Association of selected socio-personal determinants with hopelessness among rural women belonging to farming and non-farming families

Pages: 154-157
Palak Bansal and Vandana Kanwar (Department of Human Development and Family Studies, Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana, Punjab University Counselling and Placement Guidance Cell, Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana, Punjab)

Mental health plays a very critical role in the overall well-being of an individual. Hopelessness is a major predictor ofvarious mental health disorders such as depression, suicide, low subjective well-being and psychiatric disorders. It is a cognitive trait and resulted from cognitive distortion. From the literature reviewed it was found that earlier researches on hopelessness were conducted in association with mental health disorders and very limited researches focused on socio-personal determinants. Thus, the present study aims to determine the association of socio-personal determinants with hopelessness among women belonging to farming and non-farming families. The study was conducted among rural women from Ludhiana District, Punjab. To assess the hopelessness among rural women Beck Hopelessness scale was used. The total sample comprised of 100 (farming=50; non-farming=50) rural married women belonging to the age group between 21-35 years. Respondents were selected through a purposive random sampling technique. Data were collected through the interview method. The results revealed that the prevalence of perceived hopelessness was high among women from non-farming families in comparison to their counterparts. Education and family income played a major role in inducing hopelessness among women living in non-farming families.