Impact of Gender and Living Arrangements on the Emotional Well-being of Competitive Exam Aspirants in Patna

Emotional adjustment is an essential psychological factor that enables competitive examination aspirants to manage stress, maintain emotional stability, and cope effectively with academic pressure. The present study aimed to examine the impact of gender and place of residence on emotional adjustment among competitive aspirants in Patna district, Bihar. The study employed a descriptive comparative research design. A total of 160 competitive aspirants (80 males and 80 females) were selected through purposive sampling. The sample comprised equal representation of urban and rural participants. Emotional adjustment was assessed using the Emotional Adjustment Sub-scale of the Adjustment Inventory for College Students (AICS) developed by Sinha and Singh (1993). Independent samples t-test was used to analyze the collected data. The findings revealed a significant impact of gender on emotional adjustment, with female aspirants obtaining significantly higher emotional maladjustment scores than male aspirants. Similarly, a significant difference was observed between urban and rural participants, where rural aspirants exhibited poorer emotional adjustment than their urban counterparts. Both hypotheses were accepted at the 0.01 level of significance. The findings indicate that demographic factors substantially influence the emotional adjustment of competitive aspirants. The study highlights the need for gender-sensitive counselling services, psychological support programmes, and stress-management interventions, particularly for female and rural aspirants preparing for competitive examinations. The findings may assist psychologists, educators, coaching institutions, parents, and policymakers in developing targeted mental health strategies to enhance emotional well-being and improve the overall adjustment of competitive examination aspirants in educational settings.