Adolescents? Perception of Adjustment Problems and School Counseling Services

The present study was designed to investigate adolescents perception of their adjustment problems and school counselling services. The study was conducted on 100 students of VIII standard randomly selected from 10 schools of Chandigarh. Student problem checklist, prepared by Department of Educational Psychology and Foundation of Education, National Council of Educational Research and Training. New Delhi, and a self-prepared questionnaire was used. The results revealed that school going adolescents perceived low adjustment in the domains of studies, occupation and health. They perceived high adjustment in domains related to economic status, family, anxiety, religion and social areas. The girls showed higher level of maladjustment for health domain in comparison to the boys. The boys showed a higher level of maladjustment in the occupation and school domains. All the respondents emphasized on the need of counselling, however, very few had actually approached any professional for counselling and were not very clear about the role of counsellors in schools. The study revealed that adolescents approached teachers for counselling in the absence of professional counsellors in the school set up. This study highlights the need for orienting and educating the adolescents on the need and importance of seeking professional counselling at the time of any problem and for making good adjustment in life.