DISPOSITIONAL AUTONOMY AND SUBJECTIVE WELLBEING AMONG WOMEN IN A COLLECTIVISTIC CULTURE

Autonomy has been conceived as a masculine trait in literature. However, feminist literature and SDT theorists consider autonomy as a requisite need for all irrespective of gender, class and culture. The Self-Determination Theory perspective posits autonomy as a basic psychological need and an essential nutriment for well-being. The aim of the present paper was to study the effects of dispositional autonomy on subjective wellbeing among women in Kashmir. The aim was to see the existence of this attribute among women being in collectivistic culture. The relationship of the dimensions of dispositional autonomy i.e., authorship/self-congruence, susceptibility to control and interest-taking with subjective wellbeing was examined and their effects on subjective wellbeing was studied. The 15-item, 5-point Likert Scale namely Index of Autonomous Functioning (IAF) (Weinstein et al., 2012b) was used to assess dispositional autonomy. The 14-item, 5-point Likert Scale namely, Warwick-Edinburgh Mental Well-being Scale (WEMWBS) (S Stewart-Brown & Janmohamed, 2008) was used to assess subjective wellbeing. The study was conducted on a sample of 183 Kashmiri women. The correlation and regression analysis was done to study the relationship and effects of dispositional autonomy on subjective wellbeing among women in collectivistic culture. The results showed a significant positive effect of dispositional autonomy on subjective wellbeing of women. The study has contributed in the existing body of knowledge by highlighting the importance of autonomy as a basic psychological need in the wellbeing of women.