Compassion across Gender, Ecology, and Type of Families among College and University Students in Manipur

Description

Page: 82-86

Sophia Akoijam and Nutankumar S. Thingujam (Department of Psychology, Tripura University, Suryamaninagar, Agartala, Tripura)

Compassion, recognized as a pivotal value in major world religions, has been integrated into their teachings due to its positive outcomes. Despite the extensive literature on compassion, studies within the Indian context are notably scarce. Furthermore, the association between compassion and demographic variables remains largely unexplored. Thus, the current study aimed to investigate the relationship between compassion and gender, family structure, and ecology among college and university students in Manipur. A total of 420 participants (267 females & 153 males) from various institutions took part in the study, responding to a questionnaire featuring the compassion scale and demographic details. The findings revealed no significant differences in overall compassion across gender, family structure, and ecology. However, a noteworthy distinction emerged in the common humanity sub-scale, with females exhibiting higher common humanity. Additionally, significant differences were observed in common humanity between, family types, and ecological settings. Specifically, participants from nuclear families and urban areas displayed a heightened sense of common humanity compared to their counterparts from joint families and rural areas. These findings highlight key areas where there is potential to focus on compassion training and therapy interventions, customized to meet the specific needs of diverse demographic contexts.