Impact analysis of age and family income on adolescent social maturity

Adolescent social development is the stage of life when children and adolescents establish their social and personal identities, expand their social networks, and differentiate between acquaintances and close peers. During this process the social environment has an effect on both the maturation of the interpersonal brain and the increased influence of the peer group. The goal of the current study was to assess the relation of age and income class with adolescent’s social maturity. The sample belong to Bikaner city, Rajasthan (N=100). In order to evaluate the social maturity of respondents, Rao's Social Maturity Scale was used. The study found that adolescents from families with high income had substantially more personal adequacy and less social adequacy than those from other family classes. Late-adolescents were shown to be socially matured as compare to their counterparts.

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Conceptual Framework of Social MaturityClose ×

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Introduction

This complex, mega-systemic transitional period encompasses the change from social dependence and immaturity in adolescence to adulthood. The key to adolescent growth is the ability to adjust to new social and cultural standards. A adolescent may be socially immature if he or she is not acting appropriately in public. Maintaining social relationships helps people build social skills by teaching them how to interact with others in a pleasant and considerate manner. Parental style has a significant impact on the psychological, emotional, and social development of adolescents. The methods and approaches parents employ to raise their kids are known as parenthood approaches; they include parental love and affection, responsibilities, attention, expectations, knowledge of their child, rules imposed for them, etc. According to Hurlock, "A person who is socially mature will conform because they realise that everyone must be prepared to fit their preferences into the social norm that has been widely accepted, rather than because they agree with existing social norms or are afraid of others". A situation in which the needs of a person are met while also satisfying the demands of the environment". Growth and development are not just changes in physical size or dimensions; as Anderson (1939) [1] very accurately noted, "Changes happen in almost every relation within and without the human being". Learning how to interact appropriately with strangers, family, neighbours, friends, and intimate relationships is a necessary component of social maturity. It entails knowing how to regard and honour individuals in positions of power. Some characteristics linked to an individual's psychosocial maturity include social performance, sociable and pre-social behaviours, social avoidance, and retreat. They are either the causes of social maturity or its outcomes. A person's performance in a given situation is also greatly influenced by how well they have acclimated to it. A natural coping method for navigating challenging or additional aspects of life is adjustment. In order for other members of society to recognise that an individual is well adapted, their behaviour must be harmonised (Pathak, 1990) [6] . This is known as the adjustments index. Maximising student success appears to be preceded by optimal classroom environment adjustment. School psychologists frequently see scenarios when a child who is excelling in a particular school is unable to reach his full potential in another school or class. Social maturity is demonstrated by the capacity for appropriate behaviour. When a adolescent starts acting more like an adult while still in adolescence. Social maturity is the process by which an individual develops a satisfactory relationship with his environment. According to Astha et al. (2017) [2] , a socially mature person is one who devotes oneself to a socially acceptable goal. A socially evolved individual, however, is attuned to society and interpersonal connections. Social and emotional maturity seems to be a www.extensionjournal.com personal attribute while establishing new acquaintances and keeping friendships. It is necessary for the individual and for society. Social maturity is an essential quality for both the person and society. A person must be capable, independent, able to interact with and tolerate others, and be adaptable in order to be deemed socially mature. The ability to adapt to one's environment, situations, and self is a trait of a socially mature individual. Social maturity, which is required for successful societal adaptation, is extremely important for the future success of the adolescents. Therefore, the present study was conducted to assess the impact of income factors and age difference on social maturity.

Methodology

The goal of the current study was to investigate the impact of income class and age difference on social maturity among adolescents, 50 boys and 50 girls, in Bikaner, Rajasthan, make up the sample size (N=100). They were given a brief explanation of the study's objectives and asked to complete the surveys. They were also given the assurance that any information they submitted would be kept private and utilised only for research purpose. Data for this study were gathered using a purposive sample method, and students who indicated interest in participation were taken into consideration. Age and family income were included as independent variable in the study, whereas social maturity was chosen as the dependent variable. Dr. Nalini Rao's Social Maturity Scale was used to measure the social maturity of the selected participants.

Result and Discussion

Result and Discussion

Assessment the impact of income factors on social maturity

The table 1 depicts that significant difference was identified for social maturity on the basis of family monthly income of the respondents were found in one component of social maturity i.e. personal adequacy (Z=4.22*, p<0.05) whereas non-significant difference existed in other component and total social maturity (Z=3.97*, p<0.05) of adolescents. However mean scores of social maturity components i.e. personal adequacy M=2.02 for low income followed by M=2.30 for medium income and M=2.03 for adolescents having high parents income. Total social maturity was high of adolescents having high level income group. It may be due to young adolescents who come from low-income families are less likely to express high life satisfaction than those from high-income families. [8] revealed that adolescents from higher income family were seen to be significantly more socially adjusting and independent than those specifically from lower income family. Pant & Singh (2016) [5] found that adolescents of Class 1 and Class 2 service holders were found to have significantly higher levels of social and emotional maturity than those of Class 3 and class 4 service holders.

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Table 1Close ×

Social maturity of adolescents as per monthly income

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Examination of age difference in social maturity among adolescents

The data from table 2 depicts that significant difference was identified for social maturity on the basis of age of the respondents were found in one component of social maturity i.e. personal adequacy (Z=4.49*, p<0.05) whereas nonsignificant difference existed in other component including total social maturity of adolescents.

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Table 2Close ×

Social maturity among adolescents as per age

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However mean scores of social maturity component i.e. personal adequacy M=2.20 for 16-17 years old adolescent whereas for age group 18-19 years old were like M=1.98 and M=2.09 for adolescents age group 20-21 years. Total social maturity was high of adolescents age group 20-21 years old. Late adolescents may have greater social maturity than early adolescents because of their broader life experiences and have had more time to develop their social abilities. Additionally, they are also more aware of their own identity and ideals, which may make it easier for them to handle relationships. In addition, late adolescents may be more independent and self-reliant than early adolescents, which may help them develop more mature relationships with others. The finding supported by Punia (2016) [9] , who reported that there was -ve correlation in age of adolescents with personal adequacy but + ve correlation between age of adolescents and inter-personal adequacy, social adequacy. Findings  Significant differences were identified for social maturity on the basis of age of the respondents were found in personal adequacy component of social maturity.  Total social maturity was high in late-adolescents.  Adolescents from higher monthly income class were significantly more personally adequate, less social adequacy than those from the rest of the family classes.

Conclusion

Late-adolescents from higher-income families were found to be socially adjusted and significantly more independent than those specifically from low-income families. Student from late adolescents age group which was considered as 20-21 years in this study were more socially mature as they start thinking abstractly at this stage according to Piaget theory of cognitive development which make them enough social mature that they understand and express to the social environment in a better way. Kohlberg's second level 'conventional level' and forth stage 'maintaining social order' of the theory of moral development, focused on ensuring that social order is maintained. At this stage of moral development, people begin to consider society as a whole when making judgments. The focus is on maintaining law and order by following the rules, doing one's duty, and respecting authority. During this time, adolescents internalize the moral standards they have learned from their role models and from society.

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