BELL’S ADJUSTMENT INVENTORY
NAME- Mannat Mitra
ENROLMENT NO- A1503320097
COURSE- M.A COUNSELING PSYCHOLOGY
SEMESTER- 2
AIM-
To assess the level of individual’s adjustment personality by using Dr. R.K. ojha, 1994.
INTRODUCTION-
WHAT IS ADJUSTMENT-
Adjustment, in psychology, the behavioral process by which humans and
other animals maintain an equilibrium among their various needs or between their needs and the
obstacles of their environments. A sequence of adjustment begins when a need is felt and ends
when it is satisfied. Hungry people, for example, are stimulated by their physiological state to
seek food. When they eat, they reduce the stimulating condition that impelled them to activity,
and they are thereby adjusted to this particular need. In general, the adjustment process involves
four parts: (1) a need or motive in the form of a strong persistent stimulus, (2) the thwarting or
nonfulfillment of this need, (3) varied activity, or exploratory behaviour accompanied
by problem solving, and (4) some response that removes or at least reduces the initiating
stimulus and completes the adjustment.
Social and cultural adjustments are similar to physiological adjustments. People strive to be
comfortable in their surroundings and to have their psychological needs (such as love or
affirmation) met through the social networks they inhabit. When needs arise, especially in new
or changed surroundings, they impel interpersonal activity meant to satisfy those needs. In this
way, people increase their familiarity and comfort with their environments, and they come to
expect that their needs will be met in the future through their social networks. Ongoing
difficulties in social and cultural adjustment may be accompanied by anxiety or depression.
CONCEPT OF ADJUSTMENT-
Adjustment is a behavioural process by which a person maintains balance among various needs
that one encounters at a given point of time. Each and every situation of life demands that the
person concerned should be able to effectively perform in accordance with some guiding
principles and should be able to strike a balance among various forces. Adjustment is defined as
a process wherein one builds variations in the behaviour to achieve harmony with oneself, others
or the environment with an aim to maintain the state of equilibrium between the individual and
the environment. Adjustment has been analyzed as an achievement as well as a process in
psychology. Interpreting adjustment as an achievement would necessitate effective performance
in doing what one was expected to and engaged in. This would mean judging the quality on
certain parameters. However, psychologists have been interested to examine adjustment as a
process. This entails examining the interaction of the individual with the external world. If the
relationship between the individual and his/ her environment is in accordance with the norms
then the adjustment is achieved. The behaviour of the person concerned would be considered
normal. Gross deviation from the norms demand clinical investigations and interventions. Such
deviations are defined as maladjustment. Severe deviations can be classified as abnormal
behaviour. The Psychology of Adjustment course is offered in order to help the students relate
their real life experiences to the constructs and theories of psychology. Striking the balance
between mental health and personal adjustment, this course uses scientific approach to examine
key human processes. Besides fostering critical examination of human behaviour, it might help
see things in a broader perspective. It does provide an opportunity for self-reflection and
understanding. A possible range of behaviour in any given situation is repeatedly taken as
examples and analyzed to understand what constitutes normality and hence shows the level of
adjustment and what falls short and is interpreted as maladjustment. It runs on the brink of
psychopathology and touches it only in the last module, except two topics.
CHARACTERISTICS OF ADJUSTMENT-
Maturity in thinking.
Emotional balance.
Warm and understanding towards others.
Free from tension due to routine events.
Independent in decision making.
TYPES OF ADJUSTMENT-
Normal Adjustment
Abnormal adjustment
NORMAL ADJUSTMENT
When a relationship between an individual and his environment is according to
established norms then that relationship is considered as normal adjustment. A child who
obey his parents, who is not unduly stubborn; who studies regularly and has neat habit is
considered adjusted.
ABNORMAL ADJUSTMENT
Abnormal Adjustment means problem behavior or popular speaking maladjustment.
Maladjustment takes place when the relationship between an individual and his
environment is not according to established standards or norms. A delinquent child
adjusts with his environment but he is a maladjusted child because he is violating certain
moral codes.
