ABSTRACT:
Background: A descriptivestudy was conducted to assess the adjustment problems and their coping strategies among school students residing in selected Boarding schools, Kottayam, Kerala. A total sample of 60 school studentswere selected using purposive sampling technique. The objectives of the study were to assess the level of adjustment problems and coping strategies used among school studentsand to find out the correlation between the level of adjustment problems and level of coping strategies used, to find out the association between the level of adjustment problems among school studentswith their selected demographic variables. The final objective was to find out the association between the level of coping strategies used among school studentswith their demographic variables. Materials and Methods: A descriptive design was adopted for the study. A sample comprising of 60school studentswere enrolled using the purposive sampling technique. The conceptual framework used in the study was based on Imogene King’s goal attainment model. Results: Data analysis were done using descriptive and inferential statistics. Findings of the study revealed that The mean score for severe adjustment problems was 20.29±1.19, that of those with moderate adjustment problems was 15.05±1.17, and that of those with mild adjustment problem was 7.79±0.89. Most to the samples 38.33% (23) had inadequate coping strategies while 36.67%(22) had moderately adjustment coping strategies and 25% (15) had adequate coping strategies. The mean score for inadequate coping strategies was 57.49±7.64, that of those with moderately adequate coping strategies was 95±5.45, and that of those with mild adjustment problem was 111.27±6.64. There is a negative correlation between the level of adjustment problems and the level of coping strategies used among the school students. This means that as the level of coping strategies increased the level of adjustment problems decreased among the school students. There was no association between level of coping strategy and level of adjustment problems with selected demographic variables. Conclusion: The findings of the study confirmed that as the level of coping strategies increased the level of adjustment problems decreased among the school students residing in selected boarding schools.