Cross-cultural differences on Gunas and other well-being dimensions

Indian perspective of human nature and personality are often viewed through a trigunas perspective-Sattva, Rajas and Tamas. The current study investigated the triadic gunas and well-being dimensions across 3 nations India (n = 493; 194 males and 299 females; mean age = 21.73 years, SD = 3.23), USA (n = 302; 80 males and 222 females; mean age = 22.90 years, SD = 2.78) and Czech Republic (n = 353; 67 males and 286 females; mean age = 22.29 years, SD = 2.29) with a total of 1148 participants. Triguna Personality (Vedic Personality inventory) and well- being dimensions measured by Mental Health Continuum- Short Form, Flourishing scale and the Scale of Positive and Negative Experiences (MHC-SF, FS and SPANE) differed across countries. Triguna were correlated with MHC-SF and its clusters, FS and SPANE. Regression analysis revealed that Trigunas accounted significantly for well-being dimensions, for instance, Sattva accounted for 48% variance in Czechs, 56% in Indians and 55% in Americans, Rajas accounted for 21% variance in Czechs, 08% in Indians and 54% in Americans and Tamas accounted for 50% variance in Czechs, 20% in Indians and 64% in Americans. The results reinforce that trigunas personality significantly predict well-being dimensions.