ADJUSTMENT MECHANISM-
An adjustment mechanism may be defined as "any habitual method of overcoming blocks,
reaching goals, satisfying motives, relieving frustrations and maintains equilibrium".Adjustment
mechanism is a device by which an individual reduces his tensions or anxiety in order to adjust
himself properly with the environment. It helps him to regain his mental health.To solve his
problems or to meet conflicting situations a child's uses certain self adjustive, self defensive
approaches which may protect him from his frustactive situations. These are called defense
mechanism.For e.g. A child is trained to sleep through out the night without asking for milk. A
child who plays his role successfully gets love and emotional security from his mother and he
adjusts well to his home environment.On the other hand, if the child does not sleep properly and
carries on his infantile role, he may get scolding and spanking from his mother. He may not be
looked after properly and his mother's attitude may become indifferent and formal about him.
Naturally the child may feel frustration.For e.g. Once the child learns that while he is sleeping,
his mother does not remain with him, his first reaction may be of frustration, then he may
accommodate and later on, he may assimilate in the situation so completely that he may accept it
ads life and he may not mind his mothers going out of his room while he is awake.The conscious
and the rational method are known as direct method and unconscious method is known as
indirect method.
REVIEW OF LITERATURE-
Sharma, M., & Joshi (2016) study state that in the period of adolescence, family environment
as well as self-efficacy plays an effective role in different areas (Home, Health, Social and
Emotional) of adjustment, especially in females. To study the role of these variables in
different areas of adjustment, the present study was planned. The objectives of the study are
to examine the relationship between measures of self-efficacy and family environment with
home, health, social and emotional adjustment, and to identify the predictors of each area of
adjustment (home, health, social & emotional). A total sample of 102 female adolescents
between the age range of 14 and 16 years were selected for the present study. The female
adolescents were assessed with, Bell‟s Adjustment Inventory (Hindi Adaptation), Family
Environment Scale and self-efficacy questionnaire. The data were analyzed by using
Pearson‟s Product Moment method of correlation, and Stepwise Regression analysis. The
results revealed that (i) Home adjustment was found to have a significant negative
relationship with Intellectual Cultural
Orientation, Achievement Recreation Orientation, Moral Religious Emphasis and Organization whereas
positive significant association was found between home adjustment and Conflict, (iii) Stepwise
regression analysis found only one predictor of home adjustment i.e., Organization, whereas active
recreational orientation was identified as a predictor of health adjustment. Further analyses revealed that
social self-efficacy, Intellectual Cultural Orientation and Achievement Recreation Orientation
significantly predict social adjustment among female adolescents, while emotional adjustment was
predicted by two variables, i.e. social self efficacy and conflict
Richard. M. bateman, 2014, The Effect of Work Experience on High-School Students as
Revealed by the Bell Adjustment Inventory.the values to be derived from work experience by
high school students have long been a isssue frequently discussed in education literature. Since,
1935, the year in which the national youth administration was established with the purpose of
giving part time employement to the needy students, the amount of claims for the value to be
derived such activity has increased extensively. One of the claims frequently, mentioned is that
work experience does much toward preparing students to become better adjusted citizen.
Maha-AL- handawi, 2012, Temperament, school adjustment, and academic achievement:
existing research and future directions. Since the 1980s, research has been examining the role
of temperament in education. In particular, academic achievement and school adjustment were
among the first variables to be examined. Subsequently, several studies have documented
associations between temperament and either academic achievement or school adjustment.
However, no review of this literature has been conducted to obtain a clear understanding of the
findings of existing research and the issues associated with them. Thus, the purpose of this
article is to review the literature relating temperament to academic achievement and school
adjustment. This review examined three areas in the study of temperament (a) the definition of
temperament, (b) the measurement of temperament, and (c) the results of the reviewed studies.
All the reviewed studies found significant correlations between children's temperaments and
school adjustment as well as between temperament and academic achievement. Detailed
descriptions of the characteristics of the reviewed studies are provided. Considerations for future
research directions are also discussed.
Morris bell, 2010, Bell Object Relations Inventory for Adolescents and Children:
Reliability, Validity, and Factorial Invariance. The Bell Object Relations Inventory (BORI;
Bell, 1995) is a self-report instrument that measures deficits in object relations ego functioning.
