IMPACT OF MINDFULNESS-BASED STRESS REDUCTION (MBSR) THERAPY INTERVENTION ON RAJAS, TAMAS AND PSYCHOLOGICAL WELL-BEING AMONG UNIVERSITY TEACHERS: ROLE OF STRESS COPING AND WORK ENGAGEMENT

Abstract

University teachers frequently experience occupational stress due to workload, role conflict, publication demands, student management, and administrative responsibilities. Prolonged stress adversely affects psychological well-being and may increase Rajasic (restlessness, achievement pressure) and Tamasic (inertia, withdrawal) tendencies as explained in Triguna theory. The present study assessed the effectiveness of Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) as a therapy intervention in enhancing psychological well-being among university teachers by reducing Rajas and Tamas and improving adaptive coping and work engagement. A quasi-experimental pre-test post-test control group design was employed. A total sample of 100 university teachers from Bihar state universities was selected through purposive sampling and divided into experimental group (n=50) and control group (n=50). MBSR intervention was conducted for 8 weeks. Tools used were Vedic Personality Inventory (Wolf, 1998), Brief COPE (Carver, 1997), Utrecht Work Engagement Scale (Schaufeli & Bakker, 2004), and Ryff’s Psychological Well-being Scale (Ryff, 1989). Findings revealed significant improvement in psychological well-being, adaptive coping and work engagement and a significant reduction in Rajas and Tamas in the experimental group compared to the control group. The study supports the therapeutic value of mindfulness intervention for teacher well-being promotion.