Different Dimensions of Stress among Adolescent Orphans: Counselling as a Solution

Abstract

In this study, stress-related issues unique to institutionalised adolescent orphans were
identified, their level of stress was evaluated, and a case was made for counselling as the best
intervention strategy. The goals were to quantify and assess stress levels, examine stressors
and their causes, comprehend counselling and its scientific method, and defend counselling as
an evidence-based intervention.
The Stress Scale Manual, created by Dr. Prerna Puri, Dr. Tejinder Kaur, and Prof.
Manju Mehta in 2001 to measure stress levels, was used in the study as part of a descriptive
research approach to gather sociodemographic data. A statistical analysis was done to look at
the frequency and seriousness of stressors and associated problems. Based on the results,
evidence-based counselling strategies were suggested to address the identified stress-related
issues among the targeted group.
In Tiruchirappalli District, 11 government-sponsored orphanages housed 1,021
adolescent orphans between the ages of 13 and 17. The participants were chosen from a total
of 64 orphanages in the district using a multistage random sampling method. Eleven
government-sponsored orphanages were chosen using simple random sampling. Two
orphanages for boys, two for girls, and two for mixed-gender children were chosen at random
from among these. Data were gathered from all 360 participants using a census method
because there were few adolescent orphans in the defined age range.
The Stress Scale Manual, which consists of 34 items scored on a four-point scale, was
used to collect the data. The responses of each participant were graded using the established
norms for the scale. The split-half method was used to calculate the tool's reliability, and the
result was a coefficient of 0.90.
After the samples were identified, data were collected, cleaned up, and then analysed
with the aid of SPSS software. The size of the effects of stress was calculated statistically.
The appropriate counselling strategies were then distilled and presented to support
counselling as an efficient intervention for addressing stress-related issues after relevant
literature was reviewed to identify them.
The distribution of different stress dimensions among the adolescent orphans was
revealed by the study's findings. The majority of respondents (44.7%) and career & academic
stress (40.8%) both reported medium levels of overall stress. While irritability showed a
fairly evenly distributed distribution among the respondents, stress-proneness was found to be
at a medium level for 42.8% of respondents. A significant portion of respondents (38.1%)
demonstrated a high level of stress management skill deficiency, while the majority of
respondents (46.4%) had a medium level of easy-going personality. Meaningless thoughts
and a bad mood were reported at medium and low levels, respectively. Physical signs of
stress were moderately common (47.8%), and respondents' anxious behaviour was
moderately common (51.1%). Overall stress was reported at medium levels by a significant
percentage of respondents (46.4%).
These results shed light on the prevalence and distribution of stress-related
dimensions in the population under study, highlighting areas that call for targeted
interventions and counselling strategies to deal with particular stress-related problems.