolescents' level of cognitive development
and emotional control, this seems to be natural. Nancy (1992) has found that
40% of the adolescents who committed a self hurt behaviour reported too
366
much pressure or stress as a cause of suicide. "They see this as an easy
way out of their troubles, a way to get even with people they have grudge
with, 'I'll die and you'll be sorry'" (Eron, quoted by Barron, 1987). The other
important correlates of adolescent stress include self-esteem, life
satisfaction, wellness, and tension components of psychological well-being.
The results with respect to the relationship between adolescent
stress and psychological well-being show that most of the correlations are
low but significant. In fact. Murphy (1982) has pointed out that, in practice,
studies rarely have reported very high correlations between stress and
health especially between stress and well-being. This is not surprising in
view of the fact that the sample consisted of normal adolescent students and
there exist large individual differences among people in terms of perception
of stress and reactions to it.
In summary, the results presented in this section provide strong
support for the hypothesis that there will be significant relationships between
adolescent stress and psychological well-being, as cleariy demonstrated by
the correlations obtained between the different stress factors and the various
components of psychological well-being. Further, the specificity effect
proposed as part of the hypothesis is also found supported by the present
findings. An examination of the magnitudes of the correlations between the
different stress factors and the different components of psychological well-
being show that they are different for different factors. For, example, while
stress of school performance and stress of teacher interaction are having
low correlations with personal control, they are having relatively high
correlations with suicidal ideas.
367
4.2.2. STRESS AND PARENTING STYLE
Adolescent-parent relationships are particularly important because
they provide the main context in which socialization occurs and supportive
parents help their children in coping effectively with stress. In their study of
adolescents in Hong Kong, Leung and Leung (1992) found that students'
perceptions of their relationships with parents were the best predictor of their
life satisfaction. Several investigators have demonstrated that different
parenting styles predict differences in children's self reliance, self-control,
achievement, mood and aggressiveness (Baumrind, 1987, 1991; Glasgow et
al., 1997; Maccoby & Martin, 1983; Steinberg, Elman, & Mounts, 1989;
Weiss & Schwars, 1996). So in the present investigation parenting style was
hypothesized as an important variable in the context of adolescent stress.
The relationship between the parenting styles - authoritarian, authoritative
and permissive - and the different adolescent stress factors have been
computed separately for both the parents and the results are presented in
Table 4.123.
From Table 4.123, it is seen that both the permissive and the
authoritative parenting styles of father and mother are significantly and
negatively correlated to all of the stress factors. However, the authoritarian
parenting style of both parents is not having any significant relationship with
the different stress factors as well as with total stress. In this case only the
stress of school-leisure conflict is having significant correlation with father's
authoritarian style (r=.05). However, this is only a low correlation implying
very weak positive relationship between the variables. All the other 21
correlations are not significant.
368
Table 4.123
Correlations between stress and parenting style (N=2,060)
Permi- Permi- Authori- Authori- Authori- Authori-
Stress variables ssive ssive tarian tarian tative tative
father mother father mother father mother
Stress of home
-0.195" -0.161" 0.031 0.025 -0.238" -0.218"
life
School
-0.084" -0.059" 0.000 0.007 -0.122" -0.12"
performance
School
-0.06" -0.04" -0.015 -0.02 -0.13" -0.14"
attendance
Romantic
-0.08" -0.07" -0.04 -0.03 -0.096" -0.1"
relationships
Peer pressure -0.099" -0.079" 0.04 0.04 -0.12" -0.12"
Teacher
-0.09" -0.06" 0.01 0.012 -0.10" -0.10"
interaction
Future
-0.11" -0.10" -0.01 -0.01 -0.095" -0.09**
uncertainty
School-leisure
-0.098" -0.09" 0.05* 0.037 -0.15" -0.15"
conflict
Financial
-0.08" -0.06" 0.01 0.04 -0.14" -0.15**
pressure
Emerging adult
-0.16" -0.14" 0.02 0.03 -0.17" -0.18"
responsibility
Total stress -0.15" -0.12" 0.03 0.03 -0.19" -0.19**
** Significant at .01 level
Correlations between permissive parenting style (of both parents)
and adolescent stress show that all the 22 correlations obtained are
significant at the .01 level. Moreover, all these correlations are negative in
direction, indicating an inverse relationship between adolescent stress and
permissive parenting style. That is, increases in stress perceived by the
adolescents are associated with decrease in permissiveness by parents or
increase in permissiveness is associated with decrease in adolescent stress.
Correlations of permissive parenting style of father and the various stress
dimensions show that the stress of home life (r= -.20) has the highest
correlation and stress of school attendance (r= -.06) has the lowest
correlation. This is the same trend in the case of the mother's permissive
369
parenting style also. These results are contradictory to many of the previous
research findings which showed that permissive parenting styles have been
associated with poor academic grades, adjustment and self-esteem of
adolescents (Lamborn, Mounts, Steinberg, & Dornbusch, 1991).
From Table 4.123, it can be seen that in the case of authoritative
parenting style (of both parents) also, all the 22 correlations obtained with
the different stress factors are significant at the .01 level. Here also, all the
correlations are negative indicating an inverse relationship between
adolescent stress and authoritative parenting style. In other words,
adolescents who perceive higher levels of stress have less authoritative
parents and vice versa. Out of these correlations, stress of home life has
obtained the highest correlation with authoritative parenting style of father
(r=-.24) as well as mother (r= -.22). Authoritative parenting styles of both
parents have obtained low correlations with stress of romantic relationships,
teacher interaction and stress of future uncertainty. Even if there is an
authoritative style of parenting, the adolescents may not be very comfortable
in discussing these issues at home. Again in both the case of permissive and
authoritative parenting styles, there is not much pressure from the parents
and the adolescents tend to secure freedom and autonomy which could be
the reason for a relatively stronger association between stress of home life
and these parenting styles. The correlations between stress and
authoritative parenting style are slightly higher than the correlations obtained
between stress and permissive parenting style which indicate that the
relationship between stress and authoritative parenting is slightly stronger
than the relationship between stress and permissive parenting style.
Researches have shown that parents who have an authoritative style have
370
children who are well adjusted, have positive self-concepts, and are socially
and academically competent, thus supporting the present findings to a good
extent (Amato, 1989; Baumrind, 1991a,b; Hetherington & Cingempeel,1992;
Klein et al., 1996; Parish & Mc Cluskey, 1992; Shucksmith, Hendry, &
Glendinning, 1995; Steinberg, Lambom, darling. Mount, & Dornbusch,1994).
The authoritarian parenting style of father is significantly (at the .05
level) and positively correlated to the stress of school-leisure conflict. The
authoritarian parents may decide about the leisure time without negotiating
with their children. None of the other correlations between authoritarian
parenting styles of both the parents with the different dimensions of stress
are significant. However, most of these correlations are positive indicating
that when authoritarian parenting style increases adolescent stress also
increases.
Thus, the present results suggest that both authoritative and
permissive parenting styles have significant relationships to adolescent
stress. This mostly supports the hypothesis that there will be significant
relationships between the different parenting styles and the various
dimensions of adolescent stress.
4.2.3. STRESS AND PERSONALITY TYPES
When dealing with stress, personality is an important determinant of
how the individual perceive and react to stress. A variety of different
personality traits and dimensions have been studied in relation to stress. In
the present investigation the Big Five personality factors or the five factors
model which propose that personality can be factored into five dimensions:
371
neuroticism, extraversion, openness, agreeableness and conscientiousness
are investigated into.
Table 4.124
Correlations between stress and personality (N=2,060)
Extraver- Agreeable- Conscient- Neuroti- Open-

Stress variables
sion ness iousness cism ness
Stress of home life -0.04 -0.18** -0.19** -0.19** 0.06
School performance -0.05* -0.16** -0.22** 0.08** -0.004
School attendance -0.03 -0.15** -0.21** 0.02 0.02
Romantic relationships -0.01 -0.08** -0.08** 0.11** 0.08**
Peer pressure -0.07** -0.19** -0.18** 0.23** 0.05*
Teacher interaction 0.03 -0.12** -0.13** 0.05* 0.08**
Future uncertainty -0.09** -0.11** -0.18** 0.26** 0.01
School-Leisure conflict 0.04 -0.09** -0.07** -0.01 0.11**
Financial pressure -0.03 -0.11** -0.09** 0.06** 0.06**
Emerging adult
-0.05** -0.13** -0.18** 0.12** 0.02
responsibility
Total stress -0.04 -0.18** -0.21** 0.16** 0.07**

