Relationship and Predictive Role of Social Comparison in Psychological Adjustment Problems among Young Adults

Abstract

Emerging adulthood or young adulthood is one of the most agonizing phases of growth. At this age, individuals tend to undergo the social comparison process and this process may influence their psychological adjustment. The researcher in current study aimed at testing the possibility of social comparison to predict the adjustment problems among young adults (19-25 years old). To use in the quantitative, correlational research design to gather data, a sample size of 200 young adults (male and female) who are pursuing intermediate, undergraduate and postgraduate programs in Gujrat was taken based on non-probability convenient sample. The participants completed the Iowa–Netherlands Comparison Orientation Measure to assess social comparison tendencies and an adjustment scale to measure psychological adjustment. Descriptive statistics, Pearson correlation, and simple linear regression were calculated in the SPSS. The results showed that the social comparison and adjustment problems have a significant positive correlation (r =.35, p <.01) in which the high levels of social comparison were positively correlated with the high levels of adjustment problems. Regression analysis showed that social comparison also predicted the adjustment problems significantly with the variance of 12.2 (R 2 =.122, p <.001) having 12.2% variance. These findings are a hint to the Social Comparison Theory, and they suggest that a repetition of the mode of comparison, particularly in digitally and socially saturated space, may negatively influence the adaptation of young adults. The study highlights the significance of addressing maladaptive social comparison patterns to improve psychological adjustment among young adults. The findings have clinical implications on mental health practitioners, educators, and policy makers with regard to developing culturally sensitive interventions to enhance coping abilities, resilience, and well-being among the emerging adulthood.

Keywords: Social Comparison, Prediction, Psychological Adjustment Problems, Young Adults