It has demonstrated clinical and research utility in adult populations. This article reports the
development of a version of the BORI for children ages 11 to 17, including studies of reliability,
validity, and factorial invariance. Data of 705 children from public schools and 110 children
from clinics and residential treatments were used. Of the 45 original BORI true/false items, 3
were dropped as inappropriate and most others were rewritten for easier reading. An additional
16 items were created to capture unique features of adolescent experiences in relationships.
Items were tested in focus groups and revised accordingly. Eight items were dropped because of
low communalities, so that 50 items were included in the final factor analysis. Assessments
using self-report items from Behavioral Assessment Scale for Children (BASC; Reynolds &
Camphaus, 1992) and the Personality Inventory forYouth (PIY) were also obtained to test
concurrent validity. Oblique rotation yielded 5 factors. Four were very similar to the 4 from the
adult version and were named accordingly: Alienation, Insecure Attachment, Egocentricity, and
Social Incompetence. The fifth scale was comprised mostly of new items and was called Positive
Attachment. Scales showed excellent factorial invariance and good internal consistency. Scales
generally had very low intercorrelations reflecting their relative independence. Although
differences were found for gender and race, the effect sizes were small. Support for construct
validity came from moderate correlations with concurrent BASC and PIA scores, analyses of
variance showing greater deficits in object relations in pathological subgroups compared with
normals, and a trend analysis showed that Alienation scores followed a lawful relationship with
increasing severity of psychopathology. These initial findings support the psychometric integrity
of the instrument and its construct validity. Results indicate continuity of constructs between the
adult and adolescent versions. The Positive Attachment subscale may prove a valuable addition
for clinical and research applications.
DISCRIPTION OF TOOL-
Theoritical background-
The present adjustment inventory was prepared in 1968, whern one of the ph.D students was
conducting the research work under the guidance of the author. This inventory includes four
parts- home, health, social and emotional. Each part has 35 questions, which are answered on a
three point scale. The inventory has been developed in three stages.
Development of the inventory- at the first stage, a large number of questions, 200 in numbers
and 50 for each area of adjustment, were constructed in hindi. These questions were mainly
concerned with problems of students in four areas. The first draft of these 200 questions was
given to 100 teachers of intermediate colleges, 100 college lectures and 130 individuals from
every walk of life. They were asked to answer each question on a three point scale yes, no and ?.
after scoring of 330 questionmnaires, the items were analysed for the discriminatory power
(DP).
At the second stage, the most discriminatory items, 41-home, 39-health, 40-social, and 47-
emotional were choosing for constructing the second draft out of 200 questions. Only those
questions were selected from the first draft, whose discriminatory power was more than 0.80. in
all 9 questions from home area, 11 questions from health area, 10 questions from social area and
13 questions from emotional area were rejected. The remainng questions in the form an
inventory were again administered to a sample of 100 high school, 100 intermediate and 100
graduate students. Again discriminatory power was calculated for the second time. Only 35
questions were retained for each area.
At the third stage, adjustment inventory was administered to a sample of 800 boys and girls of
high school, intermediate, degree and post graduate classes.
Ameen, M., & Khan, M. A. (2020) study was undertaken to study the Effect of Counselling
on Social Adjustment of Underachievers. An experimental research method was adopted for
conduct of the study. The initial sample comprised of 441 high school students of 9th class
from two educational zones viz. Baramulla and Singpora, Kallan of District Baramulla in
Kashmir. Raven‟s Advanced Progressive Matrices (Non-Verbal) was administered for the
measurement of intelligence. Mean of two annual examination results (7th & 8th) was
considered as the criterion for academic achievement. The subjects whose academic
achievement scores lie 10th percentile or more below their intelligence percentile scores were
considered as underachievers. The final sample comprised of 164 underachievers who were
divided into experimental and control groups (n= 82 each). Qadri‟s Urdu Adaptation of Bell‟s
Adjustment Inventory was employed for the measurement of Social Adjustment (Pre-test).
Individual counselling was provided to each sample subject in experimental group by making
use of eclectic approach of counselling. Counselling process continued for forty two days. The
post-test was conducted by again employing Qadri‟s Urdu Adaptation of Bell‟s Adjustment Inventory.
