Psychological Well-Being and Achievement Motivation Among Orphan and Non-Orphan Adolescents of Kashmir

Orphans exist in all societies. The number of orphans is increasing day by day in India in general and in Kashmir in particular, due to the past 23 years of conflict. Besides, the trend of institutionalizing them is spreading in the society. This study aimed to compare the psychological wellbeing and achievement motivation of orphan and non-orphan adolescents (males and females) in Kashmir. Participants comprised of 80 adolescents, out of whom 20 were male orphans, 20 female orphans, 20 male non orphans and 20 female non -orphans. The sample was collected from three orphanages and different schools of Kashmir. Ryff's psychological well-being scale and Deo-Mohan Achievement Motivation scale were administered to collect data. Multivariate analysis of variance was performed to analyze data. A significant difference was obtained between orphans and non-orphans on psychological wellbeing. Non-orphans scored higher on psychological wellbeing than orphan adolescents. Certain dimensions of psychological well-being namely personal growth, positive relations, purpose in life and self-acceptance also differ significantly in orphans and non-orphans. Only one dimension on which males and females differ significantly was purpose in life. No significant difference was obtained between orphan and non-orphan& between male and female adolescents on achievement motivation. So, the concerned bodies, policy makers, schools, family, governmental and non-governmental organization should work together in order to increase the psychological well-being of orphans.