Belief in a just world and wellbeing in Indian schools

• Published in: International journal of psychology 2012-08, Vol.47 (4), p.269
• Main Authors: Kamble, Shanmukh V, Dalbert, Claudia
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• ISSN: 0020-7594; 1464-066X
• DOI: 10.1080/00207594.2011.626047

This study investigates the meaning of belief in just world (BJW) for students' subjective justice experiences with their parents and teachers and for students' subjective well-being. The hypotheses tested were that the more strongly students endorse BJW, the less the distress at school and depressive symptoms they experience. Two dimensions of BJW were assessed: personal BJW, reflecting the belief that events in one's own life are generally just, and general BJW, reflecting the belief that the world is basically a just place. The participants were 278 Indian students attending ten 10th grade classes at two private English-medium schools. The results showed that only the personal BJW, not the general BJW, was important in explaining justice experiences and wellbeing. The more the students endorsed the belief in personal just world, the more they felt treated justly by their teachers and their parents alike, and the less distress at school and depressive symptoms they experienced. In addition, teacher justice, but not parent justice, explained distress at school. Finally, the effect of personal BJW on depressive symptoms was partly mediated by both teacher and parent justice. This pattern of results persisted when class effects were controlled. Overall, this pattern of results emphasizes the importance of the individual and subjective experience of justice of the teacher behavior for adolescent wellbeing. Implications for further studies on BJW and wellbeing at school are discussed. Cette étude examinait, auprès d'étudiants, l'impact de la croyance en un monde juste (CMJ) sur les expériences de justice subjective avec leurs parents et leurs professeurs et sur leur bien-être subjectif. Les hypothèses testées étaient que plus les étudiants acquiescent fortement à la CMJ, moins ils vivent de détresse à l'école et de symptômes dépressifs. Deux dimensions de la CMJ ont été examinées: la CMJ personnelle, qui réfère à la croyance que les événements qui surviennent dans la vie de quelqu'un sont généralement justes, et la CMJ générale, qui reflète la croyance que le monde est un lieu fondamentalement juste. Les participants étaient 278 étudiants indiens de dix classes de dixième année de deux écoles privées anglophones moyennes. Les résultats ont montré que seulement la CMJ personnelle, mais pas la CMJ générale, était importante pour expliquer les expériences de justice et le bien-être. Plus les étudiants acquiesçaient à la CMJ personnelle, plus ils se sentaient tra