Synopsis 1

INTRODUCTION

“A nation’s most important and precious resource

is it’s younger generation who constitute its hope
for continued achievement and productivity.”
(Stanger,2004)

Biologically there are different stages in the life of a human being,

which includes pre-natal, birth, neo-natal, infancy, childhood,
adolescence and adulthood. Among these stages adolescence have an
important role. The word adolescence is derived from a Latin word which
means to grow to maturity. It is a transitional period from childhood to
adulthood. This period is also named ‘teenage’. A teenager is a person
between the age of 13 and 19. There is no more crucial period of life than
the age up to 13 years.(Suria kanthi, 1997).

An adolescent is subjected to a number of physical and

psychological changes such as on set of puberty (biological changes),
emergence of more advanced cognitive abilities (cognitive changes), self-
image, intimacy, and relation with adults and peers (emotional changes),
transition to new roles in the society (social changes). Adolescence is a
time of experimentation, idealism, conflict and uncertainty. Because,
during this period an individual is neither a child nor an adult. He has
passed through child hood and is yet to become an adult. During this
period, the individual’s status is vague and there is confusion about the
roles the individual is expected to play. Some times he is expected to
behave as an adult and at other times, he is treated as a child. As a result,
 Synopsis 2

the life of many adolescent people is a painful tug of war filled with
mixed emotions, conflict in demands from parents, teachers, and peer
groups and from one self.

During adolescence the individual comes under social pressure

and faces new conditions for which he received little training during child
hood. He experiences conflicts between himself and society. Changes of
role in society, unfavorable relations in home, failure to decide his status
in society, difficulty in adjusting with opposite sex, unnecessary
restrictions on movement etc. give rise to tensions and worries. At this
stage emotions fluctuate very frequently and quickly. He tries to oppose
the views of parents and teachers. But he is not always successful. It
makes him restless, moody, emotionally perturbed and touchy. The
adolescent lives an intensely emotional life, in which the rhythm of
positive and negative phases of Behaviour is in constant alteration
between intense excitement and Frustration (Arjunan,2006).

“In the adolescent population it is estimated that fifteen to twenty

percent of all adolescents will have at least one episode of Frustration”
(Essau & Dobson, 1999). Teenage girls are at twice the risk of
developing frustration compared with the teenage boys (Kazdin, 1990). In
addition a person seems to be more at risk for developing Frustration in
adolescent stage than any other stages. According to Gottib and
Sommerfeld, 1999 even the adult depression has roots in
adolescence.Frustration is a feeling of powerlessness and helplessness
when some thing goes wrong in our lives or when the result of a certain
action does not meet our expectation. In the view of Chauhan,2007
Frustration is an unpleasant feeling that result when motive satisfaction is
blocked or delayed. Which results in to anger and disappoinment. Sources
of Frustration may be internal or external. Internal sources of Frustration
 Synopsis 3

involve personal deficiencies such as a lack of confidence or fear of

social situations that prevent one from reaching a goal. Conflict can also
be an internal source of Frustration when one has competing goals that
interfere with one another. External causes of Frustration involve
conditions outside the person such as a blocked road; or conditions linked
to the person's actions but not directly such as lack of money, or lack of
sexual activity. In psychology, passive aggressive Behavioural is a
method of dealing with frustration. According to Miller "Frustration
produces instigation to a number of different types of response, one of
which is an instigation to some form of aggression."

There can be many reasons of Frustration;these reasons will be

according to the person’s environment. But the basic reason of the
Frustration is the “Need” of something. What ever the need is, when the
need of a person is not fulfilled then that person become Frustrated.
Frustration can be considered a problem-response behaviour, and can
have a number of effects, depending on the mental health of the
individual. In positive cases, this Frustration will build until a level that is
too great for the individual to contend with, and thus produce action
directed at solving the inherent problem. In negative cases, however, the
individual may perceive the source of frustration to be outside of their
control, and thus the Frustration will continue to build, leading eventually
to further problematic behaviour like violent reaction. It is certain kinds
of behaviours which are annoying or embarassing to the other
individuals. Adults frequently label such behaviours as Problem
Behaviour.In case of adolescence it is evidenced by the studies previosly
conducted that they usually express their Frustration in the form of
certain Behavioural Problems such as withdroness,truancy, agression and
so on.
 Synopsis 4

Behavioural Problems among adolescent is a deviation from the

accepted pattern of behaviour on the part of the adolescent when they are
exposed to an inconsistent social and cultural environment(Verma, 1964).
But these are not to be equated with the presence of psychiatric illness in
the person as these are only the symptoms or reactions to emotional and
environmental stress. But if these behaviours are allowed to continue,
they are likely to pose problems of adjustment to the person in his school
and later life.

