A Study on Self-Concept, Stress and Adaptation Beharior of Junior School Girls

일부 여자 중학생의 자아개념 및 스트레스와 적응행동에 관한 연구

The recent problems of adolescents are leading us to amphasize school mental health program. Therefore, for the first step of that program, this study was attempted to find out the students' daily life stress, their adaptation beharior to resolve that stress, and their self-concept which has an effect on that beharior, to analyze the relationship among those three variables, and to provide basic data which help maintain and promote students' adaptability and mental health. The subjects were 4 classes each grade, 743 students who were chosen as a sample subject among the total of 3,250 students of a junior girls' school in Seoul by stratified sampling method. The Oquestionnair surrey was done from April 1, 1985 to April 6, 1985. The instruments were (1) a part of Junghoon chois' perceptual Orientation Scale for measuring self-perception of students, (2) Rosenberg's Questionnair for measuring students' evaluation of self-esteem, (3) modified Bell's Adoptive Behavior Questionnair, and (4) the Measuring scale for stress developed by the investigator. The collected data were analyzed by using descriptive statistics, x²-test, t-test, ANOVA, and Pearsons' Correlation. The results are summarized as follows: 1. The range of mean score of self-concept, stress, and adaptation beharior is 1-5 respectively. The mean score of self concept was 3.45. The mean score of stress was 2.53, and the degree of stress was in order of the problem of study and grade marks, girl friend, appearance, and relaxation. The subjects preferred effective long-term adaptation method (Mean=2.81) to ineffective short-term adaptation method. (Mean=2.47) 2. The self-concept had the highest degree when students were 1st grade, in good health condition, taking high grade marks, both parents existing, fathers' educational level being above college, and being in high economic status. The degree of stress was significantly high when students were 3rd grade, in poor health condition, having low grade marks, being in poor economic status, and fathers' educational level being under elimentary school. In relation with adaptation method, 1st grade students used more sbort-term and long-term method, and when students had high grade marks, being in high economic status. they used more long-term adaptation behavior. 3. Two Hypotheses of this research were tested: Hypothesis 1. "The higher the students' self-concept is, the more they use long-term adaptation method." was accepted. (r=.2482, p<.01) (t=-4.99, p<.001) Hypothesis 2. "The higher the students' stress is, the more they use short-term adaptation method." was accepted. (r=.2897, p<.01) (t= -7.51, p<.001) In conclusion, a person in charge of school health can help students to adapt effectively by planning and implementing methods which highten their self-concept and lower their stress. But because the correlation among self-concept, stress and adaptation behavior was at a low level, I think that the study, which confirm the relationship of those three variables, is needed.