Correlations between these five factors of personality and
various dimensions of stress are given in Table 4.124. From the table, it can
be seen that the extraversion factor is having significant negative
correlations only with few of the stress measures - 2 out of the 11
correlations are significant at the .01 level and 2 are significant at the .05
level. The stress variables which are significantly related to extraversion are
stress of peer pressure (r= -.07), stress of future uncertainty (r= -.09), stress
of emerging adult responsibility (r=-.05) and stress of school performance (r=
-.05). Thus, when extraversion increases these stress will decrease. Being
quite sociable and friendly, extraverts way not find peer influence as
372
stressful. Moreover, extraverts may not be worried or extremely concerned
about school performance and emerging adult responsibility. As they seem
to be more optimistic, future uncertainty may not affect them much. Earlier
researches have shown that extraversion tends to be correlated with positive
reappraisal (Watson & Hubbard, 1996). The above results show that
extraversion contributes to decreased level of perceived stress.
The second personality factor, agreeableness is found to correlate
significantly and negatively with all the stress dimensions and total stress.
Agreeableness seeks to measure whether one has pro-social, co-operative
orientation towards others or if they act with antagonism. The prosocial and
co-operative nature is seen when an individual is relaxed or not under stress.
Thus the trait agreeableness may be associated with less perceived stress.
The magnitude of the correlations are higher for the following stress
measures: total stress ( r= -.18), stress of home life ( r= -.18), stress of
school attendance (r= -.15) and stress of peer pressure (r=-.19). All the
correlations are significant at the .01 level. Thus, the personality factor
agreeableness is associated with adolescent stress, in such a way that it
reduces the perception of stress.
The third personality factor, conscientiousness, has correlated
negatively and significantly with all the stress measures, and all these
correlations are significant at the .01 level. A close examination of the results
show that conscientiousness is associated more with the following stress
measures in the order, stress of school performance (r=-.22), total stress (r=-
.21), stress of school attendance (r=-.21), stress of home life(r=-.19), stress
of future uncertainty (r=-.19), stress of peer pressure (r=-.18) and stress of
emerging adult responsibility (r=-.18) than rest of the stress measures. As
373
conscientiousness increases, organized, careful, disciplined, preserving,
ambitious and punctual nature of an individual increases. So naturally one
can expect a reduction in the stress experienced by the adolescents, when
their conscientiousness increases.
From Table 4.124, it can be seen that the neuroticism factor is
significantly and positively correlated with most of the stress measures. Out
of the 11 correlations 9 correlations are found to be significant, 8 correlations
significant at the .01 level and 1 at the .05 level.
These correlations suggest that neuroticism is a significant
personality factor which is related to the experience of stress in adolescents.
Earlier studies (e. g., Costa and McCrae, 1990; Watson and Clark, 1984)
have reported that high scorers on neuroticism are prone to interpret
ambiguous stimuli in a negative or threatening manner and therefore are
likely to see threats, problems and crises where others do not, thus tend to
experience more stress. Gunthert, Cohan, and Armeli(1999) have made a
similar observation that individuals high on neuroticism reported more
interpersonal stresses and had more negative appraisal of events. Marikutty
and Rao (2002) also found that high scores on neuroticism increase distress
and reduce well-being and it is a predictor of distress.
The present results show that high correlations are obtained
between neuroticism and the following sources of stress: future uncertainty
(r=.26), peer pressure (r=.23), and home life (r=.19). Since neuroticism
consists of an anxious, insecure nature, future uncertainty may be very
stressful for adolescents who are neurotic. The stress of peer pressure
increases as neuroticism increases because high emotional instability and
self consciousness make them unhappy about yielding to peer pressure but
374
as they are insecure they cannot hold back from yielding to peer pressure
also. The stress of home life is negatively correlated with neuroticism. This
might be because the home environment may be tuned to the requirements
of the adolescents who are neurotic.The stress variables which are not
having significant correlations with neuroticism include stress of school
attendance and school-leisure conflict.
The correlation coefficients given in Table 4.124 show that openness
is having significant positive correlations with six of the eleven stress
measures. Out of these six correlations, one is significant at the .05 level and
the rest are significant at the .01 level. The obtained significant correlations
are as follows: total stress (r=.07), stress of romantic relationship (r=.08),
stress of teacher interaction (r=.08), stress of school - leisure conflict (r=.11),
stress of financial pressure (=.06), and stress of peer pressure (r=.05). The
imaginative, creative, curious, and independent aspects of openness
contribute to the reduction of stress in adolescents. The stress variable
which are not having significant correlation with openness are home life,
school perfomiance, school attendance, future uncertainty and emerging
adult responsibility. Thus openness dimension of personality does not
influence the perception of these stresses to a great extent in the case of
adolescents.
Thus, the results presented in this section clearly show that among
the five personality dimensions agreeableness, conscientiousness and
extraversion correlates significantly negatively with the different stress
factors while openness factor correlate significantly positively with few of the
stress measures and neuroticism correlates significantly positively with
most of the stress measures. However, all these correlations are low in
375
magnitude indicating vjeak relationship between personality and stress. But
this may be because the personality might not have been crystallized by
adolescent period. The present results are in agreement with most of the
findings from pervious research and support the hypothesis that there will be
significant relationships between the different personality types and the
various dimensions of adolescent stress.
4.2.4. STRESS AND EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE
Emotional intelligence reduces stress levels, resolves emotional
issues, enhance the well-being of individuals, and improve relationships all
around. Accordingly hypothesis 6 proposed that there will be significant
relationships between emotional intelligence and the various dimensions of
adolescent stress. Analyses of the results with respect to this hypothesis are
reported in this section.
Table 4.125
Correlations between stress and emotional
intelligence(N=2,060)
Emotional
Stress variables
intelligence
Stress of home life -0.26"
School performance -0.22**
School attendance -0.16**
Romantic relationships -0.20**
Peer pressure -0.29**
Teacher interaction -0.17**
Future uncertainty -0.23**
School-leisure conflict -0.14**
Financial pressure -0.18**
Emerging adult responsibility -0.21**
Total stress -0.28**
376
It is clear from Table 4.125 that emotional intelligence is having
significant negative correlations with all of the stress measures, all the
correlations being significant at the .01 level. The impact of emotional
intelligence is highest for the stress of peer pressure (r= -.29), followed by
stress of home life (r= -.26), future uncertainty (r= -.23), stress of school
perfomriance (r= -.22), emerging adult responsibility (r= -.21) and romantic
relationships (r= -.20). Total stress also has significant negative correlation
(r= -.28) with emotional intelligence of adolescents.
Earlier researches have shown that those who scored high on
emotional intelligence are found to have increased positive interpersonal
relationships (Rice, 1999; Rubin, 1999). Dennis and Anderson (2002) have
stated that adolescents with high emotional intelligence may possess a
greater mental ability to read others well and detect and deal with unwanted
peer pressure. Ronald and David (2004) reported that academic success is
strongly associated with several dimensions of emotional intelligence. The
results of the present investigation is in line with the previous research
findings and provide support for the preventive effect of emotional
intelligence as proposed in hypothesis 6. Those who have better emotional
intelligence have more control over their emotions which would help them to
make an effective cognitive evaluation of the situation without emotional
colouring. This would also help them to perceive and value other's emotions
which would, in tum, help to see others perspective, resulting in lower levels
of perceived stress.
377
4.2.5. PARENTING STYLE AND PSYCHOLOGICAL WELL-BEING
The quality of family relationships is crucial in determining the
competence and confidence with which young people face the transition into
adulthood. Type of parenting is also considered as a crucial factor
influencing the personality and adjustment of adolescents.
Table 4.126
Correlation between psychological well-being and parenting style (N=2,060)
Psychological Permi- Permi- Authori- Authori- Authori- Authori-

well-being ssive ssive tarian tarian tative tative
dimensions father mother father mother father mother
Meaninglessness 0.10" 0.08" 0.004 0.01 0.176" 0.143"
Self-esteem 0.11" 0.07" -0.02 -0.05* 0.12" 0.09"
Positive affect 0.08" 0.08" 0.09** 0.10" 0.18" 0.19"
Daily activities 0.12" 0.11" 0.06* 0.04 0.14" 0.11"

Somatic
0.04 0.03 -0.09** -0.10" 0.06" 0.04
complaints
Life satisfaction 0.12" 0.07" 0.03 0.05* 0.15" 0.12"
Suicidal ideas 0.09" 0.07" -0.02 -0.02 0.15" 0.15"
Personal control 0.05* 0.05* 0.01 0.01 0.02 0.02
Social support 0.15" 0.13" -0.01 -0.01 0.22" 0.20"
Tension 0.06" 0.04* -0.09** -0.08** 0.08" 0.06**
Wellness 0.03 0.03 -0.01 -0.01 0.06" 0.04

General
0.09" 0.07" 0.002 -0.20 0.11** 0.09**
efficiency
Total well-being 0.17" 0.14" -0.01 -0.01 0.23" 0.19"
Table 4.126 shows the correlations between the three parenting
styles and psychological well-being of adolescents. It is clear from the table
that out of the 78 correlations, 52 correlations are significant, and of the 52
significant correlations, 47 correlations are significant at the .01 level and the
378
remaining 5 are significant at the .05 level. However, the magnitudes of
these correlations are rather low ranging from .05 to .23.
Total psychological well-being is significantly positively correlated
with authoritative and permissive parenting styles, indicating that both
authoritative and permissive parenting styles promote adolescent well-being.
Earlier studies have shown that authoritative parents usually have children
who are well adjusted, have positive self-concepts, and are socially and
academically competent (Amato, 1989; Baumrind, 1991; Hetherington &
Clingempeel, 1992; Klein et al., 1996; Parish & McCluskey, 1992;
Shucksmith, Hendry, & Glendinning, 1995; Steinberg et al., 1994).
Permissive parenting has not been identified as positively related with
adjustment in adolescents. However, as the adolescents' extreme need for
autonomy, independence and establishment of power may get satisfied in a
permissive parenting style, it could be a reason for better well-being among
adolescents of permissive parents.
The meaninglessness, social support, suicidal ideas and general
efficiency components of psychological well-being are correlated significantly
and positively with the authoritative parenting style. Though both permissive
and authoritative parenting styles influence these aspects of well-being,
adolescents experience less meaninglessness, suicidal ideas, and more
social support and general efficiency under the authoritative parenting style
than under the permissive parenting style.
The component of self-esteem has correlated significantly positively
with authoritative and permissive parenting styles of both parents and
negatively with authoritarian parenting style of mother. Thus, authoritative
parents by providing a warm, firm and involved parenting; pemiissive
379
parents by being lenient, avoiding confrontation, and allowing self-regulation,
promote self-esteem. The correlation between authoritarian parenting style
of mother and self-esteem of adolescents is in agreement with the previous
research findings. Klein et al. (1996) have reported that absence of parental
warmth associated with punitive parenting foretells social skill deficit and low
self-esteem.
The positive affect component of psychological well-being has
correlated significantly positively with all kinds of parenting styles.
Adolescents who report close and secure relationships with their parents
also express high self- esteem and greater emotional well-being (Greenberg,
Siegel, & Leitch, 1984). Positive adjustment is also seen in adolescents
whose parents punish harshly but v^ho are accepting, consistent and
involved (Simons et al., 1994).
Daily activities component of psychological well-being has correlated
significantly positively with authoritative and permissive parenting styles of
both parents and authoritarian parenting style of father. All these parenting
styles enhance the involvement and successful completion of daily activities.
The somatic complaints component has correlated significantly and
positively with the authoritative parenting style of father and negatively with
the authoritarian parenting style of both the parents. That is, authoritative
parenting style of father reduces somatic complaints while authoritarian
parenting style increases somatic complaints in adolescence. When children
feel powerless and helpless under authoritarian parenting, they may express
their uneasiness through somatic complaints. It may also be an escape from
a harsh punitive authoritarian parenting.
380
The psychological well-being component of life satisfaction has
correlated significantly and positively with the authoritative and permissive
parenting styles of both parents and the authoritarian parenting style of
mother. Both in authoritative and permissive parenting, the adolescents
receive autonomy and warmth which would contribute to life satisfaction. The
authoritarian mother may enhance life satisfaction in those who would like to
be dictated.
The personal control component of psychological well being has
correlated significantly positively with the permissive parenting style of both
the parents. This may be because permissive parenting styles provide
adolescents with more autonomy and room for self-regulation. The
correlations in the case of the other two parenting styles are not significant.
The tension component of psychological well-being has correlated
significantly positively with the authoritative and permissive parenting styles
of both the parents and negatively with the authoritarian parenting styles of
both the parents. These indicate that adolescents are less tensed under the
authoritative and pennissive parenting styles and more tensed under the
authoritarian parenting style.
The wellness component is found to have significant positive
correlation only with the authoritative parenting style of father. It may be
noted that in the Indian culture, if the father is able to maintain a good
authoritative parenting, it may enhance the wellness of the entire family.
The general efficiency component of psychological well-being has
correlated significantly positively with the permissive and authoritative
parenting styles of both the parents. The authoritative and permissive
381
parenting styles provide adequate space for decision making, and autonomy
which may facilitate the general efficiency of adolescents.
Over all, the results in this section clearly show that both
authoritative and permissive parenting styles have significant positive
correlations with most of the components of well-being and total
psychological well-being of adolescents. Thus, authoritative and permissive
parenting styles provide a better environment which facilitates the
enhancement of psychological well-being among adolescents.
Earlier researches show that adolescents function best in
environments that take into account their developmental needs, including
their desire for greater participation in decision making, their need for
emotional support and understanding, and their self consciousness (Eccles,
Buchanan, Flanagan, Fulkigri, Midgley, & Yee, 1991; Eccles et al., 1993).
Many earlier studies also have reported that authoritative and permissive
parenting styles are having beneficial impacts on children, especially in the
development of their self-esteem, personality, adjustment, and well-being
(Amato, 1989; Baumrind, 1991; Hetherington & Clingempeel, 1992; Klein et
al., 1996; Parish & McCluskey, 1992; Shucksmith, Hendry, & Glendinning,
1995; Steinberg, Lamborn, Darling, Mount, & Dornbusch, 1994).
4.2.6. PSYCHOLOGICAL WELL-BEING AND PERSONALITY
In view of the significant role that personality is considered to ptay in
the well-being of an individual, the relationships between Big Five personality
factors and psychological well-being have been examined in the present
study. The results of the analysis are given in Table 4.127.
382
Table 4.127
Correlations between psychological well-being and personality (N=2,060)
Psychological well- Extraver- Agreeable- Conscient- Neuroti- Open-
being dimensions sion ness iousness cism ness
Meaninglessness 0.179" 0.19** 0.15** -0.26** 0.09**
Self esteem 0.23** 0.19** 0.24** -0.31** 0.18**
Positive affect 0.03 0.16** 0.06** -0.01 0.03
Daily activities 0.22** 0.19** 0.27** -0.28** 0.22**
Somatic complaints 0.11** 0.12** 0.10** -0.24** 0.03
Life satisfaction 0.14** 0.2** 0.18** -0.199** 0.11**
Suicidal ideas 0.07** 0.13** 0.12** -0.20** -0.01
Personal control 0.01 0.01 0.02 -0.02 -0.02
Social support 0.08** 0.14** 0.13** -0.20** -0.01
Tension 0.13** 0.197** 0.16** -0.36** 0.05*
Wellness 0.12** 0.09** 0.13** -0.19** -0.003
General efficiency 0.16** 0.16** 0.26** -0.24** 0.21**
Total well-being 0.24** 0.299** 0.31** -0.42** 0.15**

