Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Youth Perspectives About the Factors that Contribute to Psychological Well-Being in Negombo, Sri Lanka

  • Chapter
  • First Online:
International Handbook of Psychological Well-Being in Children and Adolescents

  • 1687 Accesses

Abstract

This chapter explores youth phenomenology about the variables important to the psychological well-being of Sri Lankan preadolescents and adolescents. Using focus group interviews and ecomap drawings and narratives, the authors identified culturally and developmentally relevant competencies, sociocultural stressors and supports, and culturally relevant reactions to stressors and supports. Implications and suggestions for intervention and future research are provided.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Log in via an institution
Chapter
USD 29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD 139.00
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book
USD 179.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info
Hardcover Book
USD 219.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

References

  • Arasaratnam, S. (1986). Aggression and inter-ethnic conflict: Sinhala Tamil relations in modern Sri Lanka. In J. Boucher & D. Lands (Eds.), International perspectives on ethnic conflict: Antecedents and dynamics. Beverly Hills: Sage.

    Google Scholar 

  • Arunatilake, N. (2006). Education participation in Sri Lanka – why all are not in school. International Journal of Educational Research, 45, 137–152. doi:10.1016/j.ijer/2006/11/001.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Baker, V. J. (2000). A village school in Sri Lanka. Anthropology and Education Quarterly, 31(1), 109–116. http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1525/aeq.2000.31.1.109/pdf. Accessed 5 Oct 2012.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Balasuriya, L., & Hughes, R. (2003, November). Education and employment: Sri Lanka at the crossroads. Paper presented at the 9th International Conference on Sri Lanka Studies, Matara, Sri Lanka.

    Google Scholar 

  • Brooks, R. B. (2013). The power of parenting. In S. Goldstein & R. B. Brooks (Eds.), Handbook of resilience in children (2nd ed., pp. 443–459). New York: Springer.

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Caspersz, P. S. J. (2005). A new culture for a new society. Kandy: Satyodaya Consumer Seva.

    Google Scholar 

  • Central Bank of Sri Lanka (The Monetary Board). (2012). Annual report of the Monetary Board to the Honorable Minister of Finance for the year 2012 (63rd Annual Report). http://www.cbsl.gov.lk/pics_n_docs/10_pub/_docs/efr/annual_report/AR2012/English/content.htm. Accessed 4 Aug 2014.

  • De Silva, K. M. (1981). A history of Sri Lanka. London: C. Hurst and Company.

    Google Scholar 

  • De Silva, W. (2002). The family: Continuity and change. In S. Jayaweera (Ed.), Women in post independence Sri Lanka (pp. 211–244). Colombo: VijithaYapa Publications.

    Google Scholar 

  • Eddleston, M., Sheriff, M. R., & Hawton, K. (1998). Deliberate self-harm in Sri Lanka: An overlooked tragedy in the developing world. British Medical Journal, 317, 133. doi:2048/10.1136/bmj.317.7151.133.

    Google Scholar 

  • Erkut, S. (2010). Developing multiple language versions of instruments for intercultural research. Child Development Perspectives, 4(1), 19–21. http://web.ebscohost.com.libproxy.tulane.edu:2048/ehost/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?sid=e9c363f1-9943-4e6c-8b5d-9f31bacdec00%40sessionmgr113&vid=2&hid=112. Accessed 5 Oct 2012.

    Article  PubMed Central  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Ganegodage, K. R., & Rambaldi, A. N. (2011). The impact of education investment on Sri Lankan economic growth. Economics of Education Review, 30, 1491–1502. doi:10.1016/j.ecoedurev.2011.08.001.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gifford-Smith, M. E., & Brownell, C. A. (2003). Childhood peer relationships: Social acceptance, friendships, and peer networks. Journal of School Psychology, 41, 235–284. doi:10.1016/S0022-4405(03)00048-7.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gunatileke, G. (1988). The extent and nature of the structural mismatch in the labour market. Colombo, SL: Institute of Policy Studies.

