Gender Disparities in Family, College, Social and Personal Problems among Undergraduate College Students in Mysuru City

Abstract

Youth is a critical developmental period characterised by rapid physical, emotional, psychological, and social changes. During this stage, young people encounter numerous challenges that may affect their well-being, academic achievement, and interpersonal relationships. The present study aimed to assess family, college, social, and personal problems among Government Undergraduate College students and to examine their association with gender and age. A cross-sectional descriptive design was adopted. The sample consisted of 101 Government Undergraduate College students from Mysuru city selected through purposive sampling. Data were collected using the Youth Problem Inventory (YPI) developed by Verma (1988). Descriptive statistics and Chi-square tests were employed to analyze the data. The findings revealed significant gender differences across all four domains of youth problems. Female students reported higher levels of above-average family problems (56.0%) and social problems (46.0%), whereas male students reported higher levels of severe college problems (43.1%) and social problems (51.0%). Male students also reported a higher prevalence of above-average personal problems (60.8%) compared with female students (34.0%). Significant associations were observed between gender and family problems (χ² = 11.872, p = .003), college problems (χ² = 18.731, p < .001), social problems (χ² = 14.715, p = .002), and personal problems (χ² = 9.386, p = .025). Age did not show a significant association with any problem domain. The findings emphasise the need for gender-sensitive counselling services and psychosocial support programmes in higher education institutions.