Abstract
The most common approach to define personality has been in terms of characteristics or qualities within a person. A three-dimensional personality theory based on the Sankhya school of Hindu philosophy postulates human personality in terms of three gunas or factors namely sattva, rajas and tamas (SRT). Disequilibrium in any one of these factors has an adverse effect on one’s health and psychological well-being. This preliminary exploratory study assessed SRT factors and quality of life in persons with anxiety disorders. Thirty persons with anxiety disorders were compared with a community sample of 30 participants on measures of anxiety, SRT and quality of life. Results indicated higher scores on rajas and tamas factors in the clinical sample and scores on sattva factor were found to be higher in the community sample. Quality of life was found to be significantly better in the community sample in comparison to clinical sample. Rajasic and tamasic factors were associated with impaired quality of life in the persons with anxiety disorder.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Anoop, K. V. (2007). SRT factors among patients with depression. Unpublished dissertation submitted to Department of Clinical Psychology, NIMHANS (Deemed University).
Chakraborty, S. K. (1987). Managerial effectiveness of quality of work life. New Delhi: Tata McGraw Hill.
Das, R. C. (1991). Standardization of the gita inventory of personality. Journal of Indian Psychology, 9, 47–55.
Dasgupta, S. (1961). A history of Indian philosophy. Great Britain: Cambridge University Press.
Gergen, K. J., Gulerce, A., Lock, A., & Misra, G. (1996). Psychological science in cultural context. American Psychologist, 51(5), 496–503.
Goldberg, D., & Williams, P. (1988). A users guide to the general health questionnaire. Slough: NFER- Nelson.
Goyanka, J. (1999). Srimadbhgavadgita tattvavivecani-15th ed. Gorakhpur: Gita Press.
Jha, M. K. (2009). Personality: a yogic conception. Indian Journal Social Science Researches, 6(1), 39–45.
Kapur, M., Uma, H., & Reddy, M. V. (1997). Study of infant temperament: an Indian perspective. Indian Journal of Clinical Psychology, 24(2), 171–177.
Krishnan, B. (2002). Typological conceptions in ancient Indian thought. In G. Misra & A. K. Mohanty (Eds.), Perspectives on indigenous psychology (pp. 292–304). New Delhi: Concept Publishing Company.
Kumar, S. K. K. (2011). Indian indigenous concepts and perspectives: developments and future possibilities. In G. Misra (Ed.), Psychology in India (Theoretical and methodological developments-ICSSR survey of advances in research, Vol. IV, pp. 93–172). New Delhi: Pearson.
Laxmi, A. J., Murthy, H. N., & Nagalakshmi, S. V. (1975). ‘Rajas’ and ‘Tamas’ in psychological disturbance. Indian Journal of Clinical Psychology, 2(2), 135–137.
Marutham, P., Balodhi, J. P., & Mishra, H. (1998). Sattva, Rajas, Tamas (SRT) inventory. NIMHANS Journal, 16(1), 15–19.
Mogotsi, M., Kaminer, D., & Stein, D. (2000). Quality of life in anxiety disorders. Harvard Review of Psychiatry, 8, 273–282.
Mohan, V., & Sandhu, S. (1988). Samkhyan tri-guna and Eyesenck’s dimensions of personality. The Vedic Path, 23–38.
Murthy, P. K., & Salagame, K. K. K. (2004). Concept guna: A critical analysis. National Conference on Indian Psychology, Yoga and Consciousness. Pondicherry: Sri Aurobindo Ashram, December 10–13.
Olatunji, B. O., Cisler, J. M., & Tolin, D. F. (2007). Quality of life in the anxiety disorders: a meta-analytic review. Clinical Psychology Review, 27, 572–581.
Pathak, N. S., Bhatt, I. D., & Sharma, R. (1992). Manual for classifying personality on tridimensions of gunas- an Indian approach. Indian Journal of Behaviour, 16(4), 1–14.
Power, M., Harper, A., & Bullinger, M. (1999). The world health organization WHOQOL-100: tests of the universality of quality of life in 15 different cultural groups worldwide. Health Psychology, 18(5), 495–505.
Rao, P. V. K., & Harigopal, K. (1979). The three gunas and ESP: an exploratory investigation. Journal of Indian Psychology, 2(1), 63–68.
Saxena, S., Chandiramani, K., & Bhargava, R. (1998). WHOQOL-hindi: a questionnaire for assessing quality of life in health care settings in India. The National Medical Journal of India, 11, 160–165.
Shilpa, S., & Murthy, C. G. V. (2011). Understanding personality from ayurvedic perspective for psychological assessment: a case. Ayu, 32(1), 12–19.
The WHOQOL Group. (1998). The world health organization quality of life assessment (WHOQOL): development and general psychometric properties. Social Science & Medicine, 46(12), 1569–1585.
Uma, K., Lakshmi, Y. S., & Parameswaran, E. G. (1971). Construction of a personality inventory based on doctrine of 3 gunas. Research Bulletin, 6, 49–58.
Vasudev, D. (2001) Organismic and sociological factors affecting societal norms: Lessons from an oriental culture. Paper presented at University of Ibadan, 1st Faculty of Education national annual conference at Ibadan, Nigeria.
Velayudhan, S. (1998). Satva, Rajas & Tamas factors among anxiety disorders. Unpublished dissertation submitted to Dept. of Clinical Psychology, NIMHANS (Deemed University).
Wolf, D. (1999). A Psychometric analysis of the three gunas. Psychological Reports, 84, 1379–1390.
World Health Organization. (1992). ICD-10 International Classification of Mental and Behavioural Disorders. Geneva: World Health Organization.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Sharma, M.P., Salvi, D. & Sharma, M.K. Sattva, Rajas and Tamas Factors and Quality of Life in Patients with Anxiety Disorders: A Preliminary Investigation. Psychol Stud 57, 388–391 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12646-012-0167-5
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12646-012-0167-5