Critical Thinking Skill in Adolescents: A Cross-Sectional Evaluation into the Mediating Function of Problem- Solving and Decision-Making skill

DOI

https://www.doi.org/10.59256/ijrtmr.20260602039

Published In

Volume 6, Issue 2 (2026)

Published Online

March-April 2026

Pages

272-283

Article Type

Original Article

Check for updates

Building life skills among youngsters is a crucial endeavour in today's world that’s why this study tried to evaluate the problem-solving (P.S), decision-making (D.S), and critical thinking (C.T) skills among adolescents who are now in their crucial age and studying secondary and higher secondary schools in West Bengal. The study involved a total of 253 (boys = 110,43.48% and girls = 143, 56.52%) students in grades 9-12 from various districts. Data was collected using a simple random sampling method in both online and offline modes. The sample consisted of 253 adolescents who completed the questionnaire using three subscales, (P.S), (D.S), and (C.T). The data was analysed using SPSS version 25.0. Results showed that a positive moderate correlation was found (r =.498, p<0.01) that problem solving skill variance critical thinking skill also increased, and between decision-making and critical thinking skills of the students are positively correlated. It also investigates the role of demographic and socio-economic indicators in influencing these skills among adolescents. The study suggested that the problem-solving and decision-making of school-going adolescents are significant predictors (25.8%) of their critical thinking skill as described in the conclusion.