From the table, it is seen that extraversion, agreeableness,
conscientiousness and openness factors correlate significantly and positively
with most of the dimensions of psychological well-being and total
psychological well-being. Neuroticism is significantly and negatively
correlated with most of the dimensions of psychological well-being, and total
psychological well-being except the positive affect and personal control
component.
Extraversion has got high significant correlations with total
psychological well-being (r=.24), self-esteem (r=.23), daily activities (r=.22),
and the lowest significant correlation with suicidal ideas (r=.07). However,
extraversion has not obtained significant correlations with positive affect and
personal control dimensions of well-being. Heller, Kamer, and Lee (2007)
383
have reported that life satisfaction was positively and significantly correlated
with extraversion and higher levels of extraversion were associated with an
increase in positive affect and decrease in negative affect. Eva (2001)
showed that social support is positively correlated with extraversion.
Agreeableness has correlated significantly positively with all
dimensions of psychological well-being and with total psychological well-
being, except personal control. High correlations are obtained with total
psychological well-being (r=.30), life satisfaction (r=.20) and with tension
(r=.20) and the lowest significant correlation is obtained with wellness (r=.09)
indicating that agreeableness is a major predictor of over all psychological
Conscientiousness has correlated significantly positively with all the
components of psychological well-being and with total well-being except
personal control. Conscientiousness has high correlations with total well-
being (r=.31), daily activities (r=.27), general efficiency (r=.26) and with self-
esteem (r=.24) and has got the lowest but significant correlation with positive
affect (r=.06). Jensen-Cambell and Malcolm (2007) reported that
adolescents high on conscientiousness experienced less victimization, better
quality friendships and higher peer acceptance, and emphasized that self
control processes associated with conscientiousness are important in
developing and maintaining relationships in adolescence.
The factor of neuroticism is found to have significant and negative
correlations with most of the dimensions of well-being and also with total
well-being. Out of these correlations 3 correlations, those with self-esteem
(r=-.31), tension (r=-.36) and total well-being (r=-.42) are high correlations
indicating that neuroticism is a major predictor of psychological well-being of
384
adolescents; persons with high levels of neuroticism are having low levels of
psychological well-being. It may be noted that neuroticism has been well
identified as a potent predictor of well-being by several previous research
works. Jay (2006) in his study of adolescents found that neuroticism was the
greatest predictor of both subjective well-being and overall happiness. This
study also indicated that together, the personality traits of locus of control,
self-esteem, optimism, extraversion and neuroticism accounted for 55
percent of subjective well-being and 58 percent of over all happiness.
The well-being dimensions that are not having significant
relationship with neuroticism are personal control and positive affect. Heller,
Komar and Lee (2007), and Heller, Watson, and lilies (2004) have reported
that higher levels of neuroticism are associated with an increase in negative
affect and a decrease in life satisfaction and positive affect. The influence of
neuroticism on the meaninglessness (r=-.26), daily activities (r=-.28),
somatic complaints (r=-.24), life satisfaction (r=-.20), general efficiency (r=-
.24) and wellness (r=-.19) dimensions of psychological well-being are also
relatively high. In accordance with previous research reports, the present
investigation also reveals that neuroticism has a pertinent role in determining
adolescents over all well-being.
The openness factor has correlated significantly and positively with
total psychological well-being and some of its components. The significant
correlations in terms of their magnitude of relationships with psychological
well-being are in the order, daily activities (r=.22), general efficiency (r=.21),
self-esteem (r=.18), total psychological well-being (r=.15), life satisfaction
(r=.11), meaninglessness (r=.09) and tension (r=.05). The dimensions of
psychological well-being with which openness do not yield significant
385
correlations are positive affect, somatic complaints, suicidal ideas, personal
control, social support, and wellness.
Thus, the obtained correlations between the components of
psychological well-being and personality show that neuroticism and
conscientiousness are the major predictors of over all psychological well-
being followed by agreeableness and extraversion. Openness has got the
least relationship with psychological well-being. Looking at the different
dimensions of psychological well-being, the dimensions of meaninglessness,
self esteem, daily activities, somatic complaints, suicidal ideas, social
support and wellness are better predicted by neuroticism. Positive affect is
more influenced by agreeableness. General efficiency is more influenced by
conscientiousness and personal control does not make significant
correlations with any of the personality dimensions.
4.2.7. PSYCHOLOGICAL WELL-BEING AND EMOTIONAL
INTELLIGENCE
Many of the studies in the area of emotional intelligence have
reported that emotional intelligence has a positive impact on well-being and
adjustment. This section examines the relationships between emotional
intelligence and psychological well-being of adolescents.
Table 4.128 shows the correlations between emotional intelligence and
psychological well-being. From the table, it can be seen that emotional
intelligence is having significant positive correlations with all the dimensions
of psychological well-being and total psychological well-being, except
personal control.
386
Table 4.128
Correlation between psychological well-being
and emotional intelligence (N=2,060)
Psychological well-being Emotional
dimensions Intelligence
Meaninglessness 0.38"
Self-esteem 0.398**
Positive affect 0.15**
Daily activities 0.33**
Somatic complaints 0.23**
Life satisfaction 0.25**
Suicidal ideas 0.28**
Personal control 0.01**
Social support 0.25**
Tension 0.36**
Wellness 0.23**
General efficiency 0.31**
Total well-being 0.53**
Ail these correlations are significant at tlie .01 level. Out of these, 6
are major correlations (r's above .30) indicating that these dimensions of
psychological well-being have strong relationships with emotional
intelligence, in other words, adolescents having high emotional intelligence
have better psychological well-being. The major correlations of emotional
intelligence with various dimensions of well-being are in the order, total
psychological well-being (r= .53) meaninglessness (r= .38) self-esteem (r=
.40), tension (r= .36), daily activities (r= .33) and general efficiency (r= .31).
Thus emotional intelligence has a strong positive impact on psychological
well-being. This has been supported by the findings of several researches
done in the past. Pablo, Rocio, and Natalio (2006) have reported that
emotional abilities are important and unique contributors to psychological
adjustment and well-being. Emotional clarity and mood repair were found
significant in predicting perceived stress and life satisfaction (Natalio,
387
Auxiliadora, & Lourdes, 2007). Emotional intelligence has also been
consistently found as an important predictor of life satisfaction (Ball,1981;
Mcintosh, 1996).
Low but significant positive correlation is obtained between
emotional intelligence and the dimension of positive affect. This shows that
emotional intelligence is quite distinct from just having a pleasant emotional
state. The only dimension of psychological well-being which does not have a
significant correlation with emotional intelligence is personal control. This
may be because the factor personal control deals with internal or external
locus of control of the undesirable situations which do not have much
association with emotional intelligence.
The results discussed in this section do support the hypothesis that
there will be significant relationships between emotional intelligence and
various dimensions of adolescent well-being.
4.2.8. PARENTING STYLE AND PERSONALITY
The patterns in which parents exercise control and provide
emotional support have a significant impact on the personality development
of their children. Although it is difficult to provide clear categories of family
environments, the general consensus seems to be that children raised in
warm, supportive families with firm but fair control (authoritative parenting)
are more likely to be identified as adolescents with better adjusted
personalities. In this section the relationships of authoritative, authoritarian,
and permissive parenting styles with the Big Five personality factors have
been explored.
388
Table 4.129
Correlations between parenting style and personality (N=2,060)
Personality types ssive ssive tarian tarian tative tative
Extraversion 0.07** 0.07** 0.05* 0.03 0.12** 0.11**
Agreeableness 0.11** 0.097** 0.06** 0.05* 0.18** 0.18**
Conscientiousness 0.12** 0.12** 0.06** 0.05* 0.12** 0.11**
Neuroticism -0.08** -0.05* 0.02 0.03 -0.07** -0.04
Openness 0.05* 0.04 0.06** 0.03 0.08** 0.07**
Table 4.129 shows the correlations between the parenting styles
and the personality factors computed separately for father and mother. Out
of the 30 correlations 24 correlations are found to be significant, 19
significant at the .01 level and 5 significant at the .05 level. Again, out of
these significant correlations, except those with neuroticism, all the other
correlations are positive in direction. Neuroticism is found to have negative
correlations with the permissive and authoritative parenting styles.
All the parenting styles except the authoritarian parenting style of
mother are correlated significantly and positively with extraversion. However,
these correlations are low and are in the order, authoritative father (r= .12),
authoritative mother (r= .11), permissive father (r= .07), permissive mother
(r= .07), and authoritarian father (r= .05) indicating that authoritative
parenting is moderately related to the personality factor of extraversion. As
authoritative parents encourage independent thinking and provide
opportunities to feel competent and worthy, and are respectful of opposing
points of view, the adolescents of such parents are found to have positive
self concepts and are socially and academically competent (Amato, 1989;
Baumrind, 1991). In the case of pennissive parenting there is less control
389
and more autonomy in the context of emotional warmtii, which may facilitate
the enhancement of extraverted nature. Contrary to expectations, the
authoritarian parenting style of the father also shows a low but significant
positive correlation with extraversion.
All the parenting styles (both father and mother) correlated
significantly and positively with the agreeableness dimension of personality.
Authoritative parenting style has got the highest correlation with
agreeableness and authoritarian parenting style has got the lowest
correlation with agreeableness. Thus, whatever be the parenting style it has
an influence in the development of the agreeableness dimension of
personality in adolescents with authoritative parenting having a more
facilitative role.
The Big Five factor of conscientiousness has correlated significantly
and positively with all types of parenting styles, the authoritarian parenting
style having the lowest correlations. Heaven and Ciarrochi (2008) showed
that family authoritativeness was significantly and positively related to
conscientiousness while family permissiveness was significantly and
negatively related to conscientiousness, and there was no significant
relationship between authoritarianism and conscientiousness. However, the
results of the present investigation do not fully agree with the above findings.
This may be explained by the lack of strict adherence to any one particular
parenting style by Indian parents.
Permissive parenting style of both father and mother, and
authoritative parenting style of father are significantly and negatively
correlated with the neuroticism factor. However, authoritarian parenting style
is not significantly related to neuroticism. Studies have consistently showed
390
that authoritative parenting style is related with well-adjusted behavioural
patterns ( Baumrind, 1991; Hetherington & Clingempeel, 1992). In the case
of permissive parenting style the combination of high emotional support and
low control may help the adolescents develop less neurotic tendencies.
Greenberg, Siegel, and Leitch (1984) have reported that adolescents who
report close and secure relationships with parents express higher self-
esteem and greater emotional well-being.
The openness dimension of the Big Five factors of personality
correlates significantly and positively with authoritative parenting style of
both father and mother, authoritarian parenting style of father and permissive
parenting style of the father. The permissive and authoritarian parenting
styles of mother did not correlate significantly with the openness factor of
personality. Here also, the authoritative parenting style is found to have a
better role in facilitating the development of openness characteristics among
adolescents. Also to be noted is the fact in the case of most of the
correlations those between father's parenting style and personality are
higher than those of mothers parenting style and personality. This suggests
that the parenting style of fathers is more influential than that of mothers in
the development of children's personality.
Although the results presented in this section did not give any
conclusive results as to which dimension of personality has been most
influenced by what type of parenting style, the results point toward the
facilitative role of authoritative parenting style in the development of
desirable personality traits in adolescents. This finding is quite in conformity
with previous findings in this regard. The positive impact of permissive
parenting style also is revealed to a large extent. Thus, the obtained results,
391
in general, provide support to the hypothesis that there will be significant
relationships between the different parenting styles and personality.
4.2.9. PARENTING STYLE AND EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE
The underpinnings of parenting styles are grounded in emotions
portrayed by parents to their children. Parenting affects the non cognitive
factors of emotional intelligence. In this regard, the present investigation
examined the hypothesis that there will be significant relationships between
the different parenting styles and emotional intelligence of the adolescents.
Table 4.130
Correlation between parenting style and emotional intelligence (N=2,060)

