The Psychological States of Beggars in Malaysia: Happiness, Subjective Well-Being, and Gratitude

Authors

  • Lim L. Gin UCSI University
  • Kalaivanan Syasyila UCSI University
  • Zhooriyati, S. M. UCSI University

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.33736/jcshd.3661.2021

Keywords:

Happiness;, Subjective Well-Being;, Gratitude;, Beggars;, Malaysia

Abstract

The economic downturn causes a fluctuation of Malaysian beggars with disrupted psychological states. The research focuses on happiness, subjective well-being, and gratitude among the beggars in Kuala Lumpur and Selangor. Ten beggars participated in an in-depth interview. Their selection was based on a purposive sampling technique. Findings show that with life satisfaction and maintained health conditions, they would be contented. Intolerable circumstances currently made the beggars wishing they could restart an ideal life to restore their subjective well-being. Amidst gratefulness, beggars tend to wake up with an appreciation for every little thing. However, the limited psychological care given has caused the number of beggars to escalate. The number of beggars would dwindle by appraising the public with what they necessitate through an awareness brought by findings from the study.

References

Abubakar, L., Aliyu, M., & Adam, M. B. (2018). Understanding sources of streets begging in Azare metropolis; Implications for modern-day Muslim. International Journal of Innovative Research and Advanced Studies, 5(2), 78-83.

Allais, L. (2015). What properly belongs to me: Kant on giving to beggars. Journal of Moral Philosophy, 12(6), 754-771.

https://doi.org/10.1163/17455243-4681042

American Psychological Association. (2017). Ethical principles of psychologists and code of conduct (2002, amended effective June 1, 2010, and January 1, 2017). https://www.apa.org/ethics/code/index.aspx

Anwar, M. P. (2020). Impact of COVID-19 pandemic from farm to fork: Hard-won lessons. Fundamental and Applied Agriculture, 5(3), 289-294.

https://doi.org/10.5455/faa.111527

Armstrong, T. (2019). The human odyssey: Navigating the twelve stages of life. Ixia Press. (Original work published 2008)

Awang, S. A., Borhan, J. T., Mohamad, M. T., & Muhammad, F. (2017). The scenario of giving to beggars: A behavioural analysis among Malaysians. Labuan e-Journal of Muamalat and Society, 11, 39-50.

Braun, V., & Clarke, V. (2006). Using thematic analysis in psychology. Qualitative Research in Psychology, 3(2), 77-101.

https://doi.org/10.1191/1478088706qp063oa

Campbell, S., Greenwood, M., Prior, S., Shearer, T., Walkem, K., Young, S., Bywaters, D., & Walker, K. (2020). Purposive sampling: Complex or simple? Research case examples. Journal of Research in Nursing, 25(8), 652-661.

https://doi.org/10.1177/1744987120927206

Diener, E., Emmons, R. A., Larsen, R. J., & Griffin, S. (1985). The satisfaction with life scale. Journal of Personality Assessment, 49(1), 71-75.

https://doi.org/10.1207/s15327752jpa4901_13

Gottlieb, M., Jordan, J., Siegelman, J. N., Cooney, R., Stehman, C., & Chan, T. M. (2021). Direct observation tools in emergency medicine: A systematic review of the literature. AEM Education and Training, 5(3), Article e10519.

https://doi.org/10.1002/aet2.10519

Greene, N., & McGovern, K. (2017). Gratitude, psychological well-being, and perceptions of posttraumatic growth in adults who lost a parent in childhood. Death Studies, 41(7), 436-446.

https://doi.org/10.1080/07481187.2017.1296505

Grover, S., & Helliwell, J. F. (2017). How's life at home? New evidence on marriage and the set point for happiness. Journal of Happiness Studies, 20(2), 373-390.

https://doi.org/10.1007/s10902-017-9941-3

Hills, P., & Argyle, M. (2002). The Oxford happiness questionnaire: A compact scale for the measurement of psychological well-being. Personality and Individual Differences, 33(7), 1073-1082.

https://doi.org/10.1016/S0191-8869(01)00213-6

Howard, A. R. H., Razuri, E. B., Call, C. D., DeLuna, J. H., Purvis, K. B., & Cross, D. R. (2017). Family drawings as attachment representations in a sample of post-institutionalised adopted children. The Arts in Psychotherapy, 52, 63-71.

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.aip.2016.09.003

Jain, M., Sharma, G. D., & Mahendru, M. (2019). Can I sustain my happiness? A review, critique and research agenda for economics of happiness. Sustainability, 11(22), 6375-6410.

https://doi.org/10.3390/su11226375

Johnson, J. L., Adkins, D., & Chauvin, S. (2019). A review of the quality indicators of rigor in qualitative research. American Journal of Pharmaceutical Education, 84(1), 7120-7141.

https://doi.org/10.5688/ajpe7120

Khoo, Y. S., & Zhooriyati, S. M. (2020). An exploration on adolescents' meaning in life, life satisfaction and happiness: A qualitative study [Master's thesis, UCSI University Kuala Lumpur Campus]. MNNF Publisher. http://www.mnnfpublisher.com/uploads/4/6/9/3/46931833/an_exploration_on_adolescents%E2%80%99_meaning_in_life_life_satisfaction_and_happiness_a_qualitative_study.pdf

Kieny, C., Flores, G., Ingenhaag, M., & Maurer, J. (2020). Healthy, wealthy, wise, and happy? Assessing age differences in evaluative and emotional well-being among mature adults from five low- and middle-income countries. Social Indicators Research, 1-32.