NEED AND SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY

Adolescence is one of the life’s fascinating and perhaps most complex

stages, a time when young people take on new responsibilities and experiments
with independence. They search for identity, learn to apply values acquired in
early child hood and develop skills that will help them become caring and
responsible adults.

When adolescents are supported and encouraged by caring adults they

thrive in unimaginable ways, becoming resourceful and contributing members
of families and communities. Thus young people can change the world in
astonishing ways using their creativity, energy and enthusiasm.

Unfortunately at present most of our youngsters are not blessed with the
support of adults, conflict between an adult and an young is not a new thing,
teenagers and their parents often blames each others behavior, parents feel
they have lost any sort of control or influence over their child. Adolescents
wants their parents to be clear and consistent about rules and boundaries, but at
the same time may resent any restrictions on their growing freedom and ability
to decide for them selves, as a result feelings like stress, strains and
Frustrations became an inseparable part of our youngsters life.
 Synopsis 5

Stanleyhall calls adolescence as a period of great stress and strain,

storm and strife. Holling worth calls this as period of temporary insanity.In the
view of Morgan and associates,there may be various causes of Frustration and
related stresses like environmental, physical, or it may be people like parents,
teachers or other elders. Some times the individual may set his eyes on a
certain goal which is beyond his ability to achieve. And in other cases the
parents may be over aspiring about the children, in such cases both parents and
child suffer Frustration

If Frustration continues, our body enters the second stage- resistance.

Body attempts to adjust to the stress. These Frustrations threaten the
individual’s psychological balance. Psychologists opined that an upset or
Frustrated adolescent may express his negative feelings with sulky behaviors
rather than obvious distress.

So considering this situation the present study is intended to find out the
probable relationship between Frustration and Behavioural Problems among
adolescent students.The following questions are raised based on the above
mentioned discussion.

1. Is there any relationship between Frustration and Behavioural Problems?

2. What is the level of Frustration among adolescent students?

3. What are the major Frustration symptoms shown by the students?

4. Is there any difference between the Frustration reactions shown by the boys
and girls?

STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM

The present study is an attempt to find out whether the two

variables Frustration and Behavioural Problems are related. The
statement of the problem is ‘A STUDY ON THE RELATIONSHIP
 Synopsis 6

BETWEEN FRUSTRATION AND BEHAVIOURAL PROBLEMS AMONG

ADOLESCENT STUDENTS IN KOLLAM DISTRICT’

OPERATIONAL DEFINITIONS OF KEY TERMS

 Adolescence:
“Adolescence is the life stage that bridges childhood and
adulthood”. For most of the individuals, it is a period of serious
emotional disturbances and it occurs from the age of 13 to
19(Suriakanthi,1997).
 Frustration:
“Frustration is an emotion that occurs in situations where
one is blocked from reaching a personal goal”.The more important
the goal, the greater the frustration. It is comparable toanger
(Chandra,2004).
 Behavioural Problems:
Behaviour is something which constitutes one’s personality.
It is the manner in which one behaves and it is a mean of evaluation
by others (Calkins,2002). Behavioural Problem can be defined as a
deviation from the accepted pattern of behaviour. A frustrated
adolescent may express his Frustration in the form of certain
defective Behaviours some of them are Temper tantrum,
Negativism, Truancy, Specific fear, Lack of confidence, Learning
problem, and Selfishness.
 Kollam District:
Kollam one among the 14 districts in Kerala is a coastal district
and it is one of the best education centres in Kerala, where reputed
Schools, Colleges and number of coaching centers are located
(Manorama year book,2008).
 Synopsis 7

VARIABLES IN THE STUDY

The present study consists of following two variables

 Frustration as Independent variable
 Behavioural Problems as Dependent variable

VARIABLES

Independent Dependent

Frustration Behavioural
Problem

OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY

1. To study the level of Frustration among adolescent students.

2. To study the level of Behavioural Problems among adolescent students.

3. To find out the difference in the mean Frustration scores of adolescent

students with regard to,

a. Gender

b. Locality of School

c. Type of Management of School

 Synopsis 8

4. To find out the difference in the mean scores of Behavioural Problems

among adolescent students with regard to,

a. Gender

b. Locality of School

c. Type of Management of School

5. To study the relationship between Frustration and Behavioural Problems of

adolescent students for the total sample and the sub samples with respect
to,

a. Gender

b. Locality of School

c. Type of Management of School

6. To find out the difference in the relationship between Frustration and

Behavioural Problems with regard to,

a. Gender

b. Locality of School

c. Type of Management of School.