Parenting
ssive ssive tarian tarian tative tative
styles
Emotional
0.15" 0.12" 0.04 0.02 0.22" 0.18"
intelligence
The correlation coefficients given in Table 4.130 show that both
permissive and authoritative parenting style of both parents have significant
positive correlations with emotional intelligence, while the correlations
between authoritarian parenting style and emotional intelligence are not
significant. The correlations between authoritative parenting style and
emotional intelligence are higher than those between pemiissive parenting
style and emotional intelligence indicating a greater positive influence of
authoritative parenting on the development of emotional intelligence in
adolescents. The significance of authoritative parenting in the development
392
of emotional intelligence has been highlighted in previous research findings
also (e. g., Shun-chi, 2005). There are hardly any studies to support the
positive influence of permissive parenting style in adolescents. However,
Baumrind (1968) describe permissive parents as those who provide high
emotional support but exert little parental control. This high emotional
support itself could be a reason for the better development of emotional
intelligence among adolescence.
As in the case of personality, here also, the father's parenting style
is found to have higher correlations with the emotional intelligence of
adolescents than the mother's parenting style. These results suggest that,
probably, fathers are having greater influence on the development of
personality and well-being of children and adolescence. This aspect has to
be further explored in future studies on the impact of parenting styles.
The obtained relationships between parenting styles and emotional
intelligence clearly demonstrate the facilitative role that authoritative and
permissive parenting styles have on the development of emotional
intelligence among adolescents. Thus, the obtained results clearly support
the hypothesized relationship between parenting style and emotional
intelligence.
4.2.10. EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE AND PERSONALITY
Emotion plays an important role in linking personality (i.e. individual
differences is the ways in which people confront the challenges of the world)
with intelligence (i.e. accuracy, efficiency and success with which they do
so). This section examines the relationship between emotional intelligence
393
and the Big Five dimensions of personality. The correlations that emotional
intelligence has with the various personality dimensions are presented in
Table 4.131.
Table 4.131
Correlation between emotional intelligence and personality (N=2,060)
Personality Extraver- Agreeable- Conscient- Neuroti-

Openness
Types sion ness iousness cism
Emotional
0.35** 0.39** 0.43** -0.48** 0.24**
Intelligence
From the table, it can be seen that emotional intelligence correlates
significantly and positively with extraversion (r=.35) agreeableness (r=.39),
conscientiousness (r=.43), and openness (r=.24), and significantly negatively
with neuroticism (r=-.48). All these correlations are significant at the .01
level. Again, all except one are major correlations (r's above .30), indicating
that these personality dimensions and emotional intelligence are strongly
related. Dawda and Hart (2000) highlighted that the average correlation
between measures of Big Five Personality factors and general emotional
intelligence approaches .50. Tomas, Emily, and Adrian (2007) examined the
relationships between the Big Five personality traits and emotional
intelligence and found that extraversion, conscientiousness and
agreeableness were positively correlated with emotional intelligence.
Brackett and Mayer (2003) also obtained highly significant correlations
between the Emotion Quotient Inventory and neuroticism, extraversion,
agreeableness and conscientiousness factors (r's =.27 to -.57) and
moderately significant correlations with the openness factor of the Big Five
(r=.16).
394
Neuroticism has obtained the highest correlation with emotional
intelligence and it is negative in direction. Neuroticism implies lack of
emotional stability, which is an essential feature of emotional intelligence.
Thus, it is very clear from the results that personality and emotional
intelligence are strongly related and these findings have been supported by
the findings obtained in a number of earlier studies.
4.2.11. CORRELATIONS BETWEEN AGE AND OTHER VARIABLES
4.2.11. A.Age and Adolescent Stress
Table 4.132 shows that all the stress dimensions as well as total
stress are significantly and positively correlated with age. However, in the
case of stress of school-leisure conflict, the correlation is negative in
direction. Ten out of the eleven correlations are significant at the .01 level
and 1 is significant at the .05 level.
Table 4.132
Correlations between age and adolescent stress
(N=2,060)
Stress variables Age
Stress of home life 0.074**
Stress of school performance 0.108**
Stress of school attendance 0.185**
Stress of romantic relationships 0.069**
Stress of peer pressure 0.047*
Stress of teacher interaction 0.078**
Stress of future uncertainty 0.201**
Stress of school-leisure conflict -0.086**
Stress of financial pressure 0.137**
Stress of emerging adult responsibility 0.095**
Total stress 0.108**
395
As age progresses, the problems that adolescents have to face
increases. More over, late adolescents tend to view life and problems more
seriously which could be the reason for increased perception of stress as
age progresses. This shows that what may be a minor concern for the
younger adolescents become a greater challenge for those approaching
adulthood. Stress of school-leisure conflict correlates significantly negatively
with age. This is understandable as children grow older the need for play
activities may be less, parents' control over them become reduced, and
more autonomy is granted in deciding the way they spend their time which
will naturally reduce the school-leisure conflict. Again, they become more
efficient in handling their time. Moreover, students studying at lower classes
are having less control over their leisure time and have more home works to
be completed. All these make them perceive more school-leisure conflict
than those studying in higher courses.
The present results are in full agreement with the results obtained by
Byrne et al. (2007) wherein very small but significant correlations have been
obtained between age and different components of adolescent stress. In this
context Mc Namara (2000) has observed that although there is a trend for
increase in overall stressor exposure with age, there is no evidence that this
gross index co-varies with age.
4.2.11. b. Age and Psychological Well-Being
The correlations obtained between age and psychological well-being
are given in Table 4.133. From the table, it can be seen that only one out of
the 13 correlations are significant. Age is found to have significant con-elation
396
only with the daily activities component of psychological well-being, while the
correlations that age has with all other components and total psychological
well-being are not significant. In the case of daily activities, the direction of
the obtained correlation is negative, indicating that as age increases
adolescents experience less well-being in the daily activities component of
psychological well-being. It may be because of the fact that as age increases
the responsibilities and daily activities expected of adolescents also increase
resulting in lowered feelings of well-being.
4.133
Correlations between age and psychological well-being
(N=2,060)
Psychological well-being dimensions Age
Meaninglessness -0.026
Self-esteem -0.009
Positive affect 0.012
Daily activities -0.062**
Somatic complaints -0.009
Life satisfaction -0.038
Suicidal ideas 0.009
Personal control 0.001
Social support -0.007
Tension -0.040
Wellness -0.040
General efficiency 0.001
Total well-being -0.039
The finding that age and psychological well-being of
adolescents are not significantly correlated indicates that psychological well-
being is a distinct experience of individuals which is not much related to age.
This is particularly true in the case of the present sample. All of them being
adolescents, they do not find particular problems which affect their well-
being that is due to age difference. As a distinct category their well-being
may not be affected by age.