„t‟ test was employed to see the effect of counselling. The results revealed that counselling has
significantly increased the social adjustment of underachievers (experimental group). High mean score of
pre-test indicates that before counselling intervention the students were socially less adjusted. The
students were in conflict with the world and with themselves. They were not properly adjusted with the
surroundings and hesitated to get involved with the outside world. While solving their own problems and
proceeding forward they were encouraged to be more social so that they could associate better with their
environment. The investigators also found that the students achieve low because of their low interaction
with other students and with teachers regarding their subject matter which resulted in their
underachievement. Because of their poor social adjustment the investigators during the counselling
sessions helped them to realize that one should have a realistic approach while dealing with life. They
were helped to understand that there is no harm to get associated with the surrounding. This resulted in
more positive and successful outcomes and they became socially skilful and well-adjusted which is
evident from the low mean score of post-test
Reliability-
The adjustment inventory possess high reliability. The reliability coefficients were determined by
split-half and test retest method. For split-half the correlation between odd and even items was
calculated and corrected by the spearmen-brown formula. Similarly, in case of test retest method,
the inventory was again administered on a sample of 200 students after a period of two months.
The reliability coefficients are shown in table 1.
RELIABILITY COEFFICIENTS OF THE INVENTORY-
Method home health social emotional
Split half 0.84 0.81 0.87 0.89
test retest 0.91 0.90 0.89 0.92
Validity-
The adjustment inventory was validated against K.Kumars adjustment inventory. The two
inventory scores yielded a positive correlations. This study was conducted on a saple of 400
cases of four educational groups. Pearsons are given in table 2.
VALIDITY COEFFICIENT OF THE INVENTORY-
AREAS HOME HEALTH SOCIAL EMOTIONAL
1. Home 0.72
2. Health 0.79
3. Social 0.82
4. Emotional 0.81
MATERIAL REQUIRED-
Test booklet, test manual, test questionnaire, pen, pencil,
DEMOGRAPHIC DETAILS-
name- XYZ
class- post graduated
sex- female
age- 24 years old
father’s occupation- Business man.
ADMINISTRATION-
The conduction began with a brief conversation with the subject to make her comfortable. Post
rapport formation, she was briefed up about the inventory and the procedure for taking the it. She
was told that the questionnaire entailed items that there were no right or wrong answers to the
questions on this inventory. The subject was asked to read each question carefully and select one
of the five options that best suited her views. After the conduction, introspective report was
taken. Finally, she was thanked for her participation
INSTRUCTIONS-
The adjustment inventory has four parts. Each part has 35 questions. In the left side of each
question yes, no and ? have been given. If you agree with the statement or to the facts mentioned
in the question, encircle yes. If your answer is negative,i.e.. you are not agreeing to the facts
mentioned in the question, encircle no. if you can neither answer the question in yes and no, then
encircle question mark ?. there is no time limit, but should answer all the items quickly.
PROCEDURE-
The participant was informed that her participation was voluntary, anonymous and inform
consent was taken. Then the subject was called and was made comfortable with the environment
and its surroundings. A short background and importance of the test was also explained in order
to build the rapport. After the rapport formation, the subject was then given OCI test booklet and
a pencil. The subject was asked to read the instructions given on the first page of the test booklet.
After reading the instructions, the subject was asked to fill the response sheet. The subject was
told that there is no time limit to the test, however it would be preferable that the task is
completed within forty minutes. Behavioral observation was also made during the test. After the
completion of the test, introspective report was taken and then the subject was informed that the
data would be used for research purpose only and the subject’s responses and result.
INSTROSPECTIVE REPORT-
“I was excited to know my result.”
OBSERVATIONAL REPORT-
The subject was very comfortable and excited to know impact of organizational climate on her
PRECAUTIONS-
The place for administering was comfortable and had no outside disturbance.
The subject was motivated.
The language of the administrator was simple.All the resources required for the test were
provided.
SCORING-
Scoring of the inventory is most easy. You have to count the number of responses where the
individual has encircled yes only. For each encircled yes response 1 score is to be given. The
total number of yes scores thus make total score of the individual in the part. You are not
concerned to the no and ? response.
