The Effect of Autonomy and Sociotropy on Wellbeing of College Students

Martin Seligman (2011) defines well-being as combination of positive emotion, engagement, meaning, relationships, and accomplishment (PERMA). The notion of well-being can be either hedonistic or pursuit of sensation and pleasure or Eudaimonia or being true to one’s inner self (Maslow,1970). Sociotropy scale is related to pleasing other, dependency and concern over what others think while the autonomy scales include independence, perfectionism, self-criticism and defensive separation. Aim: The present study aims to find the relationship between autonomy and wellbeing and Sociotropy and wellbeing in college students. Method: Quantitative data was collected from 30 college students of Kolkata aged between 18-25 years, using standardized psychometric questionnaire: Ryff’s Psychological Well-being scale (1995) and Sociotropic Autonomy Scale by A.T Beck (1983) and Beck and Clark (1999). Results: The correlation analysis indicates that for the present sample a significant negative correlation exists between sociotropy and wellbeing (-0.397, p<0.05) while no significant relationship was found between autonomy and wellbeing. Thus, it can be said that with increasing sociotropy, psychological wellbeing decreases.