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Perception of Wellbeing among Women in Mauritius: A Qualitative Study.

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P. Saddul, Dr. F. Grant.

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My Biodata

  • Ms. Poonam (Emma) Saddul
  • Faculty of Social Sciences and Humanities
  • University of Mauritius, Mauritius.
  • +230 5 719 09 09/ +230 5 824 16 10

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  • Poonam Saddul is a PhD student at the University of Mauritius and a psychologist at the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family Welfare. Her research focuses on the wellbeing of women in Mauritius and the role of sociodemographic and psychological factors on wellbeing.
  • Ph.D Supervisor: Dr Fiona Grant

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Introduction

Health can be defined as “a complete state of physical, psychological and social well-being instead of the absence of disease or infirmity” (World Health Organization, 1946).

“A state of well-being in which the individual realizes his or her abilities, can cope with the normal stresses of life, can work productively and fruitfully, and can contribute to his or her community” (WHO, 2001).

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Introduction

  • Wellbeing (WB) has been studied extensively as an important indicator of human quality of life.

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  • Wellbeing is a rapidly growing area of interest but its variable nature and complexity as a human experience has made the notion of wellbeing difficult to define.
  • Ryff and Keyes (1995) identified that “the absence of theory-based formulations of well-being is puzzling‛.

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Definitions of wellbeing

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  • The hedonic tradition, which accentuated constructs such as happiness, positive affect, low negative affect, and satisfaction with life;

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  • And the eudaimonic tradition, which highlighted positive psychological functioning and human development.

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Wellbeing Research

  • Identification of key factors contributing to wellbeing is well established.
  • Cross-cultural research postulates that wellbeing must be measured subjectively and may be experienced differently across cultures.
  • Moreover, there are limited empirical studies that have investigated the participant’s specific cultural perspective with regard to the understanding of wellbeing.
  • In order to extend our understanding of wellbeing in non-Western cultures, research from a Mauritian perspective is an important step towards understanding the construct of wellbeing.

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  • Based on reviews of previous studies, a number of scholars have recommended the importance of such contextual analysis to extend on the current wellbeing research.

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  • Cultural aspects, such as norms, values and traditions, play an important role in determining the experience of wellbeing.

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  • These cultural aspects guide the corresponding effect and cognition in individuals’ interpretation of wellbeing

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  • Self-Construal Theory (Markus & Kitayama, 1991).

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- Self-construal is conceptualized as a constellation of thoughts, feelings, and actions with respect to one’s relationship to others and to the self, as distinct from others.

- East versus West

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Research Aims

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  • This research aims to explore the perception of what constitutes a good life for women in Mauritius and its main objective is to identify and understand the experience of wellbeing within our cultural setting.

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  • This will allow for a deeper knowledge on how women in Mauritius experience greater psychological mechanisms and use definitions and scales that are culturally appropriate to measure their wellbeing.

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Methodology

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  • Thematic qualitative approach.
  • The purposive sample will consist of 15-20 Mauritian female adults across different backgrounds.
  • The semi-structured interviews will focus on the participant’s understanding and personal experience of wellbeing and will range from 30 to 45 minutes.
  • The interviews will be audio-recorded and transcribed, following which the data will be analysed, coded, and grouped together as main themes.

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Expected Results

  • Emergence of different distinct and prominent concepts.

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  • Predominant dimensions such as social wellbeing (the ability to communicate with others and build meaningful relationships where you can freely be yourself), emotional wellbeing (the ability to successfully handle life's stresses and adapt to change and difficult times), intellectual wellbeing (recognizing one's creative abilities and finding ways to expand knowledge and skills), and physical wellbeing (the ability to maintain a healthy quality of life that allows us to get the most out of our daily activities without undue fatigue or physical stress) are expected to emerge from this study.

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Conclusion

  • It is the first study aimed at exploring in depth the unique experience of how women in Mauritius perceive their everyday wellbeing.

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  • The existing literature lacks an in-depth contextual exploration of the meaning and experience of wellbeing from a Mauritian cultural perspective that examine the components essential to the individual experience of wellbeing in this cultural context.

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  • Will provide valuable database to promote wellbeing policies.

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