The inventory is totally negative inventory. When an individual answer in yes, it indicates his
difficulties. If he answers in no. it indicate that the individual has no such difficulty. If one
answers in question mark ?, his answer is neither affirmative nor negative towards difficulties.
Therefore, only yes, responses are scored to measure adjustment difficulty.
RESULTS OBTAINED-
AREA HOME HEALTH SOCIAL EMOTIONAL TOTAL
SCORES 6 9 17 9 41
INTERPRETATION good average unstaisfactory average average
DISCUSSION-
HOME: The subject scored 6 and interpretation accordingly is good; he is good with
adjusting at home, His relations with the family members and parents. He obeys the
rules and regulations that are to be followed athome and understands that the
responsibilities assigned to him. . He feels greatful for the belongingness that his family
has , loves his parents equally. They have a healthy relationship. Home adjustment is
the student's adjustive behaviour towards their home conditions pertaining to parameters
such as home atmosphere, marital relationship of parents, family finance, sibling
relationships, and parents attitude towards adolescent's social life.
HEALTH, The subject scored 9 and interpretation according to this level is average. The
subject has a average level of adjustment in the health area. Health plays a prime role in the
development of one's personality. Sound health is the source of satisfaction and adjustment. The
person should be physically as well as mentally healthy. Physically and mentally healthy person
always feels herself well-adjusted in society then the unhealthy one. An unhealthy person always
cries for her weakness and could not participate fully with others. Physically and mentally
healthy person will be less guided by emotions. This is known as the roof of personality. Such
physically and mentally healthy person feels themselves secure and content in their life.
SOCIAL, my subject scored 17 and interpretation according to this level is unsatisfactory. The
subject has an unsatisfactory level of adjustment in social area. He is not able to or very hardly
adjust socially. It is generally said that man is a social animal. In reference to this we may say
that a person develop his personality around his social environment, he tries to mold herself on
according to her society's social values and ideals and to achieve these values and ideals ones
activities and behaviours will be same as other members of the society, in which they live in and
where their social needs and desires are satised. That is when they feel socially adjusted. Area of
social adjustment is inuenced by social maturity of the person. Maturity in social relationship
means to establish good relations with family neighbours, playmates, class fellows, teachers and
other members of the society.
EMOTIONAL- The subject scored 9 and interpretation according to the level is avarage. It
means the subject falls into category of average level in emotional area. A person is emotionally
adjusted if they express emotion in a proper manner. An emotionally stable person may be well
adjusted and emotionally unstable conditions causes mental disorders and maladjustment.
Emotional adjustment is essential for creating a sound personality. It is the roof of personality
adjustment and physical, intellectual mental and esthetical adjustments are possible when
emotional adjustment is made.
CONCLUSION-
The subject scored home- 6 good, health-9 average, social-17 unsatisfactory, and emotional-9
average , in total subject scored 41 which falls into average category of adjustment.
APLLICATION OF THE TOOL-
Bell Adjustment Inventory as an instrument for rating the personality adjustments of members of
the freshman classes. The Inventory provides four measures of adjustment, and also a total score
which is the sum of the scores of the four measures. The test has proved to be of value in
determining cases of maladjustment and the several scores furnish a clue to the sources of such
maladjustment. The results have been sufficiently satisfactory to warrant the use of the scores in
comparing certain student and family groups. Bell’s adjustment inventory can be applicable on
high school students, graduates and post graduates and degree holders.
REFERENCES-
Bateman, R. M. (1949). The Effect of Work Experience on High-School Students as Revealed by
the Bell Adjustment Inventory. The Journal of Educational Research, 43(4), 261-269.
Al-Hendawi, M. (2013). Temperament, school adjustment, and academic achievement: existing
research and future directions. Educational Review, 65(2), 177-205.
Bell, M. (2003). Bell Object Relations Inventory for adolescents and children: Reliability,
validity, and factorial invariance. Journal of personality assessment, 80(1), 19-25.
Ameen, M., & Khan, M. A. (2020). Effect of Counselling on Social Adjustment of
Underachievers. International Journal of Psychosocial Rehabilitation, 24(06).