Subjective Well-Being among Dalit Adolecents

INTRODUCTIONSubjective well-being (SWB) is defined as 'a person's cognitive and affective evaluations of his or her life (Diener, Lucas, & Oshi, 2002). It can also be defined as a dynamic state characterized by a reasonable amount of harmony between individuals' ability, needs and expectations and environmental demands and opportunities (Levi, 1987). person who has a high level of satisfaction with his/her life, and who experiences a greater positive affect and little or less negative affect, would be deemed to have a high level of SWB.Well-being involves our experience of pleasure and our appreciation of life's rewards. SWB emphasizes people's reports of their life experiences. Accordingly, the subjective report is taken at face value. This subjective approach to happiness assumes that people from many cultures are comfortable in focusing on individualistic assessments of their affects and satisfaction and that people will be forthright in such personal analyses (Diener et al., 2009).The term SWB often is used as a synonym for happiness in the psychological literature. Psychologists have defined happiness as a combination of life satisfaction and the relative frequency of positive and negative affect (Isen, 2000). SWB therefore encompasses moods and emotions as well as evaluations of one's satisfaction with general and specific areas of one's life.Negative emotions prepare us for zero-sum games in which there is a winner and a loser and the amount lost and won is identical, so there is no gain from the transaction. In contrast positive emotions like pleasure or contentment tell us that something good is happening. Positive emotions broaden our attention so we become aware of the wider physical and social environment. This broadened attention prepares us to be open to new ideas and practices and to be more creative than usual (Isen, 2000). Thus positive emotions offer us opportunities to create better relationships and show greater productivity.Factors contributing to subjective well-beingSubjective well-being is determined by personal judgments of the individual's internal experiences. An external frame of reference is not imposed when assessing subjective well-being. In addition subjective well-being focuses on long-term status, not just momentary moods. Often what leads to momentary happiness may not be the same as what produces long term subjective well-being (Ryff & Singer, 2002).Personal stressors/ resourcesStressors and resources play an important part in determining and maintaining subjective well-being. It is important to note that lack of either hope or self-esteem could be classified as a stressor. If the person does not experience high levels of hope or selfesteem, it could place a considerable amount of stress on the individual and impair his/her functioning. few more examples of stressors and resources are self-confidence, easy going disposition, and sense of coherence, perceived mastery and dispositional optimism (Snyder et al., 1998).DALITSThe term means who have been broken and ground down by those above them in the social hierarchy in a deliberate and active way. Because of traditional social structures in India, the Dalits are at risk of discrimination, dehumanization, degradation, and violence every day (Dalit freedom network, 2012). Dalit is a group of people traditionally regarded as untouchables. There are many different names proposed for this group of people including Panchamas (fifth varna), and Asprushya (untouchables).Dalit Panthers defined this word in their 1972 manifesto as: A member of Scheduled Castes and Tribes, neo-Buddhist, the working-people, the land-less and poor peasants, women, and all those who are being exploited politically, economically, and in the name of religion.Literacy and Level of EducationWith respect to education, data indicates a wide gap between the Dalits and non-SCs/ STs in terms of school attendance. …