PSYCHOLOGICAL TEST- 3: ADJUSTMENT

TITLE OF THE STUDY :

To assess the level of adjustment of a subject with the help of Adjustment Inventory.

INTRODUCTION:
Every individual has biological and psychological needs which demand fulfillment.
He/she tries to maintain balance & harmonious relationship between his/her inner needs
& demands of the society. This is a continuous process by which an individual tries to
cope with his/her inner needs, tensions, frustration & conflicts.
Thus, we can say that adjustment is a psychological process by which an individual
manages or copes with various demands, both inner & outer. The concept of adjustment
originated from the biological term adaptation :

CHARACTERISTICS OF ADJUSTMENT:
(a) ADJUSTMENT IS SUBJECTIVE :
Adjustment differs from person to person. Since no two individuals are alike, their
coping processes cannot be similar because they differ in their heredity &
environment, socialization & child learning practices. Besides, inner & outer
demands tolerance for frustrations, capacity for affection, adaptability to profit from
experiences, values, prejudices, attitudes & social norms makes the adjustment a
subjective process which is known only to the person who is adjusting. Capacity of
adjustment is different in different areas of life with the same person.

(b) ADJUSTMENT IS A CONTINOUS PROCESS:

Adjustment is a cradle to grave process because we have through various
developmental stages & each stage has a demand or a problem which has to be
dealt with. It is a process which continues through meeting stress & strain in life.
Hence, a person considered to be well-adjusted now, may have severe adjustment
problems or even total adjustment failure at any time in life in an exceedingly
stressful way.

(c) ADJUSTMENT VARIES FROM CULTURE TO CULTURE:

A person considered to be well adjusted in our society with a particular cultural
background may not be considered the same in a different society with different
cultural settings because all cultures have different criteria of a well-adjusted
person.

DEFINITION OF STRESS:

Stress can be defined as the pattern of responses an organism makes to stimulus event
that disturbs the equilibrium and exceeds a person’s ability to cope.

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SOURCES OF STRESS:
Some of the important sources of stress are:

(a) Life events

(b) Daily Hassles
(c) Traumatic Events.

INTERNAL SOURCES OF STRESS:

The internal sources of stress are personal & unique only to the person experiencing
them. These stressors are:

(a) Frustration: It results from the blocking of needs & motives by something that
prevents or hinders us from achieving a desired goal. It may be minor &
inconsequential or a serious threat to our arousal & well being.
(b) Conflict: Stress may originate from conflict between interest & motives. There
could be value conflict when one is forced to take action against the values held
by one.
(c) Pressure: Pressure may stem from inner & outer sources & typically centers on all
aspirations & life goals.

VARIABLES: Adjustment Level of the subject.

METHOD:
Details of the Subject:
Name:
Age:
Gender:
Class:

Materials:
1) Adjustment Inventory
2) Manual Inventory 3)
Scoring Sheet.
DESCRIPTION OF THE TEST:
This adjustment inventory was devised by Sinha and Sinha. It consists of 102 questions.
Each question can be answered ‘Yes’ or ‘No’ .The subject has to decide on the response
and put a tick mark in the respective columns in the scoring sheet. This test is helpful in
scoring the poorly adjusted students who needs psycho-diagnostic study and counselling.
The test seeks to segregate normal from poorly adjusted students of all grades in respect
to five areas of adjustment designed as A, B, C, D and E. Following are the various areas:

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I : HOME ADJUSTMENT:
Low scores in this area indicate satisfactory adjustment with regards to relationship with
family members. High scores mean unsatisfactory adjustment towards their home. This
area refers to getting along with family members. (Parents, siblings and adjusting to the
norms of the family).

II: HEALTH ADJUSTMENT:

Low scores indicate satisfactory health adjustment and high scores indicate unsatisfactory
adjustment .This area deals with physical health and fitness. A well adjusted person in
this area is not prone to many diseases.

III: SOCIAL ADJUSTMENT:

Individuals scoring high are submissive and introverted. Low scores indicate
assertiveness. This area pertains to getting along with people, having positive relations
with members of the society and adjusting to social norms.

