Social Adjustment, a Necessity among Students with Negative Body-Image: The Roles of Parenting Processes and Self Esteem

Abstract

The social adjustment strategy in interacting with others determines an individual's success. This study examined the influence of parenting processes and self-esteem as correlates of social adjustment of students with negative body-image. The descriptive research design of the correlational type was used in this study. A total of 96 adolescents with negative body image participated in the study (42.7% male, 57.3% female). The data for this study were gathered using three reliable and standardized instruments: The Parenting Behavior and Dimension Questionnaire (α = .87), the Self-Esteem Inventory (α = .85), and the Social adjustment scale (α = .83). The results demonstrated a strong correlation between parenting processes (r = .201; p<.05), self-esteem (r = .211; p<.05) and social adjustment of students with negative body-image. The strongest predictor of social adjustment was self-esteem (β = .153; t = 1.377; p<0.05), followed by parenting process (β = .136; t = 1.228; p<0.05). It was recommended that educators, counselors, and all other helping professionals be alert and sensitive to the social dispositions of adolescents.