Superstitious Beliefs and Happiness: A Correlation Study of Young Adults

The authors researched intending to establish the relationship between the superstitious beliefs and happiness among young adults (Sharma, Naz, & Preeti, 2018). Additionally, the authors aimed at evaluating superstitions beliefs distinctions and happiness among young male and female adults who reside in the urban and rural areas. Superstitious beliefs are socially based, and the study is linked to superstitious beliefs because they impact the young adults in one way or the other.

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The issue is important to study because superstitious beliefs exist and should not be ignored. It is significant to study the issue to prove some hypotheses related to superstition beliefs. First, it can be argued that superstition beliefs do not exist among young adults and that these beliefs do not influence the levels of happiness (Sharma, Naz, & Preeti, 2018). Additionally, the study was important as it would help in proving whether there is a distinction between the impact that superstition beliefs have on the male and female participants.

The authors applied the correlation type o design to collect data. The sample size consisted of 120 participants who were aged between 20-30 years which is a typical age for young adults (Sharma, Naz, & Preeti, 2018). The participants were picked from colleges, Universities, and offices. The study was restricted to Phagwara, Jalandhar and Ludhiana districts which are in Punjab state India. The participants consisted of 0 male and 3o female all from both rural and urban family settings. The sapling design applied in the research was convenient sampling, and the authors analyzed the data statistically and then tabulated and graphically presented.

Md. Mahfuzul Huque and Ataharul Huqul Choudhary tool were applied to measure the superstition beliefs which varies from the high response, medium, low and not at all (Sharma, Naz, & Preeti, 2018). The tool reliability is ranked at 0.85 which means that it was an appropriate study tool depending on the nature of the study. The response for the study ranges from 0 to 60, and a low score represents a low level of superstitions for the particular respondent. On the other hand, a high score means that the respondent has a high level of superstitions. A specially designed questionnaire was administered to the respondents.

The questionnaire names Oxford Happiness questionnaire was designed by Michael Argyle and Peter Hills (Sharma, Naz, & Preeti, 2018). The reliability of this particular data method is 0.78 with 01 being the lower rank score and 06 the highest score. In this study, a score of 01 indicates that the levels of happiness are low and a score of 06 is interpreted as a high degree of happiness in a participant. The data were analyzed statistically to spot the difference among the participants. Descriptive analysis was conducted by calculating the central tendency and then establishing the relationship strength. The inferential technique was also applied in the interpretation of the research data.

One of the key findings of the study was that the majority of the respondents who had an average superstitious belief were the young male. This was represented by a percentage of 66.7 (Sharma, Naz, & Preeti, 2018). On the other hand, young female respondents with average superstitious behavior were represented by 70 percent. From the research data, it was clear that both young female and male exhibit superstitious behavior. Male respondents had a high level of superstitious behavior has compared to their female counterparts. The male respondents who had high superstitious belief were presented by 6.7 percentage while the adult female with high superstition was represented by 0 percentage.

Additionally, it was established through the research that the females derived moderate happiness level of 56.7 percent while their male counterparts had a percentage of 55 percent (Sharma, Naz, & Preeti, 2018). In the high-level category, the female was more than the male. 26.7 percent of the respondents indicated that they derived happiness from superstitious belief. On the other hand, 20 percent of the male respondents had a high happiness level on the Oxford Happiness questionnaire scale. From the study, the lack of a link between the superstitious beliefs and the happiness hypothesis is approved. The findings of the study showed that the male had a high level of superstitious belief as compared to the adult female. The superstitious belief was prevalent among the rural people as compared to the urban respondents.

The conclusion that the superstitious belief levels among young male adults are more than the female is justified. This is because the authors evaluated some of the factors that contribute to the decrease in the levels of superstitious beliefs among the female. One of these factors explained by the authors is the modern education system. The reason as to why there is a high level of superstitious belief among the rural male is due to their traditional way of life.

According to Preeti, Hariom, and Samreen (2018), there is no relationship between superstitious belief and one's happiness. However, if someone believes that a particular object or phenomenal causes an unpleasant occurrence their happiness will be affected. This is because every time they see the object, they will be afraid that something terrible will happen to them. If one, for example, believes crossing the same path with a black way will bring bad luck he/she will avoid the path, and if something terrible happens to them on that day, they will link it to the cat. Therefore, superstitious beliefs are likely to affect the happiness levels of an individual.

References

Sharma, H., Naz, S., & Preeti, S. (2018). Superstitious Beliefs and Happiness: A Correlation Study of Young Adults. Retrieved from https://www.researchgate.net/publication/326839040_Superstitious_Beliefs_and_Happiness_A_Correlation_Study_of_Young_Adults