Effect of Working Status of Mother and Academic Scores on the Psychological Well- Being of Higher Secondary School Students

Abstract

Adolescence is a transition phase for secondary school students as they go through physical and emotional changes. Mother act as a pillar in this very sensitive and important phase of a student’s life. Of late, there has been a remarkable growth in the number of mothers entering the workforce either because of monetary needs or being self-independent. This has prompted a radical shift in the goals and practices of raising a child when compared to the non-working mothers. The present paper attempts to find the effect of mother’s working status and academic scores on the psychological well-being of higher secondary school students. Participants of the study consisted of 200 higher secondary school students (16-18 years). `Students were selected using random sampling technique from the city of Bengaluru, Karnataka, India. The tool used includes academic scores of students during the last three years and Ryff’s psychological well-being scale. The data obtained were analyzed statistically by using independent sample t-test and two-way ANOVA. Results of the study indicated that there exists no significant difference in psychological wellbeing of students based on mother’s working status, but it clearly shows that the students who have high academic scores tend to have better psychological wellbeing when compared with their counterparts who have low academic scores. Results also find no significant interaction effect of mothers working status and academic scores on the psychological wellbeing of students. The present study implies that the child’s holistic development is not solely dependent on the mother but the whole family and society contributes to it.