WELL-BEING OF ADOLESCENTS: INDIVIDUAL AND SOCIAL FACTORS

V.M. Abirami; S. Karunanidhi

doi:10.29121/shodhkosh.v5.i6.2024.3305

Authors

V.M. Abirami PhD Research scholar, Department of Psychology, University of Madras, Chennai, India
Dr. S. Karunanidhi Professor and Head (Retd.), Department of Psychology, University of Madras, Chennai, India

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.29121/shodhkosh.v5.i6.2024.3305

Keywords:

Well-Being, Adolescents, Socio-Demographic, School Environment

Abstract [English]

Well-being is an important aspect in the life of an adolescent and are associated with various psycho-social factors. Majority of the studies focus on the psychological factors influencing well-being, however the individual and social factors that can influence well-being are often overlooked. The objective of this study is to find out the influence of individual and social factors on the well-being of adolescents from low socio-economic background. An embedded mixed-method research design was used. The data were collected from 393 adolescents in the age group of 12 to 17 years using convenience sampling technique. The individual and social variables included are age, gender, class, medium of study, interest in study, expectation of love and care and like/dislike of school. The EPOCH adolescent well-being scale (Kern et al., 2016) was used to assess well-being. The data were analysed using descriptive statistics, percentage analysis, independent sample t- test, regression analysis and qualitative analysis. A significant difference was found in all the selected variables on well-being except expectation of love and care. Further, class, medium of education, interest to study and liking/disliking school were found to be significant predictors of well-being. In addition, the qualitative analysis revealed various themes related to disinterest in studies and liking/disliking of school. The present study found out the crucial role of individual and social factors in improving or decreasing the well-being of adolescents.

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