An Empirical Study on the Relationship between Resilience and Happiness among Adolescents

Abstract

Adolescence is a critical developmental period characterised by rapid psychological, emotional, and social transitions that heighten vulnerability to stress and mental health challenges. The present study examined the relationship between resilience and happiness among adolescents and explored gender differences in happiness levels. A correlational research design was employed with a purposively selected sample of 100 school students (50 male, 50 female) aged 16–18 years from Jammu district, India. Two standardised instruments were administered: the Academic Resilience Scale (Mallick & Kaur, 2016) and the Happiness Scale (Bhardwaj & Das, 2017). Pearson product-moment correlation and independent samples t-test were used for data analysis. Results revealed a statistically significant positive correlation between resilience and happiness (r = .63, p < .01), indicating that adolescents with higher resilience reported greater happiness. Additionally, female adolescents exhibited significantly higher happiness scores (M = 52.68, SD = 8.97) compared to male adolescents (M = 48.90, SD = 9.45), t (98) = 2.36, p = .021, Cohen’s d = 0.47. These findings suggest that resilience functions as a significant protective factor enhancing adolescent emotional well-being, and underscore the need for culturally grounded resilience-building interventions in Indian educational settings.