Psychosocial Dynamics in Adolescence

Abstract

Adolescence is a period of several psychological developments and challenges, making it essential to analyse behaviours and take preventable measures. This study aims to explore the variables of emotional expressivity, emotional resilience, and social connectedness in adolescents in order to determine their effect on daily adolescent functioning and improvements for well-being. The study used a sample size of 101 adolescents ranging from 10-19 years of age. The scales used to measure the variables using a questionnaire were as followed: Brief Resilience Scale (BRS) by Smith et al. (2008), Positive Expressivity Scale (PES) and Negative Expressivity Scale (NES) by Barchard (2001), The Social Connectedness Scale by Lee and Robbins (1995). The statistical analysis conducted employed descriptive statistics, T-test for independent samples, One way ANOVA, and Pearson correlation. The findings revealed a statistically significant difference between male and female respondents with regards to the variable of resilience and social connectedness with males reporting a higher mean score than females in the present sample. Emotional expressivity, social connectedness, emotional resilience did not differ significantly across the age groups of 10-19. Positive expressivity was positively correlated with negative expressivity and resilience, Positive expressivity was also negatively correlated with social connectedness. These findings help to understand the relationships between these variables in adolescent lives which can strengthen interpersonal relationships and reduce behavioural problems. Further, it can help understand variations over ages and genders and help work towards age and gender specific treatments and programs.