Psychological distress and well-being in Hare Krishnas.

Abstract

Psychological distress and well-being in 132 men and 94 women of the Hare Krishna movement (often called a “cult”) were measured on the Mental Health Inventory. Subjects averaged 30 yr. of age, with 8.6 yr. mean time in the movement. The scores of Hare Krishna women did not differ significantly from those of women in the US general population on all 9 scales so their mental health was equivalent. The scores of Hare Krishna men did not differ significantly from those of men in the general population on 7 of the 9 scales. On 2 scales highly correlated with each other measuring well-being, Hare Krishna men exhibited a “positivity effect”, a significant elevation in their stated positive feelings, while simultaneously reporting levels of psychological distress not significantly different from those of males in the general population. Women, both Hare Krishna and general population, had scores in the direction of less well-being and increased distress relative to their male peers. This was similar to patterns noted in the literature on mental health inventories believed to arise from sex differences in the experience of symptoms of demoralization.