    Google Scholar 

  • Harter, S. (1999). The construction of the self: A developmental perspective. New York: Guilford.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hendren, R., Weisen, R. B., & Orley, J. (1994). Mental health programmes in schools. Geneva: World Health Organization, Division of Mental Health. http://whqlibdoc.who.int/HQ/1993/WHO_MNH_PSF_93.3_REV.1.pdf. Accessed 5 Oct 2012.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hewage, P., Kumara, C., & Rigg, J. (2011). Connecting and disconnecting people and places: Migrants, migration, and the household in Sri Lanka. Annals of the Association of American Geographers, 101, 202–219. doi:10.1080/00045608.2010.532741.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Higgins, E. T. (1987). Self-discrepancy: A theory relating self and affect. Psychological Review, 94, 319–340. doi:10.1037/0033-295X.94.3.319.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Hitchcock, J. H., Nastasi, B. K., Dai, D. Y., Newman, J., Jayasena, A., et al. (2005). Illustrating a mixed-method approach for validating culturally specific constructs. Journal of School Psychology, 43, 259–278. doi:10.1016/j.jsp.2005.04.007.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hitchcock, J. H., Sarkar, S., Nastasi, B. K., Burkholder, G., Varjas, K., & Jayasena, A. (2006). Validating culture- and gender-specific constructs: A mixed-method approach to advance assessment procedures in cross-cultural settings. Journal of Applied School Psychology, 22(2), 13–33. doi:10.1300/J370v22n02_02.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • House, J. S., Umberson, D., & Landis, K. R. (1988).Structures and processes of social support. Annual Review of Sociology, 14, 293–318. doi:10.1146/annurev.so.14.080188.001453.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Isenman, P. (1980). Basic needs: The case of Sri Lanka. World Development, 8, 237–258. doi:10.1016/0305-750X(80)90012-1.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Jayasena, P. H. A. N. S. (1989).Schooling and its context in Sri Lanka: A study of effects of communal tensions on two ethnically mixed schools. Unpublished dissertation, Monash University, VIC, Australia.

    Google Scholar 

  • Jayaweera, S. (2007a). Gender, education and socialisation. Colombo: Center for Women’s Research.

    Google Scholar 

  • Jayaweera, S. (2007b). Schooling in Sri Lanka. In A. Gupta (Ed.) & A. Sadovnik & S. Semel (Series Eds.), Going to school in South Asia: The global school room (pp. 167–194). Westport: Greenwood.

    Google Scholar 

  • Karunathilake, I. M. (2012). Health changes in Sri Lanka: Benefits of primary health care and public health. Pacific Journal of Public Health, 24, 663–671. doi:10.1177/1010539512453670.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Konradsen, F., van de Hoek, W., & Peiris, P. (2006). Reaching for the bottle of pesticide—A cry for help: Self-inflicted poisonings in Sri Lanka. Social Science & Medicine, 62, 1710–1719. doi:10.1016/j.socscimed.2005.08.020.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Little, A. W. (2011). Education policy reform in Sri Lanka: The double-edged sword of political will. Journal of Education Policy, 26, 499–512. doi:10.1080/02680939.2011.555005.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Liyanage, I. K., Wickramasinghe, K. W., Ratnayake, H. E., Palmer, P., Matthews, D. R., & Katulanda, P. (2013). Use of illicit substances among schoolchildren in Colombo District, Sri Lanka. Substance Abuse, 34, 137–142. doi:10.1080/08897077.2012.726961.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Miller, K. E., Fernando, G. A., & Berger D. E. (2009). Daily stressors in the lives of Sri Lankan youth: A mixed methods approach to assessment in a context of war and natural disaster. Intervention, 7(3), 187–203. http://www.ourmediaourselves.com/archives/73pdf/ 73%20miller.pdf. Accessed 5 Oct 2012.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ministry of Education (2010). School census report. Ministry of Education, Isurupaya. Battaramulla, Sri Lanka.

    Google Scholar 

  • Nastasi, B. K. (2008). Advances in qualitative research. In T. Gutkin & C. Reynolds (Eds.), The handbook of school psychology (4th ed., pp. 30–53). New York: Wiley.

    Google Scholar 

  • Nastasi, B. K., & International Psychological Well-Being Research Team (2012). Promoting Psychological Well-Being Globally project. [Updated study procedures]. New Orleans: Department of Psychology, Tulane University.

