Blackwell Reference Online

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In psychological research, adjustment refers both to an achievement or outcome as well as a process. As an achievement, psychological adjustment is a phrase used to denote positive mental health. The concept of positive mental health is detailed extensively in Jahoda's classic conceptualization and refers to an individual's state of mind and overall well-being. The process conceptualization of psychological adjustment reflects whether an individual is able to cope effectively with the demands of the environmental context as well as with the stress created by these demands. Thus, as a process, psychological adjustment reflects the relative adaptation of an individual to changing environmental conditions. Psychological adjustment is a popular outcome measure in psychological research, and often measures such as self-esteem, or the absence of distress, anxiety or depression are used as indicators of adjustment. Researchers may also measure an individuals' level of adjustment or well-being in response to some stressful event, such as divorce, or as the absence of deviant behavior, such as drinking or drug use. Although adjustment is a broad concept as well as an abstract construct by definition, it can generally be broken down into four major dimensions. The major dimensions include: 1) psychological adjustment as the absence of psychological symptoms (e.g., depression, anxiety); ... log in or subscribe to read full text