Abstract

In this study, stress-related issues unique to institutionalised adolescent orphans were identified, their level of stress was evaluated, and a case was made for counselling as the best intervention strategy. The goals were to quantify and assess stress levels, examine stressors and their causes, comprehend counselling and its scientific method, and defend counselling as an evidence-based intervention. The Stress Scale Manual, created by Dr. Prerna Puri, Dr. Tejinder Kaur, and Prof. Manju Mehta in 2001 to measure stress levels, was used in the study as part of a descriptive research approach to gather sociodemographic data. A statistical analysis was done to look at the frequency and seriousness of stressors and associated problems. Based on the results, evidence-based counselling strategies were suggested to address the identified stress-related issues among the targeted group. In Tiruchirappalli District, 11 government-sponsored orphanages housed 1,021 adolescent orphans between the ages of 13 and 17. The participants were chosen from a total of 64 orphanages in the district using a multistage random sampling method. Eleven government-sponsored orphanages were chosen using simple random sampling. Two orphanages for boys, two for girls, and two for mixed-gender children were chosen at random from among these. Data were gathered from all 360 participants using a census method because there were few adolescent orphans in the defined age range. The Stress Scale Manual, which consists of 34 items scored on a four-point scale, was used to collect the data. The responses of each participant were graded using the established norms for the scale. The split-half method was used to calculate the tool's reliability, and the result was a coefficient of 0.90.

Description