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An Assessment of Envy in Undergraduates of a State University in Sri Lanka

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Abstract

Envy, a universal emotion, occurs when an individual sees in another, attributes perceived to be lacking in oneself. It is a distressing emotion which could be socially destructive. Empirical data on this construct is scarce, particularly from Asian countries. This study aimed to fill this gap by (i) culturally adapting, to Sinhala, the internationally used, Benign and Malicious Envy Scale (BeMaS), (ii) using it to assess the two dimensions of envy, i.e. benign envy (motivate the envier to strive towards greater heights) and malicious envy (envier aims to harm the envied), among undergraduates in a state university in the country, and (iii) assessing selected correlates associated with envy. As part of a larger study, BeMaS was administered on a sample of 1331 undergraduates of three faculties of a state university in Sri Lanka. Results indicated that Sri Lankan undergraduates are higher in benign envy than malicious envy and that rates of envy among them are lower or similar to those in other countries. The results also indicated that men report higher levels of envy than women and testing for invariance revealed that the nature of envy is somewhat different for men and women. The potential reasons for these findings are discussed in the light of Asian and Sri Lankan socio-cultural context. Recommendations to higher education institutions are made in the light of these findings, to reduce envy and increase psychological well-being.

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Acknowledgements

Ms. W. A. Anusha Subhashini and Mr. Navneth Mendis for their assistance with conducting the research, and the study participants for their involvement with the research.

Funding

This work was supported by the University of Colombo Grant AP322018SG13.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Psychiatry, Faculty of Medicine, University of Colombo, Kynsey Road, Colombo, Sri Lanka

    Piyanjali de Zoysa

  2. Department of Agricultural Economics and Business Management, Faculty of Agriculture, University of Peradeniya, Peradeniya, Sri Lanka

    Shamala Kumar

  3. Department of Medical Humanities, University of Colombo, Colombo, Sri Lanka

    Santushi D. Amarasuriya

  4. Centre for Mental Health, School of Population and Global Health, University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Australia

    Santushi D. Amarasuriya

Authors
  1. Piyanjali de Zoysa
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  2. Shamala Kumar
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  3. Santushi D. Amarasuriya
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Contributions

PdZ and SDA performed conception and research design. SK and SDA were responsible for commenting on the drafted article. PdZ and SK interpreted the data. PdZ was responsible for drafting the article and finalizing the article. SK was involved in data analysis.

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Correspondence to Piyanjali de Zoysa.

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de Zoysa, P., Kumar, S. & Amarasuriya, S.D. An Assessment of Envy in Undergraduates of a State University in Sri Lanka. Psychol Stud 66, 191–199 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12646-021-00604-z

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12646-021-00604-z

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