IV: EMOTIONAL ADJUSTMENT:

High scores indicate emotional instability and low scores indicate emotional stability.
This area refers to proper expressions and control of emotions.

V:EDUCATIONAL ADJUSTMENT:
Low scores indicate good educational adjustment while high scores indicate poor
adjustment .This area pertains to adjustment with school, school activities, teachers, peer
groups and social norms.

PROCEDURE:The subject is asked to sit comfortably and a formal enquiry is conducted

.The subject is given the Adjustment Inventory and the scoring sheet and the following
instructions are given:

INSTRUCTIONS

“This is an Adjustment Inventory consisting of 102 questions. You have to read each
question and it applies to you, put a tick mark under the ‘Yes’ column. If they don’t apply
to you, then put a tick mark under the ‘No’ column corresponding to the item number on
the scoring sheet. Be careful, as the numbers are not in a serial order in the scoring sheet.
Do not ponder too much, and answer frankly”.

PRECAUTIONS
1. Ensure there are 102 questions in the questionnaire
2. Ensure that the subject has answered all the questions in the response sheet and
not in the questionnaire
3. While scoring, take into consideration the ‘*’ mark.

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SCORING
STEP I: A tick mark for an item that doesn’t have an asterix ,should be score in the
following manner:

Yes = 1 ; No = 0

A tick mark for an item that has an asterix, should be scored in the following manner:

Yes = 0 ; No = 1

STEP II: Add up all the responses following the above rule to get the total. Refer to the
manual for the classification.

STEPIII: Add up the total of all areas to get an overall total. Refer to the manual to get an
overall classification.
RESULTS:
Table I – Response sheet of the subject.

Table II – Representing the scores and classification in the 5 areas of adjustment .

Graph – Representing scores and classification in the 5 areas of adjustment.

DISCUSSION :
Adjustment can be defined as a psychological process by which an individual manages or
copes with various internal and external demands and problems of life. Adjustment is
also defined as the behavioural process by which organisms maintain equilibrium among
their various needs or between their needs and the obstacles of their environment. A
sequence of adjustment begins when a need is felt and ends when it is satisfied.
Measurement of adjustment is important as it gives an insight into the various areas of
maladjustment and the respective corrections can be made through counselling.

The Adjustment inventory was given to the subject. The analysis of results are as follows:

(i) HOME ADJUSTMENT: The subject’s score in this field is 5 and is

classified as Average. This shows that the subject’s adjustment at home is
moderate. The subject can handle home problems at an average level & gets
along well with family members. However, there is definitely room for
improvement.
(ii) HEALTH ADJUSTMENT: In this area the subject score is 4 & is classified
as Average. This due to just needed physical activity & balanced
diet.However, a little effort will make the individual more fit & healthy.
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 (iii) SOCIAL ADJUSTMENT: The subject score in this area is 7 and can be
classified as Average. The subject is friendly & sociable with members of
both sexes because the subject has been exposed to a large number of people
since childhood. However, at times the subject turns hostile towards peers &
others due to personal problems. Thus, there is definitely room for
improvement.

(iv) EMOTIONAL ADJUSTMENT: Here, the subject score is 22 & is classified

as Very Unsatisfactory. The subject is emotionally unstable. She is extremely
sensitive & finds it hard to accept criticisms. The individual needs to take a
conscious effort at improving her emotional adjustment. She needs to take
control of her emotions & not her emotions control her.

(v) EDUCATIONAL ADJUSTMENT: The subject scores 6 here which is

classified as Average. The subject lacks motivation to improve. She needs to
manage time to make enough room for more study. She shows an average
level in co-curricular activities & moderate participation in class. There is
more room for improvement.

CONCLUSION:

The overall adjustment of the subject is 44 and is classified as unsatisfactory. The

subject’s ability to adjust across all fields is not up to the mark. A lot of effort and regular
visits to a counsellor could help the subject to improve in all the fields.

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