Demographic Factors Contributing to the Psychosocial Competence of Adolescents

No matter where one lives in the world, his surroundings, people and events do have some impact on human be- ing. This holds well on adolescents also, who are influenced by their age, sex, order of birthand SES etc. This paper attempts to look into the demographic factors contributing to the psychosocial competence of adolescents. A sample of 220 adolescents study- ing in IX and X standards was drawn from the high schools of Dharwad city. Along with the demographic sheet, psychosocial competence scale constructed by Dindigal and Aminabhavi was used in the study. The results revealed that out of many demographic factors, number of siblings and SES have emerged as contributing factors to overall psychosocial competence of adolescents. Adolescents having two siblings have lower psychosocial competence and children from upper class have better psychosocial competence. Demographic Factors Contributing to the Psychosocial Compe- tence of Adolescents Psychosocial Competence has been defined by WHO (1997) as "person's ability to deal effectively with the demands and chal - lenges of everyday life". "It is a person's ability to maintain state of mental well-being and to demonstrate this in adaptive and positive behaviour while interacting with others, in his/her cul- ture and environment." 'Adaptive' means that a person is flex - ible in approach and is able to adjust in different circumstances. 'Positive behaviour' implies that a person is forward looking and even in difficult situations, can find a ray of hope and opportuni- ties to find solutions. A competency is more than just knowledge and skills. It involves the ability to meet complex demands, by drawing on and mobilising psychosocial resources (including skills and attitudes) in a particular context. Adolescence is like springtime in one's life. Just as the nature trans- forms into new by shedding old leaves and blossoming with all fresh leaves and flowers, adolescents too are in the process of transforma - tion wherein they abandon their childish form of behavior, thoughts and emotions in place of more mature forms of behavior and thoughts. Adolescence is a period of transition of becoming brand new individu- als. Physically, cognitively, emotionally and psychologically changes take place resulting in a totally different individuals. Adolescents attain physical maturity, establish their own identity and tend to become in- dependent and responsible for their own betterment. However, this transformation is not so easy. Not all adolescents pass through this transitional period without difficulties. This process of transformation doesn't take place all at once. It is a gradual shift involving many im- portant contributions from the significant persons, places, events and institutions. Collectively, these factors are known as socio-demographic factors. Studies have shown empirically that psychosocial competence can be enhanced through life skills training. Dindigal and Aminabha- vi(2007) found that joint family has inverse relationship with psychoso- cial competence of adolescents. However,relatively few studies haveat- tempted to find out the significant contribution of demographic factors like age, gender, SES, number of siblings, birth order, religion and caste on psychosocial competence. Therefore an attempt was made here to find out the significant contribution of demographic factors to the psy - chosocial competence of adolescents.