Subjective well-being, Positive affect, Life satisfaction, Socio-demographic, India,

Introduction:There has been an increase in a number of orphanages and children living in orphanages in last few years. The children living in orphanages often have psychological problems among which anxiety, depression, and low self-esteem are considered to be most prominent. Yoga is a noninvasive, cost-effective, and safe intervention among complementary and alternative medicine which is known to have a positive impact on psychological problems.Aims:The present pilot study intended to assess the effect of a two week Yoga intervention on anxiety, depression, and self-esteem of adolescents and young adults living in an orphanage.Materials and Methods:Adolescent and young adults participants who were the permanent residents of an orphanage (n = 34; males = 27, females = 7) between age ranges of 12–20 years underwent 2 week of Yoga intervention. Yoga intervention comprised Asana (Yogic postures), Pranayama (Yogic breathing practices), and Dharana-Dhyana (Yogic relaxation techniques) for 1 h daily over 15 days. Hospital anxiety and depression and Rosenberg self-esteem scale were administered at baseline and after the intervention to assess anxiety, depression, and self-esteem, respectively.Results:There was a significant reduction (P = 0.001) in anxiety, depression, and significant improvement in self-esteem (P = 0.001) at the end of 2 weeks Yoga intervention.Conclusions:This pilot study suggests that 2 weeks of Yoga practice potentially reduced anxiety and depression and improved self-esteem of orphanage adolescents and young adults. These findings need confirmation from studies with a larger sample size and randomized controlled design, which are implicated in the future.

Ideas around self and identity are at the core of various reflective traditions in both East and West. In the psychological literature, they have multiple meanings. However, they usually reflect the idea of self-sameness across changing time. The current study aimed to explore various ways in which contemporary Indians define their ‘self’ and if there were any parallel between modern and traditional construal of self. An open-ended Twenty Statements Test (TST) was used along with a quantitative measure Ahamkara Questionnaire (AQ) based on an Indian model of self, known as ‘ahamkara’. A sample of 240 educated, adults (Females=104, Males= 136; Mean age= 38.17 years, SD=11.45 years; range 20-60 years) were purposively selected from an urban area of North India and recruited in this mixed-method, cross-sectional research study. Thematic analysis of TST responses uncovered five broad thematic categories in self-concepts: Individuality, Belongingness, Separation, Agency and Spiritual/Transpersonal. Four of them overlapped with sub-components of ‘ahamkara’. They also differed with age where Spiritual/Transpersonal theme was frequent in self-concepts of older samples. Quantitative results from AQ also indicated that the level of ahamkara significantly differed with age and gender. These findings have implications for mental health and developing interventions utilising Indian conception of self.

Anasakti, translated as “nonattachment” in English, is one of the important philosophical concepts of Hinduism and Buddhism. It has also been studied in contemporary psychology using various measures of anasakti. However, there is a dearth of studies that have qualitatively investigated anasakti from the lay or “folk” perspective. This mixed-method study aimed to uncover subjective meanings and personal belief systems related to anasakti, as well as practices and experiences related to the lay understanding of anasakti among a sample of 240 urban educated adults (female = 104, male = 136) in India. Three structured scales (Test of asakti –anasakti, Scale of anasakti, Nonattachment Scale) were used to assess the levels of anasakti, while a semistructured questionnaire elicited personal meanings, experiences, and associated behaviors and beliefs related to anasakti. Thematic analysis revealed five broad thematic categories covering the qualitative data: personal meanings of anasakti, experiences, benefits, efficacy, and pathways. Roles of desire and attachment were also discussed. Quantitative results indicated higher levels of anasakti in older age groups, suggesting that anasakti may progress with age. These findings have several implications for future research and interventions.

Änanda, along with sätvika, räjasika and tämasika sukha are different types of happiness as discussed in the Indian tradition. Further different pathways to these have also been discussed such as niùçreyasa path to änanda, çreyas path to sätvika sukha and preyas path to räjasika - tämasika sukha. While änanda is experienced on liberation, most people in the world experience sukha, although its type differs based on the path taken. In a series of empirical studies on happiness of sukha type, with urban Indian adults, we found that most people at any point of time are happy. Sätvika qualities and çreyas type of activities were associated with happiness, while räjasika and tämasika qualities, along with preyas type of activities were related to more unhappiness. In general people preferred a mix of both çreyas and preyas type of activities, with higher frequency of çreyas type. High preyas focus in terms of alcohol dependence was associated with high tamas, low sattva and more frequent experience of negative emotions. These studies suggest development of sattva by taking a çreyas pathway may be associated with better mental health, on the other hand predominant focus on preyas pathway may be associated with räjasika - tämasika qualities and poor mental health. More studies are required in future to further test this hypothesis by developing sattva based interventions.