397
4.2.11. c. Age and Parenting Style
The correlations between age and the different parenting styles are
given in Table 4.134. From the table, it can be seen that only authoritarian
parenting styles of father and mother correlate significantly with age. These
correlations are negative in direction indicating inverse relationship between
these variables. As adolescents grow older, the authoritarian way of
parenting may be reduced either because of acceptance by parents of the
maturity and individuality of children or because parents are no more able to
keep them under an authoritarian way of handling. None of the other
parenting styles are correlated significantly with age which indicates that
irrespective of age, the adolescents perceive more or less the same
permissive and authoritative parenting styles of their parents.
Table 4.134
Correlation between age and parenting styles (N=2,060)
Parenting styles Age
Permissive father 0.031
Permissive mother 0.036
Authoritarian father -0.119"
Authoritarian mother -0.126**
Authoritative father -0.032
Authoritative mother -0.018
4.2.11. d. Age and Personality
The correlations between age and the Big Five personality factors
are given in Table 4.135. From the table, it can be seen that extraversion
and conscientiousness are significantly and negatively correlated with age
and neuroticism is significantly and positively correlated with age, while the
factors of agreeableness and openness do not correlate significantly with
398
age. As age progresses adolescents may become more self-conscious
which lead to a sober, reserved and retiring nature. Older adolescents also
tend to be more careless, impulsive and disorganized. Neuroticism tends to
increase with age. The neurotic tendencies which an individual develop
during childhood may become more and more evident in adolescent period.
As adolescents grow older, probably because of the increased stress, they
may become more anxious and insecure and this will be ingrained in their
thinking pattern also. As age progresses thinking pattern detennines a
person's behaviour largely. So crystallization of maladaptive thinking pattem
as age progress may result in increased neurotic tendencies.
Table 4.135
Correlations between age and personality (N=2,060)
Personality types Age
Extraversion -0.080**
Agreeableness 0.015
Conscientiousness -0.135**
Neuroticism 0.103**
Openness -0.034
** Significant at \he .01 level
4.2.11. e .Age and Emotional Intelligence
The correlation between age and emotional intelligence is found to
be -.08, and is significant at the .01 level. This indicates that emotional
intelligence of adolescents is decreasing with increasing age. This finding is
not in agreement with previous findings which suggest that people, in
general, become more emotionally intelligent as they progress in age and
experience. However, the magnitude of the correlation obtained is rather low
indicating significant but low relationship between age and emotional
intelligence.
399
To sum up, the results of the correlation analysis revealed the
relationships between adolescent stress and well-being as well as the
relationships existing among the different psychological variables examined
in the study. The results also revealed the direct main effects of parenting
style, personality, and emotional intelligence both on stress and on
psychological-being. The obtained correlations show that all these variables
are having significant direct main effects on the stress and well-being of
adolescents. So, the moderating effects of these variables on the stress -
well-being relationship also are examined and the results are presented in
the next section.
400
4.3. ANALYSIS OF THE MODERATING EFFECTS OF
SELECTED VARIABLES
Psychosocial as well as behavioural forces do not exist within a
vaccum; that is, exposure to stressful life events, the experience of chronic
stress and the level of psychological resources are rooted in the social
structural context of people's lives (Chowdhary, Chowdhary, & Chakraborty,
1999; Denton, Prus, & Walters, 2004). In view of the significance of
moderator variables in stress research as revealed in the previous
researches (Dohrenwend & Dohrenwend, 1974; Johnson and Sarason,1978;
Joseph, 1989; Kinicki et al., 1996; Larson et al., 1998; Lazaruz et al., 1974;
McGrath,1970; Mechanic, 1983; Oklands & Ostell, 1996), the present study
examined the effects of certain moderator variables, namely age, gender,
order of birth, family type, parenting style, personality type and emotional
intelligence on the relationship between different dimensions of stress and
psychological well being using moderated multiple regression analysis.
The different dimensions of stress are the independent variables and
total psychological well-being is the dependent variable. The moderated
multiple regression analysis tells only that there is significant moderating
effect, but does not explain the nature of this effect. However, the correlation
coefficients obtained between stress, psychological well-being, and
moderator variables can help us to a large extent in arriving at conclusions
about the nature of this effect. Only the cases which have obtained
significant moderating effects are reported and discussed in the following
sections.
401
4.3.1. PARENTING STYLE
Parenting style is an important variable which may moderate the
impact of stress experienced, for adolescents. Owing to the bulkiness of the
data, in the case of each parenting style the scores obtained in the
perceived parenting style of father and mother are combined to get a single
score on the corresponding parenting style and this has been used in the
moderated analysis for parenting style.
Permissive parenting style
The F-values obtained for the moderating effects of permissive
parenting style on the relationship between total stress as well as the various
dimensions of stress and psychological well-being are found to be not
significant. This reveals that pennissive parenting style has no effect on the
stress-psychological well-being relationship. That is, adolescents' perception
of their parents as permissive does not moderate the effect of adolescent
stress on well-being.
Autiioritarian parenting style
The results of the moderated multiple regression analysis with
respect to the effect of authoritarian parenting style on the relationship
between various stress dimensions and psychological well-being provide
significant F-values only in the case of stress of home life, peer pressure,
and emerging adult responsibility. This means that the relationship between
these three dimensions of stress and well-being are moderated by
authoritarian parenting style. Authoritarian parenting style has no effect on
402
the relationship of the total stress and well-being as well as the other seven
dimensions of stress and well-being. The significant cases are discussed
below.
Table 4.136
Moderating effect of authoritarian parenting style on the relationship
between stress of home life and psychological well-being
Sum of Mean
df F Sig.
Source Squares Square
Authoritarian 1824.558 66 27.645 1.382 .026
Stress of home life 6552.831 42 156.020 7.799 .000
Authoritarian * Stress
23277.373 954 24.400 1.220 .001
of home life
Error 19944.950 997 20.005
Total 53271.584 059
The above table shows the moderating effect of authoritarian
parenting style on the relationship between stress of home life and
psychological well-being. The obtained F-ratio is significant at the .01 level
which clearly shows that authoritarian parenting style has a definite
moderating effect on the relationship between the stress of home life and
psychological well-being. Authoritarian parenting style is known to make
adolescents' life miserable at home and thereby affect their well-being also.
The obtained F-value for the moderating effect of authoritarian
parenting style on the relationship between stress of peer pressure and
psychological well-being is found to be significant at the .01 level (Table
4.137). This indicates that the interaction between authoritarian parenting
style and stress of peer pressure moderated the effect of stress of peer
pressure on the psychological well-being of adolescents. It may be noted

403
that authoritarian parents tend to exert lot of restrictions in adolescent peer
relationships. So these adolescents may find it difficult to confirm to the peer
demands which in turn affect their well-being.
Table 4.137
between stress of peer pressure and psychological well-being
Sum of Mean
df F SIg.
Authoritarian 2214.357 66 33.551 1.658 .001

Stress of peer
5483.292 26 210.896 10.423 .000
pressure
Authoritarian * Stress
19202.637 753 25.502 1.260 .000
of peer pressure
Error 24563.013 1214 20.233
Total 53271.584 2059
The results presented in Table 4.138 show that the F-value obtained
for the moderating effect of authoritarian parenting style on the relationship
between stress of emerging adult responsibility and well-being is significant
at the .01 level. This indicates that the relationship between stress of
emerging adult responsibility and well-being is moderated by the
authoritarian parenting style. In other words, strength of this relationship is
influenced by the intensity of the authoritarian parenting style. It may be
noted that adolescents who are brought up in an authoritarian parenting
style might have less decision making skills and are less self- equipped to
handle the emerging adult responsibilities.
404
Table 4.138
between stress of emerging adult responsibility and psychological well-
being
Sum of Mean
df F Sig.
Authoritarian 2297.973 66 34.818 1.548 .004

Stress of emerging adult
3527.153 14 251.940 11.201 .000
responsibility
Authoritarian * Stress of
13623.398 513 26.556 1.181 .010
emerging adult responsibility
Error 32973.725 1466 22.492
Total 53271.584 2059
Authoritative parenting style
Moderated multiple regression analysis was carried out to determine
the moderating effects of authoritative parenting style, and it revealed that
authoritative parenting style has significant moderating effects only In the
case of three dimensions of stress, namely stress of home life, peer
pressure, and emerging adult responsibility. The authoritative parenting style
does not moderate the relationship of the total stress, and other seven
dimensions of stress with psychological well-being. The significant cases are
discussed below.
The results presented in Table 4.139 indicate that the F-value
obtained for the moderating effect of authoritative parenting style on the
relationship between stress of home life and psychological well-being Is
significant at the .01 level. This reveals that the relationship between stress
of home life and well-being Is moderated by authoritative parenting style.
That is, the strength of the relationship between stress of home life and well-
being varies along with the intensity of the authoritative parenting style
405
experienced by the adolescents. Authoritative parenting style provides
adequate control and emotional support to the adolescents, and thus
facilitates a better coping of the stress of home life.
Table 4.139
Moderating effect of authoritative parenting style on the relationship
between stress of home life and psychological well-being
Sum of Mean
df F Sig.
Authoritative 2736.061 72 38.001 1.869 .000
Authoritative * Stress of
21670.373 910 23.814 1.171 .007
home life
Error 21040.680 1035 20.329
Total 53271.584 2059
The obtained F-value for the moderating effect of authoritative
parenting style on the relationship between stress of peer pressure and
psychological well-being is found to be significant at the .01 level (Table
4.140). This indicates that authoritative parenting style moderates the effect
of stress of peer pressure on the psychological well-being of adolescents. In
other words, the impact of stress of peer pressure on well-being of
adolescents who are brought up in an authoritative parenting style is quite
different from those who have not been brought up in an authoritative
parenting style. It may be noted that authoritative parents provide adequate
freedom for their adolescents and they are familiar with their children's
friends. This may help the adolescents to feel less pressurized by the peer
demands and more equipped to handle the peer pressures.
406
Table 4.140
between stress of peer pressun3 and ps^/cnoiogicai weii-oei ng
Sum of Mean
df F Sig.
Authoritative 3424.323 72 47.560 2.421 .000
Stress of peer pressure 5329.086 26 204.965 10.435 .000
17897.492 724 24.720 1.258 .000
peer pressure
Error 24298.280 1237 19.643
Total 53271.584 2059
Table 4.141 provides the results of the multiple moderated
regression analysis to determine the moderating effect of authoritative
parenting style on the relationship between stress of emerging adult
responsibility and psychological well-being.
Table 4.141
between stress of emerging adult responsibility and psychological well-
being
Sum of Mean
df F Sig.
Authoritative 3264.980 72 45.347 2.061 .000

2630.033 14 187.860 8.537 .000
responsibility
12993.274 505 25.729 1.169 .015
Error 32302.456 1468 22.004
Total 53271.584 2059
It is clear from the table that authoritative parenting moderates the
relationship between the stress of emerging adult responsibility and well-
being. That is, the impact of stress of emerging adult responsibility on well-
407
being has been influenced by tlie authoritative parenting style. In
authoritative parenting the adolescents are encouraged to participate in
decision making and take up appropriate responsibilities which may enhance
their decision making skills and make them more confident to take up new
responsibilities.
Thus the results obtained with respect to the moderating effects of
parenting style show that while permissive parenting style is not having any
effect on the stress - well-being relationship, both authoritarian and
authoritative parenting styles have moderating effects in the case of stress of
home life, peer pressure, and emerging adult responsibility. The present
investigation shows that authoritarian parenting style has a positive
correlation with stress and negative correlation with psychological well-being.
Similarly authoritative parenting style has a negative correlation with stress
and positive correlation with psychological well-being. Thus authoritarian
parenting style is likely to worsen the impact of stress experience of
adolescents while authoritative parenting may act as protective factor
against the experience of stress.
4.3.2. MODERATING EFFECTS OF PERSONALITY
In order to find out the moderating effects of personality on the
stress - well-being relationship moderated multiple regression analysis was
carried out using the personality dimensions of extraversion, neuroticism,
agreeableness, conscientiousness and openness of the Big Five factors.
The results regarding the moderating effects of each of these personality
dimensions are given below.
408
Extraversion
Among the relationships between various stress measures and
psychological well-being, only the relationship of three dimensions of stress
viz., stress of school attendance, romantic relationship, and emerging adult
responsibility are moderated by the extraversion dimension of personality.
The impact of all the other seven dimensions and total stress on well-being
is not moderated by the extraversion dimension of personality. The
significant cases are discussed in detail.
Table 4.U 12
Moderating effect of extraversion on the relationship between stress of
school attendance and psyc lological well-being
Sum of Mean
df F SIg.
Extraversion 2814.068 29 97.037 4.220 .000
Stress of school attendance 755.892 12 62.991 2.739 .001
Extraversion * Stress of
6058.915 222 27.292 1.187 .039
school attendance
Error 41298.132 1796 22.995
Total 53271.584 2059
From the above table, it can be seen that the F-value obtained for
the moderating effect of extraversion on the relationship between stress of
school attendance and psychological well-being is significant at the .05 level.
This indicates that the strength of the relationship between stress of school
attendance and psychological well-being varies depending on the degree of
extraversion of the adolescents. In other words, extraversion influences the
impact of stress of school attendance on well-being in adolescents. It may be
409
noted that the extraverts are known to enjoy the company of others and so
coming to school or college need not be very stressful for them.
Table 4.143
Moderating effect of extraversion on the relationship between stress of
romantic relationship and psychological well-being
Sum of Mean
df F Sig.
Extraversion 2982.784 29 102.855 4.658 .000

