Harshita Bhati, Ranjana Nirwan, and Tarunima Kanwar
Jai Narayan Vyas University, Jodhpur, India
Pages: 81-87
The outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic led to a prolonged effect on mental health
worldwide. Populations adjusting to the new norms, a series of lockdowns, being confined
to a room during quarantine, and the declining economic rate caused psychological
distress. School students have been equally affected by the trajectory of uncertainty,
financial loss of their parents, switching from traditional learning to online learning,
delayed results, and academic future. Social intelligence plays a vital role in defining a
person’s ability to maintain interpersonal relationships. The main aim of the research is
to assess the Mental Health Status and Social Intelligence of the boys and girls of higher
secondary schools of Jodhpur amidst the COVID-19 pandemic. For the study, a total
sample of 80 school students of higher secondary (10th to 12th std), 40 boys and 40
girls were taken. Data was collected using The Mental Health Inventory-38 (MHI-38) by
the RAND Corporation and Social Intelligence Scale (SIS) by Dr. S. Mathur. The results
showed a significant mean difference (z=2.02, p<0.05) in the Mental Health Index (MHI)
between the boys and girls, whereas no significant mean difference (z=-0.68, p>0.05)
was observed in their Social Intelligence levels. The boys (M=152.55) exhibit a higher
level of Mental Health Index (MHI) indicating greater psychological well-being and less
psychological distress than girls (M=141.9) in higher secondary. The findings suggest
that boys might have a better coping mechanism than girls. .
Keywords: COVID-19 pandemic, Mental Health Index, Social Intelligence, higher
secondary, gender.