    Google Scholar 

  • Nastasi, B. K., & Jayasena, A. (2006). Mental health promotion post-tsunami curriculum. Weligama, Sri Lanka. Walden University, USA. Centre for Women’s Research (CENWOR), Colombo, Sri Lanka.

    Google Scholar 

  • Nastasi, B. K., Pluymert, K., Varjas, K., & Bernstein, R. (1998a). Mental health programming and the role of school psychologists. School Psychology Review, 27(2), 217–232. http://web.b.ebscohost.com.libproxy.tulane.edu:2048/ehost/detail?sid=1df6e721-5da7-466c-8fb8-9ff7d54bf129%40sessionmgr115&vid=2&hid=128&bdata=JnNpdGU9ZWhvc3QtbGl2ZSZzY29wZT1zaXRl#db=tfh&AN=898747. Accessed 5 Oct 2012.

    Google Scholar 

  • Nastasi, B. K., Varjas, K., Sarkar, S., & Jayasena, A. (1998b). Participatory model of mental health programming: Lessons learned from work in a developing country. School Psychology Review, 27(2), 260–276. http://www.nasponline.org/publications/spr/abstract.aspx?ID=1423. Accessed 5 Oct 2012.

    Google Scholar 

  • Nastasi, B. K., Varjas, K., Bernstein, R., Hellendoorn, C., Brewster, M., Hitchcock, J., Kowal, M. P., & Jayasena, A. (1999). Program for mental health promotion in Sri Lankan schools: Curriculum manual & instructional guide. (Developed for implementation in the Central Province Schools, Kandy, Sri Lanka). Albany: School Psychology Program, University at Albany, State University of New York.

    Google Scholar 

  • Nastasi, B. K., Moore, R. B., & Varjas, K. M. (2004). School-based mental health services: Creating comprehensive and culturally specific programs. Washington, D.C.: American Psychological Association.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Nastasi, B. K., Hitchcock, J. H., Burkholder, G., Varjas, K., Sarkar, S., & Jayasena, A. (2007). Assessing adolescents' understanding of and reactions to stress in different cultures: Results of a mixed-methods approach. School Psychology International, 28(2), 163–178. doi:10.1177/0143034307078092.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Nastasi, B. K., Hitchcock, J. H., Varjas, K., Jayasena, A., Sarkar, S., Moore, R. B., Burden, F., & Albrecht, L. (2010). School-based stress and coping program for adolescents in Sri Lanka: Using mixed methods to facilitate culture-specific programming. In K. M. T. Collins, A. J. Onwuegbuzie & Q. G. Jiao (Eds.), Toward a broader understanding of stress and coping: Mixed methods approaches. The Research on Stress and Coping in Education Series (Vol. 5, pp. 305–342). Charlotte: Information Age Publishing.

    Google Scholar 

  • Nastasi, B. K., Jayasena, A., Summerville, M., & Borja, A. (2011). Facilitating long-term recovery from natural disasters: Psychosocial programming in tsunami-affected schools of Sri Lanka. School Psychology International, 32, 512–532. doi:10.1177/0143034311402923.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Nayanah, S. (2010). Sri Lanka struggles with mental health burden. The Lancet , 375(9718), 880–881. doi:10.1016 (50140-6736) (10) 60370-4).

    Google Scholar 

  • Peebles, P. (2006). The history of Sri Lanka. Westport: Greenwood.

    Google Scholar 

  • Perera, H. (2004). Mental health of adolescent school children in Sri Lanka. Sri Lanka Journal of Child Health, 33, 78–81.doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.4038/sljch.v33i3.642. Accessed 5 Oct 2012.

    Google Scholar 

  • Sri Lanka Constitution. (2000). Chapter 6, Article 27. http://www.priu.gov.lk/Cons/1978Constitution/Introduction.htm. Accessed 5 Oct 2012.

  • Sri Lanka Department of Census and Statistics. (2001). Census of population and housing 2001. http://www.statistics.gov.lk/PopHouSat/Pop_Chra.asp. Accessed 5 Oct 2012.

  • Sri Lanka Department of Census and Statistics. (2002). Headcount index and population below poverty line by DS Division – Sri Lanka: 2002. http://www.statistics.gov.lk/poverty/small%20area%20reportNEW.pdf. Accessed 5 Oct 2012.

