Role of Resilience in the Social Competence and Psychological Well-being of Adolescents with Single Parents

Abstract

The current study investigated the role of resilience in the relationship between single-parent adolescents' social competence (SC) and psychological well-being (PWB). A total of 385 single-parent adolescents from Kerala (179 boys and 206 girls, Mean age=15.03, SD = 1.45) were selected using a convenient sampling method. 185 participants (48.1%) were from single-parent families due to the death of one parent, and the other 200 participants (51.9%) were from single-parent families due to divorce or separation. Data were collected using self-reported measures for social competence, resilience, and psychological well-being. Analysis of the data was performed using IBM SPSS and AMOS version 24. The results indicated that social competence and resilience are significantly correlated with the psychological well-being of single-parent adolescents. According to the findings, resilience completely mediates the linkage between SC and PWB. When compared to adolescents who experienced parental divorce or separation, those who lost one parent due to death reported higher levels of social competence, resilience, and psychological well-being. Except for antisocial behavior, one of the dimensions of social competence, adolescents from divorced or separated family backgrounds scored low on all other scales. No gender difference is identified in any of the variables in the present study. Adolescents living with grandparents and those who have siblings significantly differ from others. The findings have clinical as well as educational implications.