An Investigation of Adjustment, Relationship Addiction, and Jealousy among Freshmen at the University of Gujrat

Abstract

This research assessed the connection between degree of adjustment, addictive relationships with close friends, and jealousy in first-year students of University of Gujrat. Some of the demographic differences based on age, gender, type of accommodation, family structure, and level of conflict with the friends as well as socio-economic status (SES) were also investigated. The quantitative, cross-sectional correlational design was used. 400 first-year undergraduate students participated (163 male and 237 female) and purposive sampling technique was used to select them. The following standardized tools were utilized in the present study: Scale of Adjustment Problems among Adults (SAPA), Jealousy Scale and Addictive Relationship Scale for Adolescents and Adults. The data were processed using the IBM SPSS Statistics software (Version 26) employing the Cronbach’s coefficient for reliability purpose, Pearson correlation, multiple linear regression, t-test technique, and ANOVA technique. The Pearson correlation analysis showed that there was a positive correlation between adjustment problems and addictive relations with friends (r = .301, p < .001), adjustment problems and jealousy (0.537, p < 0.00), and addictive relation with friends and jealousy (0.371, p < 0.00). The multiple regression analysis showed that adjustment problems (beta = 0.467, p < 0.001) and addictive relations (beta = 0.230; p < 0.001) predicted jealousy in a significant manner with jointly accounting for 33.6% of the variations. The results of the independent-sample t-testing showed that there was a significant difference between both genders in terms of jealousy (t(398) = 1.988, p=0.047), while the influence of residency affected adjustment (t(398) =-4.286, p<0.001) and jealousy (t(398) =-2.637, p=0.009). Furthermore, the role of family structure and conflicts with friends influenced two aspects, namely adjustment problems and addictive behavior (p<0.05). From the one-way ANOVA analysis, it can be concluded that age has a significant relationship with adaptation (F(2, 397) =4.996, p=0.007) and addictions (F(2, 397) =5.352, p=0.005). In conclusion, one can say that peer influence is important for adjustment in terms of relationships at university.