A COMPARATIVE STUDY ON EMOTIONAL MATURITY BETWEEN ADOLESCENT BOYS AND GIRLS

Abstract

Adolescence, the teenage years, marks the transitional period between childhood and maturity, occurring roughly between the ages of 13 and 19. It is the passage from childhood to adolescence, composed of a set of transitions that unfold gradually and touch upon many aspects of the individual's behaviour - biological, cognitive, social and emotional. Emotional maturity is a significant predictor that may be equated with wealth, a general level of happiness, self-confidence, success in relationships, and an enhanced level of well being. An emotionally disturbed individual displays behaviour that is typical of a child: looking for sympathy, conceited, quarrelsome, infantile, self-centered and demanding, self-seeking and emotionally excitable. The problem the present investigation concerns itself with is to find out if there does exist a significant difference between adolescent boys and girls with regard to emotional maturity. The sample consists of 130 members - of which 65 are adolescent boys and 65 adolescent girls - from regular college in the age group 17-19 years. The critical ratio (C R) was found and findings indicate that there is a significant difference in contributory factors - such as emotional instability, social maladjustment, personality disintegration and a lack of independence - between adolescent boys and girls in the area of emotional maturity. While there is no significant difference in emotional regression between adolescent boys and girls, there is a significant difference between adolescent boys and girls in the domain of overall emotional maturity.