HYPOTHESES OF THE STUDY

H1.There is significant difference in the mean Frustration scores of

adolescent students with regard to,

a. Gender

b. Locality of School

c. Type of Management of School

 Synopsis 9

H2.There is significant difference in the mean scores of Behavioural

Problems among adolescent students with regard to,

a. Gender

b. Locality of School

c. Type of Management of School

H3. There is significant relationship between Frustration and Behavioural

Problems among adolescent students for the total sample and sub
samples with respect to,

a. Gender

b. Locality of School

c. Type of Management of School

H4. There is significant difference in the relationship between Frustration

and Behavioural Problems among sub samples of adolescent students
with regard to,

a. Gender

b. Locality of School

c. Type of Management of School

METHODOLOGY
The present study used normative survey method. The investigator
collected the data from adolescent students in Kollam district.

Tools employed in the study:

Tools are the techniques used in the data gathering process which
may vary in their complexity, design, administration and interpretation.
(Lokesh koul,2008) Tools used in the present study were:
 Synopsis 10

 Frustration Inventory Scale

A standardized tool of ‘Frustration Inventory’ based on the

Frustration test questionnaire prepared and standardized by Chouhan and
Tiwari (1999) was used in the study.

 Behavioural Problem identification Test

The investigator prepared the tool to find out the Behavioural

Problems in adolescent students. The validity, objectivity, and
practicability of the tool were established with the help of experts. The
reliability of the tool was determined by split half method.

Population of the study

A population refers to any collection of specified group of human
beings or of non human entities such as objects, educational institutions,
time units, geographical areas, prices of wheat or salaries drawn by
individuals (Lokesh koul,2008.Population in the present study consists of
whole adolescent students in the Kollam district.

Sample of the study

The representative proportion of the population is called a sample
(Lokesh koul,2008).The present study consists of a sample of 300
adolescent students in Kollam district.
 Synopsis 11

Statistical methods used in the study

Statistics is the science of computation. In this study the
investigator used different statistical methods like Mean, Median,
Standard deviation, Skew ness, Pearson’s Product Moment Correlation,
and t- test were used.

MAJOR FINDINGS OF THE STUDY

The major findings of the study, gained as a result of analysis and

interpretation of the data are listed below with respective objectives.

The first objective is:

To study the level of Frustration among adolescent students.

Finding is:

 Of the 300 samples 15% were in below average Frustration, 72% were in
average Frustration and 13% were in above average Frustration.

The second objective is:

To study the level of Behavioural Problems among adolescent students.

Finding is:

 Of the 300 samples 19% were in below average Behavioural Problems

65% were in average and 16% were in above average Behavioural
problem.

The third objective is:

To find out the difference in the mean Frustration scores of adolescent students
with regard to, (a)Gender, (b)Locality of school, (c)Type of Management of
school.
 Synopsis 12

The conclusion based on the findings of the third objective is:

a. There is no significant difference in the mean Frustration scores of

adolescent students based on Gender.

This conclusion is supported by the following findings of the study.

 By comparing the mean scores of Frustration of Boys and Girls , it

was found that their scores are not different from each other
significantly. The obtained t value is 1.88 which is not significant
at 0.05 level. Hence there is no significant difference in the mean
Frustration scores of adolescent students based on Gender.

b. There is significant difference in the mean Frustration scores of adolescent

students based on the Locality of school.

The analysis of the mean scores resulted in the following conclusion.

 The comparison of the mean scores of Urban and Rural school

students indicate that there is significant difference in their mean
Frustration scores. The obtained t value is 2.03 which is significant
at 0.05 level. Hence there is significant difference in the mean
Frustration scores of adolescent students based on the Locality of
school

c. There is no significant difference in the mean Frustration scores of

adolescent student with regard to the type of Management of school.

This conclusion is supported by the following findings of the study.

 By comparing the mean scores of Frustration of Aided and

Unaided school students, it was found that the mean scores are not
different from each other significantly. The obtained t value of
0.53 is not significant at 0.05 level. Hence there is no significant
 Synopsis 13

difference in the mean Frustration scores of adolescent students

based on the type of Management of school.

The fourth objective is:

To find out the difference in the mean scores of Behavioural Problems

of Adolescent students with regard to (a)Gender, (b)Locality of school,
(c)Type of Management of school.

The conclusion based on the findings of the third objective is:

a. There is no significant difference in the mean scores of Behavioural

Problems of Adolescent students based on Gender.

The analysis of the mean scores resulted in the following conclusion.