Stress of romantic
2652.384 20 132.619 6.006 .000
relationship
9392.887 352 26.684 1.209 .009
romantic relationship
Error 36608.419 1658 22.080
Total 53271.584 2059
for the effect of extraversion on the relationship between the stress of
romantic relationship and psychological well-being is significant at the .01
level. This indicates that extraversion is an important moderator in the
relationship between these two variables. That is, the impact of stress of
romantic relationship on the well-being of adolescents is influenced by
extraversion. Extraverts by their very nature influence people around them
and receive their love, care and concern. Thus they tend to establish more
romantic relationships and enjoy them rather than distressed about it.
The results given in Table 4.144 indicate that extraversion
moderates the relationship between stress of emerging adult responsibility
and well-being. In other words, the impact of stress of emerging adult
responsibility on the well-being of adolescents is influenced by the
410
personality dimension of extraversion. The extraverts tend to approach
things more lightly, are interested to take up responsibilities, and are
confident and efficient in handling responsibilities.
Table 4.144
Moderating effect of extraversion on the relationship betwisen stress of
emerging adult responsibility and psychological we l-being
Sum of Mean
df F Sig.
Extraversion 2875.073 29 99.140 4.633 .000

1779.795 14 127.128 5.941 .000
responsibility
7444.916 266 27.988 1.308 .001
Error 37448.844 1750 21.399
Total 53271.584 2059
Thus extraversion is found to moderate the relationship between
three dimensions of stress and psychological well-being. In the earlier
section, extraversion was found to correlate negatively with stress and
significantly positively with well-being. So extraversion may have a protective
role in the stress - well-being relationship.
Neuroticism
The results of the moderated multiple regression analysis for
examining the moderating effects of neuroticism showed that neuroticism
moderates the relationship of total stress and four dimensions of stress viz.,
stress of home life, school performance, peer pressure, and teacher
interaction with psychological well-being of adolescents. The impact of the
remaining six dimensions of stress on well-being is not moderated by
411
neuroticism. The significant cases are discussed below.
Table 4.145
Moderating effect of neuroticism on the relationship between stress of
home life and psychological well-being
Sum of Mean
df F SIg.
Neuroticism 5718.715 32 178.710 9.821 .000
Neuroticism * Stress of
13052.048 627 20.817 1.144 .023
home life
Error 24709.876 1358 18.196
Total 53271.584 2059
The results presented in the above table show that the obtained F-
value is significant at the .05 level. This indicates that the relationship
between stress of home life and psychological well-being is moderated by
the neuroticism dimension of personality. That is, neuroticism interacts with
stress of home life and influence the impact of stress of home life on the
psychological well-being of adolescents. Adolescents high on neuroticism
are found to have less emotional stability which may result in lots of frictions
with parents and thus make their home life miserable.
The results given in the Table 4.146 indicate that the F-value
obtained for the moderating effect of neuroticism is significant at the .05
level. This reveals that the interaction of neuroticism with stress of school
performance significantly affects the psychological well-being of adolescents.
In other words, the more the adolescent has neurotic traits, the less will be
his well-being. Adolescents who are high on neuroticism may have difficulty
in performing up to their expectations and may frequently be worried about
failure which increases the gravity of the stress of school perfonnance.
412
Table 4.146
school performance and psychological well-being
Sum of Mean
df F SIg.
Neuroticism 7344.976 32 229.530 12.193 .000
Stress of school
2769.308 32 86.541 4.597 .000
performance
12418.145 576 21.559 1.145 .024
school performance
Error 26711.310 1419 18.824
Total 53271.584 2059
Table 4.147
peer pressure and psychological well-being
Sum of Mean
df F Sig.
Neuroticism 6462.595 32 201.956 10.843 .000
10175.900 481 21.156 1.136 .040
peer pressure
Error 28311.966 1520 18.626
Total 53271.584 2059
The F-value obtained for the moderating effect of neuroticism on
stress of peer pressure is significant at the .05 level (Table 4.147) indicating
that neuroticism is a significant moderator variable In the stress of peer
pressure and psychological well-being relationship. In other words, the
magnitude of the relationship between stress of peer pressure and
psychological well-being is moderated by the degree of neurotic traits in the
413
individual. The adolescents with high neuroticism are quite self-conscious as
well as too much concerned about others opinion about themselves. Peer
acceptance is very important for them which make them more vulnerable to
peer pressure and there by reduce their well-being. They may find it difficult
to be assertive in peer relationships as they are worried about loosing friends
and facing peer rejection.
Table 4.148
Moderating effect of neuroticism on the relati onship between stress of
teacher interaction and psycholog ical well-being
Sum of Mean
df F Sig.
Neuroticism 7424.232 32 232.007 11.866 .000
Stress of teacher
1487.619 26 57.216 2.926 .000
interaction
11579.549 515 22.485 1.150 .025
teacher interaction
Error 29054.549 1486 19.552
Total 53271.584 2059
between stress of teacher interaction and psychological well-being is
moderated by the neuroticism dimension of personality. In other words, the
interaction between the independent variable stress of teacher interaction
and the moderating variable neuroticism affects the dependent variable
psychological well-being. Due to their emotional imbalance, neurotics may
not be able to complete the assigned task on time and may not be able to
reach upto the expectations of their teachers which may result in strained
relationships with the teachers.
414
Table 4.149
Moderating effect of neuroticism on the relationship between total stress
and psychological well-being
Type III
Mean
Sum of df F Sig.
Source Square
Squares
Neuroticism 6936.150 32 216.755 12.367 .000
Total stress 7221.707 162 44.578 2.543 .000
Neuroticism * Total stress 25087.540 1271 19.738 1.126 .048
Error 10411.050 594 17.527
Corrected Total 49656.447 2059
From Table 4.149, it can be seen that the F-value obtained for the
moderating effect of neuroticism on the relationship between total stress and
well-being is significant at the .05 level. This means that neuroticism
moderates the relationship between stress and well-being in the case of
adolescents. That is, the interaction between stress and neuroticism
influence the effect of stress on psychological well-being. Neuroticism is
known to influence the appraisal, experience and coping of stress
negatively.
Neuroticism is found to moderate the relationship between five
dimensions of stress and psychological well-being. The obtained correlations
in the present study show that neuroticism is significantly positively
correlated with stress and significantly negatively with well-being. Thus
neuroticism may increase the stress proneness and thereby diminish well-
being. Neuroticism factor of personality has been identified as a vulnerability
factor to stress in several earlier researches also (Deary et al.,1996; Diener
et al., 1999; Mohamed, 1996; Matthews et al.,2000).
415
Agreeableness
The results of the moderated multiple regression analysis for
determining the moderating effects of agreeableness revealed that
agreeableness moderates the relationship between five dimensions of stress
viz., stress of school perfonnance, romantic relationship, peer pressure,
teacher interaction, and emerging adult responsibility, and the psychological
well-being of adolescents. The impact of the remaining six dimensions of
stress as well as total stress on well-being is not moderated by
agreeableness. The significant cases are discussed below.
Table 4.150
Moderating effect of agreeableness on the relationship between stress
of school performance and psychol ogical wel -being
Sum of Mean
df F SIg.
Agreeableness 2873.214 30 95.774 4.465 .000
Stress of school
2586.585 32 80.831 3.768 .000
performance
Agreeableness * Stress of
11760.557 483 24.349 1.135 .040
school performance
Error 32474.485 1514 21.449
Total 53271.584 2059
The results given in the Table 4.150 indicate that the F-value
obtained for the moderating effect of agreeableness is significant at the .05
level. This reveals that the interaction of agreeableness with stress of school
performance significantly affects the psychological well-being of adolescents.
In other words, the agreeableness dimension of personality moderates the
416
relationship between stress of school perfornriance and psychological well-
being of adolescents.
Table 4.151
of romantic relat onship and psycho ogical we l-being
Sum of Mean
df F Sig.
Agreeableness 3966.841 30 132.228 6.122 .000
Stress of romantic
1904.085 20 95.204 4.408 .000
relationship
8944.357 352 25.410 1.177 .022
romantic relationship
Error 35787.694 1657 21.598
Total 53271.584 2059
between stress of romantic relationship and psychological well-being is
moderated by the agreeableness dimension of personality. In other words,
the interaction between the independent variable stress of romantic
relationship and the moderating variable of agreeableness affects the
dependent variable psychological well-being. Adolescents who are
agreeable tend to be affectionate, kind, cooperative and unselfish, and any
set backs in these aspects from their lovers can result in intense stress.
Moreover, they will be liked by others and so there are more chances for
them to get involved in romantic relationships.
417
Table 4.152
of peer pressure and psychological well-being
Sum of Mean
df F Sig.
Agreeableness 3059.514 30 101.984 5.015 .000
9150.121 394 23.224 1.142 .044
peer pressure
Error 32722.879 1609 20.337
Total 53271.584 2059
The results given in the Table 4.152 show that the F-value obtained
for the moderating effect of agreeableness on the relationship between
stress of peer pressure and psychological well-being is significant at the .05
level. This indicates that the agreeableness dimension of personality
moderates the relationship between stress of peer pressure and
psychological well-being of adolescents. In other words, agreeableness trait
influences the impact of stress of peer pressure on the psychological well-
being of adolescents. Agreeableness dimension of personality encompasses
cooperative, sensitive, friendly, compliant and straight forward nature. So
adolescents with high agreeableness may find it difficult to either yield or not
yield to peer pressure and those who are low on agreeableness may get
only very few friends.
moderating effect of agreeableness is significant at the .05 level and this
reveals that agreeableness is an important moderator in the stress of
teacher interaction - psychological well-being relationship. That is, the
interaction between stress of teacher interaction and agreeableness
418
influences the effect of the respective stress on well-being.
Table 4.153
of teacher interaction and psychological well-being
Sum of Mean
df F Sig.
Agreeableness 3326.888 30 110.896 5.056 .000
Stress of teacher
2039.548 26 78.444 3.577 .000
interaction
11155.019 433 25.762 1.175 .016
teacher interaction
Error 34432.393 1570 21.931
Total 53271.584 2059
The results given in Table 4.154 indicate that agreeableness
and well-being, the F-value being significant at the .01 level. In other words,
the impact of stress of emerging adult responsibility on the well-being of
adolescents is moderated by the personality dimension of agreeableness.
Table 4.154
Moderating effect of agreeableness on the relaltionship between stress of
emerging adult responsibility and psyc hological well-being
Sum of Mean
df F Sig.
Agreeableness 3445.673 30 114.856 5.486 .000

