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Emotional Stability among College Youth

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Sheema Aleem
Jamia Millia Islamia
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Journal of the Indian Academy of Applied Psychology,

Emotional Stability among College Youth

Sheema Aleem
Jamia Millia Islamia, New Delhi

The present study has set the following objectives: 1. To find out the prevalence of
emotional stability among male and female students. 2. To examine difference
between the mean scores of male and female students on emotional stability.
Emotional stability questionnaire was administered on 50 male and 50 female
students of different colleges of New Delhi. Results shows that male students are
found to be more emotionally stable than female students.

Emotions are defined as an acutely deals with the interplay of forces with
disturbed affective process or state which intensities and quantities is now gaining
originates in the psychological situation and recognition. Emotional stability is not only one
which is revealed by marked bodily changes of the effective determinants of the personality
in smooth muscles, glands and gross patterns, but it also helps to control the growth
behaviour. An emotion then is a disturbance, of adolescent development. The concept of
the departure from the normal state of stable emotional behaviour at any level is that
composure. Emotions are affective in that they which reflects the fruits of the normal emotional
are characteristically pleasant, unpleasant or development. An individual who is able to keep
indifferently excited. Emotions differ from his emotions stable and under control even in
intraorganic feeling in that they arise from a extreme situations, might still be emotionally
psychological situation that always includes an stunned or be childish in his behaviour
environmental factor, present or past. sometimes.
Emotions differ from activity feelings in that According to Smitson (1974) emotional
they are disruptive, whereas highly motivated stability is the process in which the personality
activity commonly results from emotional is continuously striving for greater sense of
upsets. Emotions are briefer and more intense emotional health, both intra-physically and
than moods. Emotions are normal although intra-personally. It has been emphasized that
they appear during pathological affects and the emotionally stable individual has the
in person with different temperaments. capacity to withstand delay in satisfaction of
Emotional Stability needs, ability to tolerate a reasonable amount
of frustration, belief in long term planning and
In this age of industrialization, competition,
is capable of delaying or revising his
stress and tension, both young and old face
expectations in terms of demands of the
difficulties. These difficulties give rise to many
situations. An emotionally stable child has a
psychosomatic problems such as anxiety,
capacity to make effective adjustments with
tensions, frustrations and mental upsets.
himself, members of the family, and his peers
Therefore, the study of emotional stability that
Sheema Aleem 101

in the school, society and culture. However, emotional infantilism. Results indicate that the
stability does not mean merely the capacity psychological instability is linked to abnormal
for such attitudes and functions, but also the emotional development manifested by organic
ability to enjoy them fully. infantilism and accompanied in severe cases
A number of characteristics like the by brain disorder. Brain disorders and social
capability of responding in gradation, ability factors are discussed as the main cause of
to delay responses, especially negative psychological instability.
emotions, freedom from unreasonable fears Objectives
and the ability to commit mistakes without 1. To find out the prevalence of emotional
feeling disgraced etc. are found in an stability among male and female students.
emotionally stable individual. Sumal et al.,
(1998) examined the relationship between 2. To examine difference between the
emotional stability and morality. It was observed mean scores of male and female students on
that emotional stability was positively and emotional stability.
significantly related to morality. Subjects who Hypotheses
were emotionally stable obtained higher 1. There will be prevalence of emotional
scores on morality compared to those who stability among both male and female
were emotionally unstable. It was concluded students.
that morality depend on emotional stability.
2. There will be significant differences in
Qureshi et al., (1998) assessed the the emotional stability of male and female
emotional stability of male and female student students.
leaders of 3 types union, sport and cultural.
All leaders were administered the emotional Method
stability questionnaire. Significant differences Sample
were found between postgraduate and The sample consisted of 100
undergraduate levels of all three types of undergraduate and postgraduate students
leaders, suggesting that the educational level whose age group ranged from 17-21 years.
has a significant impact on leadership. The sample size of 100 was further categorized
Significant differences were not observed into 2 groups i.e. 50 males and 50 females.
between male and female leaders. The subjects for the purpose of the study were
Lebedinskaya et al., (1980) investigated drawn from Delhi College of Engineering, Mata
the effect of psychological instability on the Sundari College, Indian Institute of Technology,
intellect and personality of 76, 13-16 years old, and Commerce students of Dayal Singh
52 of whom were classified as difficult on the College.
basis of their disruptive behaviour. Subjects Tool
completed the WAIS, various classification
tasks, a questionnaire and an interview. An Emotional Stability Questionnaire. In
EEG was performed to test subjects order to study emotional stability, the Emotional
neurological functions. Subjects psychological Stability Questionnaire (ESQ) developed by
instability was manifested by their emotional Psycom Services (1995) was used. This
immaturity as evidenced (1) lack of sense of questionnaire has 60 items. The test items
responsibility, (2) lack of sense-control, (3) have been selected from a total pool of more
vulnerability to inappropriate sense of than 300 items that had been tested and
behaviour, (4) need for external stimulation, refined in programmatic studies. The reliability
(5) inability to complete tasks, and (6) of ESQ, i.e. the agreement of the dimension
 102 Emotional Stability

