Optimism, Meaning in Life, Spirituality and Subjective Well Being in Emerging Adults in Kolkata:A Brief Exploratory Study

Maladies of human mind have been the main focus of psychology since the time of Kreaplin to Freud to this day. Research is abundant with disturbance on human mind and its remedies until recently. Myers and Diener (1995) notes that psychological articles examining the negative states exceeds the positive sates by a ratio of 17 to 1.Later part of the 20th century saw a change in the focus in psychology when concepts like happiness was incorporated in the scientific endevour to study human mind. Yet quest for objectivity in psychology and a strong preference for medical nosology have kept the concept of happiness far from the main stream psychological research. This concept has been pushed aside as unscientific and subjective in spite of its undeniable importance in daily life and it's significance in society and culture. Since middle of the 20th century the need for search for factors contributing to happiness began and in the 21th century body of literature in this area is gradually increasing. In more than four decades of happiness studies, different measures of happiness have evolved. Out of hedonistic tradition evolved the concept of subjective well being (SWB). Positive psychology is primarily viewed as a study of strength and many studies focus on investigating the relation of different strengths at the individualistic level and collectivistic level and their contributory effects on SWB at different phases of life span particularly adulthood.With rapid industrialization and technological advancement , social expectations have been vastly modified .Due to rapid increase in variety of pathways in the educational and vocational front significant increase in the tendency to explore, experiment and change is observed in the phase following adolescence and the concept of emerging adulthood is gaining prominence as a distinct phase of life in developed as well as developing countries especially in the urban life where opportunities for experimentation is greater in comparison to rural life. This period of experimentation is marked by strivings to attain goals in social and vocational life. According to Arnett's Theory of Emerging Adulthood (2000) the years of life between 18 years and 25 years is a period of exploration in different areas of life particularly, the areas of relationship and vocation which an individual will follow for the rest of the life. It is prolonged part of adolescence and though no distinct mention of this phase was present in the Erikson's theory , Arnett observes that a period resembling adolescence in some ways and young adulthood in others was mentioned by Erikson .This phase was noted as psychological moratorium. Psychological moratorium is a period "during which the young adult through free role experimentation may find a niche in some section of his society" (Erikson, 1968, p. 156). Similarly work of Levinson (1978) takes note of a period of exploration between adolescence and young adulthood during which an individual lays the foundation of life structure. Kenneth Keniston's theory of youth (1971) also takes note of this phase of life. Emerging adulthood is an independent stage of life characterized by "intense identity exploration, instability, a focus on self... and unparalleled hope"(Smith & Snell, 2009, p. 6) . They observe that emerging adults "are determined to be free. But they do not know what is worth doing with their freedom" (p. 294).In otherwords it's a critical period and though neglected it was not missed by stalwarts of developmental psychology. In the backdrop of ever-changing social and vocational scenario, question regarding SWB of the emerging adults as well as contribution and relationship of the different 'strengths' associated with it arises. Emerging adulthood is a period of experimentation and exploration and hence factors like outcome expectancies of goals, presence and search for coherence and meaningfulness in life in addition to involvement and beliefs about the desire to be the part of a laiger entity which lies beyond the call of materialistic world are expected to impact significantly on the SWB of the emerging adults. …