Destitute Women in Kerala: Psychological resources and psycho ...

esources and psycho-social needs of destitute women living in Mahila Mandirs in the State
of Kerala are enquired into. The study also examines the implementation of the various
rehabilitation programmes of the Social Welfare Department of the State. An attempt is made
to probe into the problems being faced by the inmates as well as the home authorities that
implement the programmes. It is hoped that the findings of the study would be useful for
restructuring and redesigning the functioning of such homes.
Area, method, and scope of the study
The study pertains to the Mahila Mandirs of Kerala and their inmates. The major objective
of the study is to document the personality profiles and understand the levels of emotional
maturity and adjustment capability of the inmates of the Mahila Mandirs. An attempt is also
made to compare these three attributes between the inmates and a control group of destitute
women living in slums and belonging to the socio-economic status comparable to that of the
inmates. Case studies are made of a few inmates, classified according to the causes of their
destitution. The study was conducted during 1999-2000.
The field enquiry was preceded by discussions held by the investigator with the personnel of
the Social Welfare Department including Regional Directors, District Social Welfare Officers,
Superintendents of Mahila Mandirs, and teachers imparting vocational training. The field
survey was conducted in (1) the Mahila Mandirs in Kerala, on (2) the personality variables,
emotional maturity, and adjustment capability of the inmates of the Mahila Mandirs in
comparison with those of slum dwellers in similar socio-economic situations, (3) the problems
of the inmates under study, as perceived by the inmates themselves and by the functionaries
of the homes, and (4) the psycho-social needs of the inmates.
Personality variables and psychological resources
The personality variables selected for the study are Extroversion-Introversion and Neuroticism-
Psychoticism. The psychological resources selected are Adjustment and Emotional Maturity.
A brief description of each variable is given below.
Extroversion
According to Yung, Extroversion is an attitudinal construct of an externally-oriented person.
Eysenck (1968) sees Extroversion as a more or less stable and biologically determined
personality trait. Extroverts are outgoing, impulsive, and uninhibited and have many social
contacts, and frequently take part in group activities. Extensive research gone into extroversion
suggests that it has a biological origin. According to Eysenck (1968) Extroversion-Introversion
dimension of personality is determined by the cortical arousal of the individual. Introverts are
easily aroused by low threshold stimuli while extroverts need higher threshold to be aroused.
Owing to this difference in arousal level extroverts and introverts behave differently.
Neuroticism
The central characteristic of this dimension of personality is the frequent experience of
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