  • Sri Lanka Department of Census and Statistics. (2012a). Population by religion according to districts, 2012. Sri Lanka census of housing and population. http://www.statistics.gov.lk/PopHouSat/CPH2011/index.php?fileName=pop43&gp=Activities&tpl=3. Accessed 4 Aug 2014.

  • Sri Lanka Department of Census and Statistics. (2012b). Population by sex and age, 2012. Sri Lanka census of housing and population. http://www.statistics.gov.lk/PopHouSat/CPH2011/index.php?fileName=pop41&gp=Activities&tpl=3. Accessed 4 Aug 2014.

  • Sri Lanka Ministry of Health. (2013). Vision.About us. Ministry of Healthcare and Nutrition. http://203.94.76.60/health/eng/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=297&Itemid=82. Accessed 4 Jul 2014.

  • Strein, W., Hoagwood, K., & Cohn, A. (2003). School psychology: A public health perspective I, Prevention, populations, and systems change. Journal of School Psychology Review, 35, 23–38. doi:10.1016/S0022-4405(02)00142-5.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • UNICEF. (2006). Excluded and invisible. State of the world’s children. New York: UNICEF. http://www.unicef.org/sowc06/pdfs/sowc06_fullreport.pdf. Accessed 5 Oct 2012.

    Google Scholar 

  • Varjas, K., Nastasi, B. K., Moore, R. B., & Jayasena, A. (2005).Using ethnographic methods for development of culture-specific interventions. Journal of School Psychology, 43, pp. 241–258. doi:10.1016/j.jsp.2005.04.006.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Vimaladharma, K. P. (2003). Women in the Kandyan Kingdom. Kandy: Varuni Publishers.

    Google Scholar 

  • Watters, E. (2010). Crazy like us: The globalization of the American psyche. New York: Free Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Weiss, B., Ngo, V. K., Dang, H., Pollack, A., Trung, L. T., Tran, C. V., Tran, N. T., et al. (2012). A model for sustainable development of child mental health infrastructure in the LMIC world: Vietnam as a case example. International Perspectives in Psychology: Research, Practice, Consultation, 1, 63–77. doi:10.1037/a0027316.

    Google Scholar 

  • WHO (World Health Organization). (2001). Through children's eyes: A collection of drawings and stories from the WHO global school contest on mental health. http://apps.who.int/iris/bitstream/10665/67177/1/WHO_NMH_MSD_WHD_01.2.pdf. Accessed 5 Oct 2012.

  • WHO (World Health Organization). (2008). Mental health fact sheet. WHO Country Office, Sri Lanka. 278 Bauddhaloka Mawatha, Colombo 7. http://www.whosrilanka.org/LinkFiles/WHO_Sri_Lanka_Home_Page_Mental_Health_Factsheet.pdf. Accessed 14 May 2012.

  • WHO (World Health Organization). (2012). WHO country cooperation strategy: Sri Lanka, 2012–2017 – Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka. (New Delhi, India: World Health Organization, Country Office Sri Lanka). BMC Public Health 2007, 7, 13. doi:10.1186/1471-2458-7-13.

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Walden University, Minneapolis, MN, USA

    Asoka Jayasena PhD

  2. Tulane University, New Orleans, LA, USA

    Amanda P. Borja MS & Bonnie K. Nastasi PhD

Authors
  1. Asoka Jayasena PhD
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Amanda P. Borja MS
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Bonnie K. Nastasi PhD
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Asoka Jayasena PhD .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Dept. Psychology, Tulane University, New Orleans, Louisiana, USA

    Bonnie Kaul Nastasi

  2. Dept. Psychology, Tulane University, New Orleans, Louisiana, USA

    Amanda P. Borja

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2016 Springer Science+Business Media New York

About this chapter

Cite this chapter

Jayasena, A., Borja, A., Nastasi, B. (2016). Youth Perspectives About the Factors that Contribute to Psychological Well-Being in Negombo, Sri Lanka. In: Nastasi, B., Borja, A. (eds) International Handbook of Psychological Well-Being in Children and Adolescents. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4939-2833-0_13

Download citation

Publish with us

Policies and ethics

Search

Navigation