Influence Of Socio-Economic Status Of Parents On Social Adjustment Of Adolescents: An Empirical Study Of Indore District
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.66635/dg3hns55Keywords:
Socio-economic status, social adjustment, adolescents, parents, Indore district, secondary school studentsAbstract
Background: The socio-economic status (SES) of the family is widely regarded as one of the most influential contextual factors shaping adolescent psychosocial development, yet empirical evidence on its relationship with social adjustment among Indian adolescents remains limited, particularly in the central Indian region.
Objectives: The present study was undertaken (i) to examine the relationship between the socio-economic status of parents and the social adjustment of adolescents, and (ii) to compare the social adjustment of adolescents belonging to high and low socio-economic status groups, in Indore district, Madhya Pradesh.
Method: A descriptive survey design was employed. Using stratified random sampling, a sample of 200 adolescents (100 boys and 100 girls; 100 from government schools and 100 from private schools) aged 14 to 19 years was drawn from secondary schools of Indore district. Data on parental socio-economic status and adolescent social adjustment (covering family, peer, school, social behaviour, and emotional-situational dimensions) were analysed using Pearson's product-moment correlation, the independent-samples t-test, and one-way ANOVA.
Results: A strong, statistically significant positive correlation was found between parental SES and adolescent social adjustment (r = .78, p < .001). Adolescents from high-SES families scored significantly higher on social adjustment (M = 123.65, SD = 10.94) than those from low-SES families (M = 85.63, SD = 12.60), t(23.1) = 10.58, p < .001, with a very large effect size (Cohen's d = 3.33). A one-way ANOVA across five SES levels further confirmed a significant overall effect (F(4,195) = 60.11, p < .001, η² = .55).
Conclusion: Parental socio-economic status emerges as a strong and consistent predictor of adolescent social adjustment in the Indore urban-semiurban context. The findings underscore the need for school-based compensatory and counselling interventions targeted at adolescents from economically disadvantaged families.
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