Analysis of the relationship between the cognitive flexibility, adaptation and anxiety levels in adolescents based on sex, socio-economic status and education level

This research aims to analyze whether there is a meaningful difference between adaptation, anxiety and cognitive flexibility of students in junior high (grades 6-8), secondary and higher education levels based on their sex, socio-economic status and academic levels.The sampling used in this study is a total of 1032 pre-adolescent and adolescent students (630 girls and 402 boys) from ten elementary schools, eleven secondary schools in Çukurova, Sarıçam, Seyhan and Yüreğir districts of the province of Adana and from departments of Çukurova University: and the study uses stratified sampling and simple random sampling method according to their corresponding number in the universe. In order to determine the cognitive flexibility of the subject group ?Cognitive Flexibility Scale?, to determine their adaptation levels ?Hacettepe Personality Inventory?, and to detemine their levels of anxiety ?Spielberg?s State-Trait Anxiety Inventory? were used. The data collected in the research were analyzed using SPSS 11.5 software. First of all, descriptive statistics were calculated in order to determine the characteristics regarding the personal data of the subject group. In the second stage, a variance anaylsis was conducted in order to analyze whether there is a meaningful difference in the cognitive flexibility points of the Anxiety and Adaptation levels based on sex, socio-economic and academic level.It was determined that there is a difference in the state-trait anxiety levels of participants based on the variable of sex, however, without being affected by the variable. On the other hand, it was observed that there is a difference in terms of general, social and personal adaptation levels with regard to the variable of sex, and that, as adaptation level increases, cognitive flexibility points also increase. However, only with regard to personal adaptation level are cognitive flexibility points effected based on the variable of sex.There also appears to be a difference in the state-trait anxiety levels based on the variable of socio-economic status of the participants, as indicated by an increase in cognitive flexibility points with a decreasing anxiety level, however, this is not affected by the variable of socio-economic status. On the other hand, a difference is observed in general, social and personal adaptation levels based on socio-economic status, and as adaptation levels increase cognitive flexibility points increase, however cognitive flexibility points are not affected by the variable of socio-economic status.It was also determined that there is a difference in state-trait anxiety levels based on the variable of academic level and that as anxiety level decreases cognitive flexibility points increase, however, it is not affected by the variable of academic level. In addition to this, there is a difference in general, social and personal adaptation levels with regard to academic level, and as the level of adaptation increases cognitive flexibility levels increase, without any effect on the cognitive flexibility points based on the variable of academic level.Lastly, it was found that the collective impact of the sex, socio-economic level and academic level variables on anxiety and adaptation levels do not cause a meaningful difference in cognitive flexibility points.