Indian adolescents’ ways of exhibiting respect towards people

Pages: 25-28
Priyanka Panwar (Department of Human Development and Childhood Studies, Lady Irwin College, University of Delhi, New Delhi)

Respect plays an important role in every individual’s life as to feel respected is regarded as an indispensable human right. Respecting someone is to give value to them and honor their words and actions. The present study was centered on examining various ways through which adolescents expressed and displayed respect towards people. To design the present study, a qualitative approach was used and the sample was selected from Sikandra Road, New Delhi, India. The sample comprised of 50 adolescents in the age range of 14-15 years. The tools used in the study were interview schedule and focused group discussion. The major findings of the study were that the ways in which adolescents displayed respect included respecting others by greeting, honoring, venerating and being obedient to others. It was also seen that participants’ expressed respect differently to elder people, same age group and younger people. The study also revealed that both boys and girls emphasized more on respect for girls in our society. There appeared a difference in displaying respect towards people based on age hierarchy and gender.