BELL’S ADJUSTMENT INVENTORY (BAI)

Introduction
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, 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. Kulshrestha (1979)

Adjustment can be defined 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. The term adjustment is often used as a synonym
for accommodation and adaptation. Strictly speaking, the term denotes the results
of equilibrium, which may be affect by either of these processes (Monroe, 1990). It is
used to emphasize the individual's struggle to along or survive in his or her social
and physical environment. Adjustment is the process of finding and adopting modes
of behaviour suitable to the environment or the changes in the environment (Good,
1959). Shafer (1961) emphasized that adjustment is the process by which a living
organism maintains a balance between its needs and the circumstances that
influence the satisfaction of these needs.

Characteristics of a well-adjusted person

A healthy and well-adjusted person should possess/display some observable
behavioral patterns.
● Maturity in thinking
● Emotional balance
● Warm and understanding towards others
● Free from tension due to routine events
 ● Independent in decision making
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.
Maladjustment is a process whereby an individual is unable to satisfy his biological,
psychological or social needs successfully and establishes an imbalance between
his personal needs and expectation of the society resulting in the disturbance of
psycho-equilibrium.

Adjustment disorder is a maladaptive response to a psychosocial stressor. It is

classified as a mental disorder (DSM 5, 2013). The maladaptive response usually
involves otherwise normal emotional and behavioral reactions that manifest more
intensely than one’s normal response, causing marked distress, preoccupation with
the stressor and functional impairment. Diagnosis of adjustment disorder is
common. Lifetime prevalence estimates for adults range from five percent to 21%.[7]
Adult women are diagnosed twice as often as men. Among children and
adolescents, girls and boys are equally likely to be diagnosed with an
adjustment disorder.

Domains of Adjustment
1. Home adjustment
Home promotes satisfaction and security. The degree of adjustment of an individual
exhibits in her behavior with others. So is the ease with home adjustment, if one is
well adjusted in home, most probably she must have been well adjusted socially
because the adjustment in different elds of life are related and effective to each
other. So, the home adjustment of students should be healthy one. The reaction of
well and poor adjusted students hoe is clearly seen in their behavior with their class
fellows. A well-adjusted child will be more cherished and happier in comparison to
the poor-adjusted.

2. Health Adjustment:
Health also plays 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.
3. Social Adjustment:
It is generally said that man is a social animal. In reference to this we may say that a
person develops his personality in her social environment, she tries to mold herself
on according to her society's social values and ideals and to achieve these values
and ideals her activities and behaviors will be same as other members of her society,
in which she lives and where her social needs and desires are satisfied and then she
feels herself socially adjusted. Area of social adjustment is influenced by social
maturity of the person. Maturity in social relationship means to establish good
relations with family neighbor's, playmates, class fellows, teachers and other
members of the society

4. Emotional Adjustment:
A person is emotionally adjusted if she expresses emotion in a proper situation in a
proper form. 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.

Review Of Literature

● Campbell (2003) conducted a research on the relation between the structure

of the self-concept and psychological adjustment has produced seemingly
inconsistent findings. Some research suggests that greater pluralism in self-
concept structure enhances adjustment, whereas other research suggests that
greater unity in the structure enhances adjustment. The measures of self-
concept pluralism were unrelated to one another, were unrelated to the
measures of self-concept unity, and were unrelated to the measures of
adjustment. The measures of self- concept unity were moderately related to
one another and were moderately related to the measures of adjustment.

● Heppner (1985) examined whether college students' self-appraisal of their

problem-solving skills is related to their psychological adjustment. Results
revealed that self-appraised ineffective (as opposed to effective) problem
solvers scored more negatively on a general index of psychological
adjustment differed on all of the hypothesized validity and clinical scales, and
differed on all of the hypothesized additional scales. The findings suggest
that whereas behavioral adjustment was previously linked to the ability to
cope with problematic situations, perhaps an equally important variable is the
person's appraisal of his/her coping ability.
 ● Gerdes (1994) conducted surveys on undergraduates assessing expectations
about their college adjustment, and later completed a second survey
assessing actual adjustment. Six years later inspection of academic
transcripts revealed which students had dropped out and whether they had
been in good academic standing or poor academic standing. Results
indicated that two different sets of items best discriminated among good-
standing students. Generally, emotional and social adjustment items
predicted attrition as well or better than academic adjustment items.

● Pritchard (2007) reported that law students and medical students experience
significant distress during their first year. They suspected that freshmen
undergraduates might experience similar distress in their transition to college.
This study examines the impact of the undergraduate experience on
freshmen. Data replicate the declines reported in law and medical students'
psychological and physical health. Negative coping tactics and perfectionism
predicted poorer physical health and alcohol use at the end of the year.
However, optimism and self-esteem predicted better physical and
psychological outcomes.

● Reynolds (2007) examined the extent to which two dimensions of cultural

adjustment predicted two specific career development. Although no
significant differences among the participants were found by region of origin
and gender, multivariate multiple regression analysis indicated that higher
levels of acculturative distress were predictive of lower levels of career
outcome expectations among these international students. Furthermore,
findings revealed that greater intercultural competence concerns were
predictive of lower career aspirations and lower career outcome expectations.
Implications of the findings for career counselling with African, Asian, and
Latin American international students are discussed.

