Indian Journal of Positive Psychology

Open Access Open Access  Restricted Access Subscription Access
Open Access Open Access Open Access  Restricted Access Restricted Access Subscription Access

Meaning of Happiness:A Qualitative Inquiry among Adolescents


Affiliations
1 Deptt. of Psychology, University of Raj., Jaipur, Rajasthan, India
2 Vizag, India
3 Department of Psychology, University of Rajasthan, Jaipur, Rajasthan, India
     

   Subscribe/Renew Journal


Research on happiness seems to be blooming in current academics. Psychology's engagement with psychopathology left no space for this concept to come to the fore. With rapid changes in the academic world, together with the shift in the focus towards more positive concepts has resulted in a renewed interest in the concept of happiness. The domain of qualitative research seeks to explore the diverse human experiences and the present study uses this domain to understand the subjective meaning of happiness in adolescent students. Using a qualitative approach, twenty adolescents were asked to share their life experiences using a semi structured interview schedule. A grounded theory analysis revealed that happiness forms a core concern for an individual where it depends not only on the cultural norm involving an individual where social relationships form an important part, but also goals and aims (s) he/she wishes to achieve in life. It exists in temporality but is impacted by the larger dimension of meaning in life which is relatively stable and covers a huge expanse of an individual's existence. Finding happiness in life involves both personal goals such as self growth and attainment of peace, and also professional goals like fulfilment of one's academic aim. Happiness is also seen as being impacted by an individual's past happenings, belief in self-worth and social responsibility. Analysis of the findings thus points to the fact that meaning of happiness varies across individuals, however, the essence remains the same for a given culture. The consideration of the emic approach not only creates sound knowledge, but also leads to a holistic understanding of human affairs.

Keywords

Happiness, Adolescents, Qualitative Research, Meaning in Life, Purpose in Life, Life Experiences.
Subscription Login to verify subscription
User
Notifications
Font Size


  • Abdel-Khalek, A.M. (2006). Measuring Happiness with a Single-Item Scale. Social Behavior and Personality: An International Journal, 34(2), 139-150. DOI: https://doi.org/10.2224/sbp.2006.34.2.139

  • Chaplin, L.N. (2009). Please may i have a bike? Better yet, may i have a hug? An examination of children and adolescents happiness. Journal of Happiness Studies, 10(5), 541-562. doi:10.1007/s10902-008-9108-3

  • Datu, J.A., & Mateo, N.J. (2012). Investigating happiness through a psychoanalytic social lens: Perspective from Filipino adolescents. Asian Journal of Social Sciences and Humanities, 1(4), 232-242.

  • Diener, E. (2013). The remarkable changes in the science of subjective well-being. Perspectives on Psychological Science, 8(6), 663–666.

  • Hameeda, D.S., & Sayeeda, D.S. (2015). Happiness, perfectionism, and life satisfaction among adolescents. International Journal of Arts, Humanities and Management Studies, 1, Issue 12.

  • Ho, L. S. (2013). Happiness of children as they grow into their teens: The Hong Kong case (CPPS Working Paper Series no.195). Retrieved from Lingnan University website: http://commons.ln.edu.hk/cppswp/93/

  • Holder, M.D., & Coleman, B. (2008). The contribution of temperament, popularity, and physical appearance to children happiness. Journal of Happiness Studies, 9(2), 279-302. doi:10.1007/s10902-007-9052-7

  • Holder, M.D., & Coleman, B. (2009). The contribution of social relationships to children happiness. Journal of Happiness Studies, 10(3), 329-349. doi:10.1007/s10902-007-9083-0

  • Holder, M.D., Coleman, B., & Wallace, J.M. (2010). Spirituality, religiousness, and happiness in children aged 8–12 years. Journal of Happiness Studies, 11(2), 131-150. doi:10.1007/s10902-008-9126-1

  • Kováč, L. (2012). The biology of happiness chasing pleasure and human destiny. EMB Oreports, 13, 297–302.

  • Moksnes, U.K., & Espnes, G.A. (2013). Self-esteem and life satisfaction in adolescents gender and age as potential moderators. Quality of Life Research, 22(10), 2921-2928.

  • Nima, A., Archer, T., & Garcia, D. (2012) Adolescents happiness-increasing strategies, temperament, and character: Mediation models on subjective well-being. Health, 4, 802-810. doi: 10.4236/health.2012.410124.

  • Olsson, C. A., McGee, R., Nada-Raja, S., & Sheila, M. W. (2012). A 32-year longitudinal study of child and adolescent pathways to well-being in adulthood. Journal on Happiness Studies. DOI 10.1007/s10902-012-9369-8.

  • Park, N., & Peterson, C. (2009). Three ways to be happy: Pleasure, engagement, and meaning-findings from Australian and US. Social Indicators Research, 90, 165-179.

  • Sirgy, M. J. (2009). The pleasant life, the engaged life, and the meaningful life: What about the balanced life? Journal of Happiness Studies, 10, 183–196.

  • Smith, J.A. (1995). Rethinking methods in psychology. Thousand Oaks, London : SAGE Publications.

  • Uusitalo-Malmivaara, L. (2014). Happiness decreases during early adolescence: A study on 12- and 15-year-old Finnish students. Psychology, 5, 541-555. doi: 10.4236/psych.2014.56064.

  • Valkenburg, P. M., & Jochen, P. (2007). Online communication and adolescent well-being: Testing the stimulation versus the displacement hypothesis. Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication, 12(4), 1169-1182. DOI: 10.1111/j.10836101.2007.00368.x

  • YeonKye, S., Hyun Kwon, J., & Park, K. (2016). Happiness and health behaviors in South Korean adolescents: A cross-sectional study. Epidemiol Health, Vol. 38. DOI: https://doi.org/10.4178/epih.e2016022


Abstract Views: 561

PDF Views: 0




  • Meaning of Happiness:A Qualitative Inquiry among Adolescents

Abstract Views: 561  |  PDF Views: 0

Authors

Naina Kapoor
Deptt. of Psychology, University of Raj., Jaipur, Rajasthan, India
Shifa Rahman
Vizag, India
Tejinder Kaur
Department of Psychology, University of Rajasthan, Jaipur, Rajasthan, India

Abstract


Research on happiness seems to be blooming in current academics. Psychology's engagement with psychopathology left no space for this concept to come to the fore. With rapid changes in the academic world, together with the shift in the focus towards more positive concepts has resulted in a renewed interest in the concept of happiness. The domain of qualitative research seeks to explore the diverse human experiences and the present study uses this domain to understand the subjective meaning of happiness in adolescent students. Using a qualitative approach, twenty adolescents were asked to share their life experiences using a semi structured interview schedule. A grounded theory analysis revealed that happiness forms a core concern for an individual where it depends not only on the cultural norm involving an individual where social relationships form an important part, but also goals and aims (s) he/she wishes to achieve in life. It exists in temporality but is impacted by the larger dimension of meaning in life which is relatively stable and covers a huge expanse of an individual's existence. Finding happiness in life involves both personal goals such as self growth and attainment of peace, and also professional goals like fulfilment of one's academic aim. Happiness is also seen as being impacted by an individual's past happenings, belief in self-worth and social responsibility. Analysis of the findings thus points to the fact that meaning of happiness varies across individuals, however, the essence remains the same for a given culture. The consideration of the emic approach not only creates sound knowledge, but also leads to a holistic understanding of human affairs.

Keywords


Happiness, Adolescents, Qualitative Research, Meaning in Life, Purpose in Life, Life Experiences.

References





DOI: https://doi.org/10.15614/ijpp%2F2018%2Fv9i1%2F173736