https://doi.org/10.1007/s11205-020-02515-4

Li, X., & Xie, X. (2017). The helping behavior helps lighten physical burden. Basic and Applied Social Psychology, 39(4), 183-192.

https://doi.org/10.1080/01973533.2017.1320762

Lin, C.-C. (2021). The influence of parenting on gratitude during emerging adulthood: The mediating effect of time perspective. Current Psychology, 1-11.

https://doi.org/10.1007/s12144-020-01312-z

Marhaeni, A. A. I. N., & Purnamawati, I. G. A. (2021). Cultural perspectives of business performance and subjective well-being. Management Science Letters, 1055-1062.

https://doi.org/10.5267/j.msl.2020.9.024

McCullough, M. E., Emmons, R. A., & Tsang, J.-A. (2002). The grateful disposition: A conceptual and empirical topography. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 82(1), 112-127.

https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-3514.82.1.112

Meier, A., Musick, K., Flood, S., & Dunifon, R. (2016). Mothering experiences: How single parenthood and employment structure the emotional valence of parenting. Demography, 53(3), 649-674.

https://doi.org/10.1007/s13524-016-0474-x

Ministry of Women, Family and Community Development of Malaysia. (2018). Buku laporan statistik Jabatan Kebajikan Masyarakat (JKM) 2018 [Department of Social Welfare (DSW) statistics report 2018]. http://www.jkm.gov.my/jkm/uploads/files/penerbitan/inlay_statistik_v5_final.pdf

Mohd Alif, J., Siti Hajar, A. B. A., & Norruzeyati, C. M. N. (2020). Three major interrelated factors contributing to homelessness issue among former prisoners in Malaysia. International Journal of Criminology and Sociology, 9, 415-430.

Morewedge, C. K., Monga, A., Palmatier, R. W., Shu, S. B., & Small, D. A. (2021). Evolution of consumption: A psychological ownership framework. Journal of Marketing, 1-23.

https://doi.org/10.1177/0022242920957007

Natali, I. (2020). "I was an atom in the world of life": James Dawson Burn's the autobiography of a beggar boy. Studi irlandesi. A Journal of Irish Studies, 10(10), 219-235.

Oriol, X., Unanue, J., Miranda, R., Amutio, A., & Bazán, C. (2020). Self-transcendent aspirations and life satisfaction: The moderated mediation role of gratitude considering conditional effects of affective and cognitive empathy. Frontiers in Psychology, 11, Article e2105.

https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2020.02105

Purnamasari, P., Yudiarso, A., & Tondok, M. S. (2020). Well-being dan happiness pengemis jalanan di Surabaya [Well-being and happiness of street beggars in Surabaya]. KELUWIH: Jurnal Sosial Dan Humaniora, 1(2), 103-107.

https://doi.org/10.24123/soshum.v1i2.3106

Shakerifard, M., Mohamadzadeh Ebrahimi, A., & Rahimi Pordanjani, T. (2019). Effect of gratitude on mental health with mediating role of positive and negative affect. Journal of Education and Community Health, 6(2), 87-93.

https://doi.org/10.29252/jech.6.2.87

Shefee, S. (2017). Rounding up beggars in Selangor. The Star. https://www.thestar.com.my/metro/metro-news/2017/12/01/rounding-up-beggars-in-selangor-new-campaign-aims-to-prevent-syndicates-from-exploiting-vulnerable-v/

Snow, D. A., & Anderson, L. (1993). Down on their luck: A study of homeless street people. University of California Press.

Suzuki, Y., Maeda, N., Hirado, D., Shirakawa, T., & Urabe, Y. (2020). Physical activity changes and its risk factors among community-dwelling Japanese older adults during the COVID-19 epidemic: Associations with subjective well-being and health-related quality of life. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 17(18), 6591-6602. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph17186591

https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph17186591

Tanzer, J. R. (2019). Developing authentic happiness: Growth curve models to assess lifelong happiness. The Journal of Positive Psychology, 16(1), 11-19. https://doi.org/10.1080/17439760.2019.1689419

https://doi.org/10.1080/17439760.2019.1689419

Timulak, L., & Elliott, R. (2018). Taking stock of descriptive-interpretative qualitative psychotherapy research: Issues and observations from the front line. Counselling and Psychotherapy Research, 19(1), 8-15. https://doi.org/10.1002/capr.12197

https://doi.org/10.1002/capr.12197

Treece, E. M. W., & Treece, J. W. (1982). Elements of research in nursing (3rd ed.). Mosby.

Wong, C. (2018). The homeless in Malaysia: Issues and policy solutions. Parliament for Subang Malaysia. http://www.wongchen.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/The-Homeless-in-Malaysia-2.pdf

Zhang, Y., & Chen, M. (2018). Character strengths, strengths use, future self-continuity and subjective well-being among Chinese university students. Frontiers in Psychology, 9, Article e1040. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2018.01040

https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2018.01040

Downloads

Published

2021-09-25

How to Cite

L. Gin, L. ., Kalaivanan, S., & Sehu Mohamad, Z. (2021). The Psychological States of Beggars in Malaysia: Happiness, Subjective Well-Being, and Gratitude. Journal of Cognitive Sciences and Human Development, 7(2), 26–46. https://doi.org/10.33736/jcshd.3661.2021