2932.210 14 209.444 10.003 .000
responsibility
7308.307 259 28.217 1.348 .000
Error 36765.620 1756 20.937
Total 53271.584 2059
419
Thus, the personality factor of agreeableness moderates the
relationship between five dimensions of stress and psychological well-being.
Correlations between personality and stress, and personality and well-being
show that agreeableness is significantly negatively correlated with stress and
significantly positively with well-being. Thus agreeableness may protect an
adolescent from the adverse effects of stress.
Conscientiousness
Moderated multiple regression analysis was carried out to determine
the moderating effects of conscientiousness dimension of personality, and it
revealed that conscientiousness has significant moderating effects on the
relationship between four dimensions of adolescent stress, namely stress of
home life, peer pressure, future uncertainty, and emerging adult
responsibility and psychological well-being. The relationships between total
stress as well as the other six dimensions of adolescent stress and
psychological well-being are not moderated by the conscientiousness
dimension of personality. The significant cases are discussed below.
Table 4.155
Moderating effect of conscientiousness on the relationship between
stress of home life and psychological well-being
Sum of Mean
df F Sig.
Conscientiousness 3051.828 33 92.480 4.659 .000
Conscientiousness * Stress
14065.060 608 23.133 1.166 .012
of home life
Error 27310.551 1376 19.848
Total 53271.584 2059
420
between stress of home life and psychological well-being is moderated by
the conscientiousness dimension of personality. In other words, the
interaction between the independent variable, stress of home life and the
moderating variable, conscientiousness affects the dependent variable
psychological well-being. Conscientiousness is a dimension of personality
which is close to values and principles in life and home is the place where
these are developed. So, naturally the parents' rules and regulations will be
influenced by the conscientiousness dimension of personality and these
interactions affect the well-being of adolescents.
Table 4.156
stress of peer pressure and psychological well-being
Sum of Mean
df F SIg.
10303.847 448 23.000 1.142 .038
of peer pressure
Error 31268.274 1552 20.147
Total 53271.584 2059
for the moderating effect of conscientiousness on the relationship between
stress of peer pressure and psychological well-being is significant at the .05
level. This indicates that the conscientiousness dimension of personality
421
moderates the relationship between stress of peer pressure and
psychological well-being of adolescents. In other words, conscientiousness
trait influences the impact of stress of peer pressure on the psychological
Table 4.157
stress of future uncertainty and psychological well-being
Sum of Mean
df F Sig.
Stress of future uncertainty 2261.825 12 188.485 9.009 .000
7553.606 288 26.228 1.254 .005
of future uncertainty
Error 36112.412 1726 20.923
Total 53271.584 2059
Table 4.157 shows that the F-value obtained for the moderating
effect of conscientiousness on stress of future uncertainty is significant at the
.01 level indicating that conscientiousness is a significant moderator variable
in the stress of future uncertainty and psychological well-being relationship.
In other words, the magnitude of the relationship between stress of future
uncertainty and psychological well-being is influenced by the degree of
conscientiousness traits in the individual. As conscientious people are quite
organized and achievement striving, future uncertainty may be less stressful
for them.
The results presented in the Table 4.158 show that the F-value
obtained for the impact of conscientiousness on the relationship between the
422
stress of emerging adult responsibility and psychological well-being is
significant at the .05 level. This indicates that conscientiousness is an
important moderator in the relationship between these two variables. That is,
the impact of stress of emerging adult responsibility in the well-being of
adolescents is moderated by the personality dimension of
conscientiousness. The conscientiousness dimension of personality includes
self-disciplined, dutiful and organized behaviours which would facilitate
taking up the adult responsibilities.
Table 4.'158
Moderating effect of conscientiousne 5S on the relationship betvveen
stress of emerging adult responsibilK y and psychological well- leing
Sum of Mean
df F Sig.

1990.755 14 142.197 6.656 .000
responsibility
of emerging adult 7241.956 290 24.972 1.169 .037
responsibility
Error 36790.450 1722 21.365
Total 53271.584 2059
Conscientiousness moderates the relationship between four
dimensions of stress and psychological well-being. Conscientiousness is
found to correlate significantly negatively with stress and significantly
positively with well-being. So conscientiousness is a protective factor, rather
than vulnerability for the adolescents as far as the impact of stress is
concerned.
423
Openness
The results of the moderated multiple regression analysis revealed
that the openness dimension of personality makes significant moderating
effects only in the case of the relationship between four dimensions of stress
namely stress of home life, peer pressure, school-leisure conflict and
emerging adult responsibility and psychological well-being. The openness
dimension does not moderate the relationship of total stress as well as other
six dimensions of stress with psychological well-being. The significant cases
are discussed below.
Table 4.159
Moderating effect of openness on the relationship between stress of
home life and psychological well-being
Sum of Mean
df F Sig.
Openness 1933.658 31 62.376 3.009 .000
Openness * Stress of
13099.747 559 23.434 1.130 .039
home life
Error 29585.548 1427 20.733
Total 53271.584 2059
for the moderating effect of openness on the relationship between stress of
home life and psychological well-being is significant at the .05 level. This
indicates that the openness dimension of personality moderates the
relationship between stress of home life and psychological well-being of
adolescents. In other words, openness trait influences the impact of stress of
424
home life on the psychological well-being of adolescents.
Table 4.160
peer pressure and psychological well-being
Sum of Mean
df F Sig.
Openness 2200.185 31 70.974 3.375 .000
Openness * Stress of peer

9558.843 401 23.838 1.134 .052
pressure
Error 33667.259 1601 21.029
Total 53271.584 2059
The results given in Table 4.160 indicate that openness moderates
the relationship between stress of peer pressure and well-being in
adolescents. In other words, the impact of stress of peer pressure on the
well-being of adolescents is influenced by the openness dimension of
personality. The adolescents who are high on openness may be able to get
along well only with similar kind of peers. Lower levels of openness may
reduce peer interactions and acceptance.
moderating effect of openness is significant at the .01 level, which indicates
that openness dimension of personality is an important moderator of the
relationship between stress of school-leisure conflict and psychological well-
being of adolescents. In other words, the relationship between the
independent variable, stress of school-leisure conflict and the dependent
425
variable, psychological well-being is moderated by the degree of openness
in adolescents. Since openness dimension of personality is more associated
with curious, imaginative people with wide interests, it may help to buffer the
impact of stress.
Table 4.161
school-leisure conflict and psychological well-being
Sum of Mean
df F Sig.
Openness 2100.489 31 67.758 2.928 .000
Stress of school-leisure
1969.169 20 98.458 4.255 .000
conflict
10617.325 381 27.867 1.204 .009
school-leisure conflict
Error 37648.610 1627 23.140
Total 53271.584 2059
The results given in Table 4.162 show that the F-value obtained for
the moderating effect of openness on the relationship between stress of
emerging adult responsibility and psychological well-being is significant at
the .05 level. This indicates that the openness dimension of personality
and psychological well-being of adolescents. In other words, openness trait
influences the impact of stress of emerging adult responsibility on the
psychological well-being of adolescents. The adolescents with more
openness may not be bothered by or not effective in handling the routine
adult responsibilities, as they are more creative, original, and inventive.
426
Table 4.1 62
Moderating effect of openness on the i elationship between stress of
emerging adult responsibility and psychological well-being
Sum of Mean
df F Sig.
Openness 1854.409 31 59.820 2.675 .000

2163.284 14 154.520 6.910 .000
responsibility
7066.756 271 26.077 1.166 .043
Error 38975.248 1743 22.361
Total 53271.584 2059
Thus, openness moderates the relationship between four
dimensions of stress and psychological well-being. In the earlier section
openness was found to correlate positively with stress as well as
psychological well-being. Though openness factor of personality may
increase the experience of stress, it may help to employ better coping
mechanisms and thus lii<ely to enhance well-being.
4.3.5. MODERATING EFFECT OF EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE
The moderated multiple regression analysis reveals that emotional
intelligence moderates the relationship between a single dimension of stress
(stress of emerging adult responsibility) and well-being. It is not found to
moderate the impact of total stress as well as other dimensions of stress on
well-being.
The results given in Table 4.163 indicate that emotional intelligence
and well-being in adolescents. In other words, the impact stress of emerging
427
adult responsibility on the well-being of adolescents is moderated by
emotional intelligence. The adolescents who are high on emotional
intelligence may be quite equipped to handle adult responsibilities and have
a good stability of emotions. The present investigation showed that
emotional intelligence is significantly negatively correlated with stress and
significantly positively with well-being. Emotional intelligence may decrease
the impact of stress and thereby facilitate well-being.
Table 4.163
Moderating effect of emotional intelligence on the relationship between
stress of emerging adult responsibility and psychological well-being
Sum of Mean
df F SIg.
Emotional intelligence 10429.114 64 162.955 9.510 .000

1341.587 14 95.828 5.592 .000
responsibility
Emotional intelligence *
Stress of emerging adult 8475.940 423 20.038 1.169 .020
responsibility
Error 26697.838 1558 17.136
Total 53271.584 2059
4.2.4. AGE
Moderated multiple regression analysis was carried out in order to
examine whether age moderates the relationship between stress and
psychological well-being of adolescents. The obtained results show that out
of the eleven moderating effects examined, only two are significant. Age
moderates the relationship between stress of school performance and well
being and that between total stress and well being. Age does not have any
moderating effect in the relationship between the other sources of stress and
428
well-being. That is, the impact of the other sources of stress on well-being is
not moderated by age. As we have already seen, the results of the
correlation analysis between age and stress, done in the present
investigation (section 4.2.11.a) showed small but significant positive
correlations with stress but did not show any significant relationship with
well-being. This may indicate that though age influences the experience of
stress from various sources, it does not influence adolescents' well-being
and the impact of most of the sources of stress on well-being. From Table
4.164 it can be seen that age is having significant moderating effect on the
relationship between stress of school performance and psychological well
being (F= 2.01; p<.01). In other words, the interaction between the
independent variable, stress of school performance and the moderator
variable age affects the dependent variable psychological well being.
Table 4.164
Moderating effect of age on the relationship between stress of school
performance and psycho ogical well-being
Sum of Mean
df F Sig.
Age 69.060 1 69.060 2.938 .087
Stress of school performance 3925.962 32 122.686 5.219 .000
Age * Stress of school

