Age-wise Assessment of Psychological, Social, and Emotional Aspects among Adolescents Exposed to Disasters: Evidence from Kodagu District, Karnataka

Abstract

Background: Adolescence is an important stage in life because disasters could affect their emotions and psychology at this stage. In the Kodagu district, frequent occurrence of flood and landslide may cause stress and fear in adolescent children.

Method: Descriptive and comparative designs were adopted. A purposeful sample of 379 students attending schools in grades eight, nine, and ten in Kodagu district was selected. The data gathering tool was a structured questionnaire focusing on socio-demographic variables, psychological factors, social factors, and emotional problems after the disaster. The analysis involved the use of descriptive statistics, Kruskal Wallis ANOVA test, and logistic regression.

Results: In most cases, there was no considerable difference with regard to demographic factors among the different age groups. There was a slight decrease in cognitive and academic performance with increase in age (p = .05). Differences based on age were observed with respect to self-image and internal well-being (p = .009), social interaction (p = .001), and functional and anticipatory anxiety (p = .046), with younger adolescents having better emotional functioning than their older counterparts. Logistic regression analysis identified mother’s occupation, anxiety levels, physical and behavioural symptoms, relationship quality, intrusion symptoms, and avoidance and arousal as significant predictors of poor emotional health.

Conclusion: Disaster exposure affects adolescents in multifaceted ways. Age influences certain emotional and academic domains, while disaster-related symptoms persist across groups. School-based, family-centered, and age-sensitive interventions are recommended in disaster-prone regions.