● Raju (2007) examined the adjustment problems of school students from

urban and rural schools of Visakhapatnam district. The data was analysed to
examine the influence of individual factors on adjustment variables. The
major findings of the study have shown that adjustment of school children is
primarily dependent on the school variables like the class in which they are
studying, the medium of instruction present in the school, and the type of
management of the school. Parental education and occupation of the school
children also significantly influenced adjustment.

Aim: To assess the adjustment level of the subject in various domains.

Test Description
The Bell’s Adjustment Inventory (BAI) is a self-report inventory developed by R.K.
Ojha designed to assess the adjustment level of various classes of students. It
measures the adjustment capacity of individuals in various spheres of life. It is a
comprehensive inventory that evaluates various aspects of adjustment in four
distinct domains namely Home, Health, Social and Emotional with each part having
35 questions each. The scale is helpful in screening the individuals suffering with
maladjustment who may need assistance and counselling for a
happier life and excellent future.

Demographic info of the subject

Name: XYZ

Age: 20

Sex: Female
rd
Education: B.A. 3 year

Instructions

This test measures one’s adjustment level. A questionnaire containing 4 different

domains with 35 items each would be given to you. The items in each domain asks
questions related to the specified domain. Two response categories are given to
either agree or deny with the corresponding item
It is required for you to choose the options carefully and honestly. The answers will b
e kept confidential.

Precautions

It is first made sure that the subject is informed about the test\inventory and that
consent has been taken. Before starting the test, sitting arrangement was taken care
of along with the ventilation. The subject was made comfortable and was given
proper instructions that would guide them for the proper completion of the test.

Procedure
The subject was informed about the test and consent was taken. The inventory
containing the necessary instructions for the subject was given to be filled out. The
subject was given proper guidance needed while filling up the questionnaire.
Appropriate measures were taken up on the path of the administrator as well for the
successful completion of the test. After the subject is done filling up the response
sheet, the questionnaire is taken back and scoring of the responses is done
accordingly. The scores are then subjected to proper analysis and interpretation of
the results are made henceforth.

Result Table
Areas Home Health Social Emotional
Scores 12 4 17 4
Interpretation Average Average Unsatisfactory Good

Scoring:
Count the number of 'Yes'
For each Yes response 1 score is to be given.
The total number of Yes scores thus make total score of the individual in the part.

Result Interpretation
The subject scored a total of 12 in Home adjustment which comes under the score
range of Average. In the health adjustment, a total score of 4 was calculated
indicating an average level of adjustment. In both the domains, the subject is able to
regulate and adapt to the changing requirements and demands of both health and
physique indifferently. In the social adjustment domain, she scored a total score of
17 indicative of an unsatisfactory level of adjustment. This indicates that the subject
struggles to adjust to her social surroundings and boundaries. In the last section of
emotional adjustment, the subject scored 4 points which indicates good adjustment.
This means that the subject is able to identify, understand, and regulate one’s
emotions effectively.
Conclusion
The subject is able to successfully adapting to new routines, responsibilities, or
household dynamics. She is able to maintain good communication and
relationships with family or housemates. She has a positive outlook and resilience in
the face of health challenges. But she struggles in making or maintaining
friendships or meaningful relationships. She often struggles to navigate social
norms or expectations in new environments. When it comes to coping with stress,
change, or emotional challenges, she deals them in a healthy ways (e.g., problem-
solving, seeking support, using relaxation techniques)

References

Raju, M. V. R., & Rahamtulla, T. K. (2007). Adjustment problems among school

students. Journal of the Indian academy of applied psychology, 33(1), 73-79.

Reynolds, A. L., & Constantine, M. G. (2007). Cultural adjustment difficulties and

career development of international college students. Journal of Career
Assessment, 15(3), 338-350.

Pritchard, M. E., Wilson, G. S., & Yamnitz, B. (2007). What predicts adjustment among
college students? A longitudinal panel study. Journal of American college
health, 56(1), 15-22.

Gerdes, H., & Mallinckrodt, B. (1994). Emotional, social, and academic adjustment of
college students: A longitudinal study of retention. Journal of Counseling &
Development, 72(3), 281-288.

Heppner, P. P., & Anderson, W. P. (1985). The relationship between problem-solving

self-appraisal and psychological adjustment. Cognitive therapy and
research, 9, 415-427.

Campbell, J. D., Assanand, S., & Paula, A. D. (2003). The structure of the self‐concept
and its relation to psychological adjustment. Journal of personality, 71(1), 115-140.
Bell. H.M. The adjustment inventory. Palo Alto, Stanford University, Stanford
University Press, 1935.

Agarwal, K. (2003). A comparative study of adolescents level of Adjustment in

relation to the academic success and failure.

Indian Journal of psychometric and education (2003) 34 (2), pp. 172-176