Predictors of Psychological Pain in Indian Adults: Evidence from Triguna Personality and Self-compassion

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DOI: https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.21294661

Manish Kumar Srivastava and Vandana Shukla (Department of Psychology, School of Arts & Humanities, Eklavya University, Damoh, Madhya Pradesh)

The present study examined the predictive roles of Vedic personality traits (Sattva, Rajas, & Tamas) and two aspects (positive & negative) of self-compassion in shaping the psychological pain of adults, hitherto little known aspect of human behaviours. Using a cross-sectional research design, 532 adults, comprising 263 men and 269 women adults aged 18-25 years (Mean = 20.78, SD = 1.67), responded to standard measures of Vedic Personality (Wolf, 1998), self-compassion (Neff, 2003), and psychological pain (Macorya et al., 2024). Mean, standard deviation, correlation and regression were computed through SPSS. The results revealed negative correlations of Sattva and positive self-compassion with psychological pain, while Rajas, Tamas, and negative self-compassion exhibited significant positive correlations with it. Gender, Marital Status, Rajas, Tamas, and positive and negative facets of self-compassion significantly predicted psychological pain. Demographic factors, Vedic personality traits and self-compassion together predicted 22.50% variability in psychological pain of adults (R2 = .225, β = .319, F (2, 519) = 28.10, p = .01). The findings suggest a significant role of personality and self-compassion in deciphering nature and extent of psychological pain among Indian adults. Specifically, the higher, Rajas, Tamas, and the negative self-compassion increase vulnerability, while the positive self-compassion protects from psychological pain.