ADJUSTMENT INVENTORY FOR SCHOOL STUDENTS (AISS)

Aim: To measure the level of adjustment of an individual using a standardized test for adjustment
by AKP Sinha and Dr R P Singh.

Basic Concept

The concept of adjustment has originated from the term `adaptation`. It is the process where an
individual cope, responds to their environment. The behavioural process by which humans and
other animals maintain a state of equilibrium by various needs is called adjustment. It is how they
cope with change in the environment to act efficiently maintaining homeostasis.

James Denver defines adjustment as the modification to compensate for or meet special
conditions.

James. C. Coleman says that adjustment is the outcome of the individual`s attempts to deal with
the stress and meet his needs, also his efforts to maintain harmonious relationships with the
environment

Adaptation is the action or process of adapting. It is also the process of change by which an
organism or species becomes better suited to its environment.

Features:

❖ Varies from culture to culture

❖ Subjective in nature
❖ Continuous process

In the present test, adjuatment is being measured by three different ways:

❖ Social – Man needs to be accepted by the society in which he lives. He has to follow norms
of the society to be adjusted. He has to seek approval of the society and act accordingly.
❖ Emotional – An individual is emotionally adjusted if he/she is happy with themselves,
realizes his/her potential and is content with what he/she has achieved.
❖ Educational – An educationally well-adjusted person is one who has an ability to think
and innovate, he/she needs to be happy in their academic achievements.

History and description

The AISS seeks to segregate well-adjusted school students [14-18 years] from poorly adjusted
students in 3 areas – social, emotional, and educational. The test consists of 60 items where the
subject is required to answer in terms of `always`, ‘sometimes’ `never`. Each item in the test is
scored as per the instructions given in the manual.
Reliability

Split half – 0.95

Test retest – 0.93

Preliminaries

Subject`s name

Age

Gender

Class

Place of conduction

Materials required

AISS questionnaire, response sheet, scoring sheet, pen/pencil

Precautions

1. Optimal conditions for testing should be ensured before starting the test.
2. No questions should be left unanswered
3. Instructions should be clearly given

Rapport Formation

The subject was made to feel comfortable. General questions about the subject’s day and life were
asked. The subject was ensured that the results will be kept confidential.

Instructions

The following instructions were given:

• In each item can be answered in `Always`, ‘sometimes’, ‘never’

• Don’t leave any question and try to complete as soon as possible.
• There are no right or wrong answers
• Give the first natural answer as it comes to you. When in doubt, give the best possible
answer.
• Read the questions carefully
• There is no time limit for this test
Administration

After the instructions were given, the subject was asked to fill in the demographic details. It was
ensured that all instructions were clearly understood by the subject. The introspective report was
taken after the administration was done. The subject was asked to check whether he/she left any
items unanswered.

Introspective Report/Verbal report

The test was quite insightful and fun to do. The tester made me feel at ease.

[You can write the introspective report given by your subject]

Behavioural report

The subject was calm while answering the questions. He/she did not take a long time in completing
the test.

Scoring

Scoring was done as per the instructions given in the manual. The responses of the subject was
marked in the scoring sheet under the three dimensions. The test consists of 60 items where the
subject is required to answer in terms of `always`, ‘sometimes’ `never`.

After allotting the scores, total of all the three dimensions and interpretation of the scores will be
done.
Interpretation Table:

Dimensions Total Score Z Score Level of adjustment

Social

Emotional

Educational

Interpretation:

My subject has scored raw score of______ in social dimension which means he/she has
____________ level of adjustment in social dimension.

My subject has scored raw score of______ in emotional dimension which means he/she has
____________ level of adjustment in emotional dimension.

My subject has scored raw score of______ in educational dimension which means he/she has
____________ level of adjustment in education dimension.

Sum of all dimensions: _________________________________

Conclusion

My subject has scored total score of ____ suggesting he/she has _______ adjustment.

References

1. Adjustment inventory manual

2. NCERT Psychology textbook, XII