 The comparison of mean scores of Boys and Girls shows that their
mean scores do not differ significantly from each other. The
obtained t value is 1.71 which is not significant at 0.05 level. Hence
there is no significant difference in the mean scores of Behavioural
Problems of Adolescent students based on Gender.

b. There is no significant difference in the mean scores of Behavioural

Problems of Adolescent students based on the Locality of School.

This conclusion is supported by the following findings of the study.

 By comparing the mean scores Urban and Rural school students, it

was found that the mean scores are not different from each other
significantly. The obtained t value of 1.45 is not significant at 0.05
level. Hence there is no significant difference in the mean scores of
Behavioural Problems of Adolescent students based on the
Locality of School.
 Synopsis 14

c. There is no significant difference in the mean scores of Behavioural

Problems of Adolescent students based on Type of Management of School.
The analysis of the mean scores resulted in the following conclusion.

 The comparison of mean scores of Aided and Unaided school

students shows that their mean scores do not differ significantly
from each other. The obtained t value is 0.12 which is not
significant at 0.05 level. Hence there is no significant difference in
the mean scores of Behavioural Problems of Adolescent students
based on Type of Management of School.

The fifth objective is:

To study the relationship between Frustration and Behavioural Problems of

adolescent students for the total sample and the sub samples with respect to,
(a)Gender, (b)Locality of school, (c)Type of Management of school.

The conclusion based on the findings of the fifth objective :

 For the total sample

 The obtained co-efficient of correlation (r) is 0.157, which is higher than

the table value at 0.01 level of significance. Therefore there is significant
positive relationship between Frustration and Behavioural Problems
among Adolescent students.

 For the Sub samples

a.i. There is significant positive relationship between Frustration and

Behavioural Problems among Adolescent Boys.

This conclusion is supported by the following findings of the study.

 The obtained co-efficient of correlation (r) is 0.215 and it is higher

than the table value at 0.01 level of significance. Therefore there is
 Synopsis 15

significant positive relationship between Frustration and

Behavioural Problems in Adolescent Boys.

a.ii. There is no significant relationship between Frustration and Behavioural

Problems among Adolescent Girls.

This conclusion is supported by the following findings of the study.

 The obtained co-efficient of correlation r is 0.123 and it is lower

than the table value at 0.05 level of significance. Therefore there is
no significant relationship between Frustration and Behavioural
Problems in Adolescent Girls.

b.i. There is significant positive relationship between Frustration and

Behavioural Problems among Adolescent Urban School Students.

This conclusion is supported by the following findings of the study.

 The obtained co-efficient of correlation (r) is 0.168 which is

higher than the table value at 0.05 level of significance. Hence
there is significant positive relationship between Frustration and
Behavioural Problems in Adolescent Urban School Students.

b.ii. There is no significant relationship between Frustration and Behavioural

Problems among Adolescent Rural School Students.

This conclusion is supported by the following findings of the study.

 The obtained co-efficient of correlation (r) is 0.132 and it is

lower than the table value at 0.05 level of significance. Therefore
there is no significant relationship between Frustration and
Behavioural Problems in Adolescent Rural School Students.

c.i. There is no significant relationship between Frustration and Behavioural

Problems among Adolescent Aided School Students.
 Synopsis 16

This conclusion is supported by the following findings of the study.

 The obtained co-efficient of correlation (r) is 0.097 and it is

lower than the table value at 0.05 level of significance. Hence
there is no significant relationship between Frustration and
Behavioural Problems in Adolescent Aided School Students.

c.ii. There is significant positive relationship between Frustration and

Behavioural Problems among Adolescent Unaided School Students.

This conclusion is supported by the following findings of the study.

 The obtained co-efficient of correlation (r) is 0.212 which is

higher than the table value at 0.01 level of significance. Hence
there is significant positive relationship between Frustration and
Behavioural Problems in Adolescent Unaided School Students.

The sixth objective is :

To find out the difference in the relationship between Frustration and

Behavioural Problems with regard to,(a) Gender, (b)Locality of school, (c)Type
of Management of school.

The conclusion based on the findings of the sixth objective is:

a. There is no significant difference in the relationship between Frustration

and Behavioural Problems among Adolescent Boys and Girls.

The analysis of the correlation co-efficient resulted in the following

conclusion.

 The comparison of the co-efficient of correlation (r) of Boys and

Girls shows that their r scores do not differ significantly from
each other. The obtained t value is 0.79 which is not significant
at 0.05 level. Hence there is no significant difference in the
 Synopsis 17

relationship between Frustration and Behavioural Problems

among Adolescent Boys and Girls.

b. There is no significant difference in the relationship between Frustration

and Behavioural Problems among Adolescent Urban and Rural school
students.