1420.396 30 47.347 2.014 .001
performance
Error 46923.984 1996 23.509
Total 53271.584 2059
Table 4.165 shows that the moderating effect of age is also
significant in the case of the relationship between total adolescent stress and
psychological well being. That is, age is found to be an important moderator
429
in the relationship between total stress and well-being of adolescents. In
other words in the case of adolescents, the magnitude of the relationship
between total stress and well-being is influenced by the age at which they
experience the stress.
Table 4.165
Moderating effect of age on the relationship between the total stress
and psychologica well-being
Type III
Mean
Sum of df F Sig.
Source Square
Squares
Age 17.565 1 17.565 .798 .372
Total stress 9813.378 162 60.576 2.752 .000
Age * Total stress 3899.017 133 29.316 1.332 .009
Error 38810.060 1763 22.014
4.3.5. GENDER
The effect of gender on the relationship between adolescent stress
and well-being was examined using moderated multiple regression analysis.
Gender is found to be a significant moderator on the relationship between
total stress as well as various dimensions of stress such as stress of peer
pressure, stress of financial pressure, stress of emerging adult responsibility
and well-being. The relationship between the other seven dimensions of
stress and well-being are not influenced by gender. The significant cases are
discussed and the respective tables are given below.
In the case of stress of peer pressure the obtained F-ratio is found to
430
be significant at the .01 level. This indicates that males and females differ in
the stress of peer pressure - well-being relationship. In other words, gender
is an important factor in determining the impact of peer pressure on well-
being. It may be noted that peer pressure is perceived, experienced and
handled differently by male and female adolescents, so its impact on well-
being can also be different in male and female adolescents.
Table 4.166
Moderating effect of gender on the relationship between stress of peer
pressure and psychological well-being
Sum of Mean
df F Sig.
Sex 17.646 1 17.646 .797 .372
Sex * Stress of peer

1001.190 23 43.530 1.967 .004
pressure
Error 44456.085 2009 22.128
Total 53271.584 2059
The F-ratio obtained in the analysis of moderating effect of gender
on the relationship between stress of financial pressure and well-being is
found to be significant at the .05 level (Table 4.167). This reveals that the
relationship between stress of financial pressure and well-being is
moderated by gender. That is, the strength of the relationship between
stress of financial pressure varies depending on the gender of the
adolescent. It may be noted that males tend to experience more financial
pressure and more distressed about it compared to the females. This may
explain the observed results.
431
Table 4.167
Moderating effect of gender on the relationship between stress of
financial pressure and psychological well-being
Sum of Mean
df F Sig.
Sex 5.841 1 5.841 .239 .625
Stress of financial pressure 3207.904 16 200.494 8.218 .000
Sex * Stress of financial

652.230 16 40.764 1.671 .046
pressure
Error 49427.030 2026 24.396
Total 53271.584 2059
Table 4.168 provides the results obtained in the moderated multiple
regression analysis of gender on the relationship between stress of
emerging adult responsibility and well-being.
Table 4.168
Moderating effect of gender on the relationship between stress of
emerging adult responsibility and psychological well-beinc
Sum of Mean
df F Sig.
Sex 21.304 1 21.304 .906 .341

4693.760 14 335.269 14.262 .000
responsibility
Sex * Stress of emerging

592.786 14 42.342 1.801 .033
Error 47722.230 2030 23.508
Total 53271.584 2059
The obtained F-ratio is found to be significant at the .05 level. This shows
that the interaction between the independent variable, stress of emerging
adult responsibility and the moderating variable, gender affects the
dependent variable well-being. This means that the interaction of gender and
432
stress of emerging adult responsibility moderated the effect of stress of
emerging adult responsibility on well-being. Males are usually found to be
more stressed about adult responsibilities than females.
for the moderating effect of gender on the relationship between total stress
and well-being is significant at the .01 level. Gender moderates the stress -
well-being relationship. In other words, gender is a significant factor which
determines the impact of stress on well-being. Researches show that
females experience significantly more stress than males while the present
investigation show that male adolescents experience more stress.
Table 4.169
Moderating effect of gender on the r eiatlonship between the total
stress and psycholog ical well-being
Type III
Mean
Sum of df F Sig.
Source Square
Squares
Sex 259.253 1 259.253 11.965 .001
Total stress 9697.625 162 59.862 2.763 .000
Sex * Total stress 4231.051 140 30.222 1.395 .002
Error 38048.712 1756 21.668
The results of the multiple regression analysis with respect to the
variables of order of birth and family type revealed that none of the effects
are significant. This indicates that neither order of birth nor type of family has
any moderating effect on the relationship between adolescent stress and
psychological wellbeing.
The results obtained in this section show that while permissive
433
parenting style is not having any moderating effect on the stress - well being
relationship, authoritarian and authoritative parenting styles are found to
have moderating effects in the case of three dimensions each of the
adolescent stress. Reene (2001) reported that higher levels of maternal
warmth decreased the odds that a teenage girl would think about attempting
suicide. Parental rearing behaviours accounted for a unique portion of the
variance in internalizing symptoms. Mahtani, Lam, and Carol (1999) have
also got similar results. Perceptions of low parental caring, and high conflict
with parents had additive effect in predicting level of suicide ideation. Again
Har, Vivien, and Lay See (2006) found that positive supportive relationships
with parents, peers and school were important moderating factors
influencing the psychological well-being of adolescents.
Most of the Big Five personality factors are found to have significant
moderating effects on the relationship between many of the adolescent
stress dimensions and psychological well-being. The effect of neuroticism,
agreeableness, conscientiousness and openness dimensions are particularly
noticeable. Costa and McCrae (1987) has indicated that neuroticism tends to
exacerbate the dynamic link between stressful life events and maladjustment
while extraversion tends to ameliorate it. Hoffiman, Levy, Shiff, and Malinski
(1996) conducted a study to examine the moderating effect of extraversion
and neuroticism in the relationship between stress and adjustment in
adolescents and the regression analysis revealed significant interactions
between personality traits and life events in the prediction of adjustment
among adolescents. Negative thinking which is hall mark of neuroticism was
found to mediate the effects of parental bonding, every day stressors, and
self-esteem on depressive symptoms (Sukji, 2007). Conscientiousness has
434
been found to moderate the relationship between internalizing problems and
poor interpersonal functioning (Jenses-Camphel and Maico, 2007). In a
study on the relation between personality disorder symptoms, depression
and interpersonal stress Shannon, Christie, and Brent (2006) found that the
personality disorder symptoms moderate the relationship between
depression and interpersonal stress. That is, personality disorder symptoms
led to greater depression by generation of interpersonal stress.
In the case of emotional intelligence, only one out of the eleven
moderating effects examined is significant. However, previous researches
have identified emotional intelligence as an important moderator in the stress
- well-being relationship. Natalie, Auxiliadoro, and Lourdes (2007) confirmed
that emotional clarity and mood repair remained significant in predicting
perceived stress and life satisfaction. Christie, Shannon, and Brent (2006)
found emotional intelligence to moderate the longitudinal relation between
romantic stress and depression. However, in the case of the present
adolescents significant moderating effects of emotional intelligence was not
obtained.
Order of birth and type of family are not having any significant
moderating effects on the relationship between adolescent stress and well
being while age is having significant moderating effect only in the case of
total stress and stress of school performance. Durak and Nesrin (2003)
found age as an important mediating variable between stressful situations
and thinking suicide as the first solution. Suicide probability increases as
problem solving skills decrease and as anger and impulsivity scores
increase. Gender is having significant moderating effects in the case of three
dimensions of adolescent stress and total stress. This is in agreement with
435
previous findings reported by Grant et al. (2004). They found that gender
moderates the impact of stress in adolescents in such a way that boys
exhibit more externalizing symptoms and girls exhibit more internalizing
symptoms.
436

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CHAPTER - IV

RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

main sections. Section 4.1 contains the results of the comparisons of

adolescents based on various socio demographic variables on the main

such as adolescent stress, psychological well-being, parenting style,

personality, and emotional intelligence. Section 4.3 presents the results of

the moderated multiple regression analysis which examine the effects of

moderator variables such as age, gender, order of birth, type of family,

parenting style, personality and emotional intelligence on the stress -

psychological well-being relationship.

4.1. ANALYSIS OF THE MAIN VARIABLES WITH RESPECT

TO RELEVANT SOCIO DEMOGRAPHIC VARIABLES

Several studies have highlighted the role of certain socio

demographic variables in the perception of stress as well as in their

relationships to well-being, and other variables. So, an understanding of the

relevant socio demographic characteristics of the sample seems important in

interpreting the psychological variables. In order to test the role of the

selected socio demographic variables, the sample was classified into

socio demographic variables selected for this purpose are stage of

adolescence, sex, place of residence, stream of study, participation in sports

and extracurricular activities, membership In organizations, presence of

study, and level of academic achievement.

4.1. A. COMPARISON OF THE MIDDLE AND THE LATE ADOLESCENTS

4.1. A.I.Adolescent stress

Even though a number of investigations have been made on

adolescents belonging to different phases such as young, middle, and late

adolescence in the experience of stress. In the present investigation this

were tested for significance using the't' test.

adolescents have significantly higher mean scores in stress of school

not be considered unavoidable.

The stress of future uncertainty is faced more by the late

adolescents. Since there is lots of career choices there can be more

confusion. Because of the same reasons, the stress of financial pressure is

adolescents may have to support themselves financially and sometimes the

telephones, get-togethers, and the like. The middle adolescents have

adolescents. Middle adolescents are more interested in leisure time

autonomy in this regard when compared to the late adolescents.

performance, romantic relationships, peer pressure, teacher interaction, and

emerging adult responsibility, the differences in the mean scores between

two groups of adolescents.

the overall level of stressor exposure for adolescents is increasing, there is

performance, financial pressure, emerging adult responsibility, and future

and the late adolescents in psychological well-being and the corresponding't'

middle adolescents have significantly higher mean scores (better well-being)

in total psychological well-being (t=2.40; p<.05) and in the components of

components of psychological well-being there are no significant differences

between the two groups.

Thus, compared to the late adolescents, the middle adolescents

it is natural for them to have poor well-being. Compared to the middle

adolescents, the late adolescents are more concerned about establishing an

identity, building up a career and getting independence from their parents,

late adolescents compared to the middle adolescents. Thus the results

adolescents in the experience of the different dimensions of psychological

4.1. A.3. Parenting Style

case of late adolescents compared to the middle adolescents. As children

there are increases in respect, understanding, affection, confidence and

enjoyment between them and their parents" (p.560).

The middle adolescents have obtained significantly higher scores in

authoritarian parenting style of father (t=4.16; p<.01) and mother (t=4.49;

control and exertion of authority upon young adolescents than on late

adolescents. As children enter the phase of late adolescence parents may

the younger adolescents perceive their parents' parenting style as

reported that by late adolescence the transition to independence and release