scores with itself under some change of scores of male and female students on
conditions is calculated in all relevant ways. emotional stability.
Scoring procedure in ESQ is quite Emotional stability remains the central
objective and simple. Transparent stencil theme in personality studies. It is commonly
scoring key is available for this purpose. Then regarded as the factor expressing the level of
the scores obtained on different pages were natural dynamic integration, emotional control
added to obtain the total raw score on this test. and stability. Emotional stability is essentially
Commonly the test users would like to know a measure of anxiety versus well-being, where
where an individual stands in relation to the emotions are controlled rather than highly
defined population. For this purpose, the total variable. Only emotionally stable people can
raw scores are converted to the sten scores experience true empathy, and empathy is a
by looking at the norm tables given in the prime requirement for successful relationship.
manual. The sten of 8-10 indicates high and The differences in the emotional stability
extremely high score, sten of 4-7 indicates of males and females may be due to the fact
average score, and the sten of 1-3 indicates that females become anxious very soon. Their
low and extremely low scores. The feeling of insecurity, lack of ability to adjust
interpretation of these sten scores or emotional makes them less stable. They may get
stability scores was also obtained from the annoyed easily by things and people, showing
manual. marked dissatisfaction. Sometimes they may
Procedure also get annoyed by increasing
The emotional stability questionnaire, was responsibilities. They get frustrated easily as
administered on undergraduate and compared to boys. Whereas boys face the
postgraduate male and female students. After society and strenuous situations rather than
the collection of data, the data obtained were running away from it. They have the capacity
scored individually for each subject. In order to withstand delay in satisfaction of needs,
to fulfill the objectives of the study and to prove ability to tolerate a reasonable amount of
the hypothesis formulated, the scores frustration, belief in long term planning and
obtained were then analysed by using are ca[able of delaying or revising their
appropriate statistics (i.e. t-test). expectations in terms of demands of the
situations.
Results and Discussion
References
Table 1: Comparison of mean ESQ scores
Smitson, W.S. (1974). The meaning of emotional
of males and females (male-50 and maturity. MH, Winter 58, 9-11.
female-50)
Sumal et al., (1998). Emotional stability and
Groups Mean SD t value morality: An empirical study. Indian Journal
Males 70.1 14.01 of Psychological Issues, 6, 26-28.

Females 64.26 14.5 2.00* Qureshi et al., (1998). Emotional stability among
student leaders. Psycholingua, 28, 135-138.
* p< 0.05
Lebedinskaya, K.S., et al., (1980). Clinical
The above table shows that Female psychological analysis of behaviour disorder
students are less emotionally stable as in adolescents. Defektologiya, 5, 3-14.
compared to male students and there is a Psychom Services (1995). New Delhi: B-4, 80/2.
significant difference between the mean S.J. Enclave.
Sheema Aleem, Lecturer, Department of Psychology, Jamia Millia Islamia, New Delhi -110 025.

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