The analysis of the correlation co-efficient resulted in the following

conclusion.

 By comparing the co-efficient of correlation (r) of Urban and

Rural school students, it was found that their r scores are not
different from each other significantly. The obtained t value is
0.31 and it is not significant at 0.05 level. Hence there is no
significant difference in the relationship between Frustration and
Behavioural Problems among Adolescent Adolescent Urban and
Rural school students.

c. There is no significant difference in the relationship between Frustration

and Behavioural Problems among Adolescent Aided and Unaided school
students.

The analysis of the correlation co-efficient resulted in the following

conclusion.

 The comparison of the co-efficient of correlation (r) of Aided

and Unaided school student shows that their r scores do not
differ significantly from each other. The obtained t value is 0.99
which is not significant at 0.05 level. Hence there is no
significant difference in the relationship between Frustration and
Behavioural Problems among Adolescent Aided and Unaided
school students.
 Synopsis 18

EDUCATIONAL IMPLICATIONS

The findings of the study have direct implication to the field of

education. It is very clear from the study that Frustration and Behavioural
Problems is Correlated. It may be studied further because, today’s
adolescents are tomorrow’s adults and the future developments of our
Nation determines by them. Frustration is a feeling of powerlessness and
helplessness when something goes wrong in our lives or when the results
of a certain action do not meet our expectation. Frustration causes people
to be angry and rude it damages relationship and harms ones health and
personality. Today it has become a chronic problem among our
adolescent which prevent their wholesome development and it may affect
the growth of our nation inversely. By considering all the above
mentioned reasons the investigator suggest the following points as
educational implications,
 Teaching should be based on the need of the students. It will
provide a chance to exhibit their talents and there by develops
confidence in themselves.
 Co curricular activities will develop confidence in the students,
hence it has to be promoted .
 The school administrators and teachers should organize
activities that may foster the free interaction among students
and teachers and it will create a better understanding between
them.
 Provide classes on personality development, which will
promote wholesome development of the student.
 Establishment of counseling zones in every school will help in
wiping out the negative outlook prevailing in the minds of
children.
 Quit corporal punishments from the schools, because corporal
punishments may affect the development of the students
adversely.
 Synopsis 19

 The teacher should be sympathetic to the difficulties of the

students, which will create a good relation between student and
the teacher.
 Provide personal, educational, and vocational guidance to the
students and will create ‘hope for the future’
 Train students to set goals based on their desires and passions
and it will give self confidence in them.
 Avoid making comparison between students, and avoid giving
undue pressure on the students. Promote healthy competition
among students all the above will reduce the stress and strains
in the students.

SUGGESTIONS FOR FURTHER STUDIES

While doing the study the investigator went through

different topics related to the variables selected for the present study as a
result some new ideas were derived in her mind which are listed below.

 This study is limited to adolescent students. Frustration is an all

pervasive phenomenon so similar studies can be done by
considering other developmental stages.

 A similar study can be conducted by taking a state wide sample.

 The present study made use of a modified tool (Frustration

inventory scale), in spite of this a standardized tool can be
prepared for the purpose of establishing the levels of
Frustration.

 A study can be conducted on ‘effects of counseling in reducing

the feeling of Frustration’ .

 A study could be conducted on ‘relationship between

frustration and selfishness.’
 Synopsis 20

 A study might be conducted on the ‘effect of Frustration on

teachers’.

 A study can be conducted on the ‘level of Frustration and job

satisfaction among teachers’.

 The present study used only six Behavioural Problems the same
study could be conducted using more Behavioural Problems.

 A study on ‘conduct problems among teachers and teacher

educators could be conducted.’

 A study might be conducted on the ‘relationship between

selfishness, achievement and frustration among students’.

 A study could be conducted on the relationship between ‘need

for perfection and frustration’.

 A study on the relationship between ‘conduct problems in

teachers and stress in students could be conducted’.

CONCLUSION

Personality is an unique configuration of an individual’s characteristics

and mode of Behaviour that shape his adjustments to his environment.
Frustration is a negative feeling which may affect once personality
development adversely. Frustration is a feeling of powerlessness and
helplessness when something does not happen as per our expectation. In
addition to making people to be angry, rude, it spoil their relationship with
others, also it harms ones health and personality. Proper guidance and
counseling is the only way to tackle with the condition of negative feeling.
Today most of our youngsters are suffering from negative feeling due to
various reasons which inculcates awkward behaviour in their selves. The aim
 Synopsis 21

of imparting guidance and counseling in educational institution is saving our

youngsters from the condition of negative feeling. So all educators and school
authority should take proper care to implement the facilities for guidance and
counseling in the school.