Indian Journal of Clinical Psychology

Spirituality means person's inner existential world including values, beliefs and inspirations. Studies in fields of mental health emphasize the role of spiritual belief and practices in enhancing positive mental health and will-being of individual. However, there is dearth of Indian study which explores the relationship between spirituality and general well-being of parents of children with mental retardation. In India religious and spiritual values play significant role in the development of personality and well-being of the individuals. These values help in understanding individuals ’psychological health and well-being. The present study planned to explore quantitatively about the role of spirituality in wellbeing for parents of children with Mental Retardation. The sampling was based on purposive sampling technique. One hundred fifty (150) parents of children with mental retardation were taken for the study from different mental health facilities of Ahmedabad and Ranchi. All participants were assessed with PGI General Well-being Measures (PGI-GWM) and Spiritual Assessment Inventory (SAI). The results of the study suggests that parents of children with mental retardation display positive correlation between spirituality and their well-being. Awareness and realistic acceptance are domains of spirituality, which are found to be positively associated with well-being of parents of children with mental retardation. Findings were concluded that parents of children with mental retardation seem to display low well-being, and their well-being is positively correlated with spirituality. These findings must be taken into account during the making intervention programme for parents of children with mental retardation.