Indian Journal of Positive Psychology

Veena Easvaradoss ¹, Rini Rajan ¹

Affiliations
1 Department of Psychology, Women's Christian College, Chennai, IN

Abstract

Positive psychology is a recent branch of psychology that is commonly defined as 'the scientific study of optimal functioning' (Seligman, 2002) and the 'scientific study of ordinary human strengths and virtue' (Sheldon & King, 2001). The definitions highlight the scientific underpinnings of the field and the positive, non-clinical focus of positive psychology. Spirituality has been studied in positive psychology and defined as “a deep sense of belonging, of wholeness, of connectedness, and of openness to the infinite” (Kelly, 1995). Spirituality is associated with mental health, managing substance abuse, marital functioning, parenting, coping and finding purpose and meaning in life. The article discusses the concepts of positive psychology highlighting their influence on well-being.

Keywords

Positive Psychology, Spirituality, Well-being, Mental health, Self-Actualising

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Rini Rajan ¹, Veena Easvaradoss ¹

Affiliations
1 Department of Psychology, Women's Christian College, Chennai, IN

Abstract

The aim of the study was to examine the impact of happiness-related intervention on happiness, forgiveness and gratitude among adolescents. The aim of the study was also to investigate the effect of age and gender on happiness, forgiveness and gratitude. The relationship between happiness, forgiveness and gratitude was also studied. The design used for the study was pre- and post-intervention with control group. The sample consisted of 120 high school students (60 boys and 60 girls) taken from 8th and 11th grade (M = 14.8, S.D = 1.49). Repeated-measures MANOVA was used to measure the effectiveness of the intervention. The findings showed that the intervention group had significant increase in happiness, forgiveness and gratitude scores post-intervention compared to the control group. The findings further revealed that age did not have an effect on the variables. With relation to gender, females were happier and more grateful compared to males. There was no significant gender difference in forgiveness. Multiple correlations showed that happiness has a significant, positive relationship with forgiveness and gratitude. There was a moderate positive correlation between forgiveness and gratitude.

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