Introduction

Empowerment of women is the process of strengthening the economic, social and political status of women in society by which they lead a dignified life. One of the major interventions used by Government of India to empower women through the micro-finance programmes so that to ensure their participation in the process of financial decision making. Micro-finance programmes for women through the Self Help Groups have been a popular and effective strategy to empower them. Studies by Bali Swain (2007), Pitt et al. (2006), Goetz & Sengupta (1996) and Hashemi et al. has shown SHG membership and availing finance by women is instrumental in improving their status in society.

Psychological well-being refers to positive mental health (Edwards, 2005). Research has shown that psychological well-being is a diverse multidimensional concept (MacLeod & Moore, 2000; Ryff, 1989b; Wissing & Van Eeden, 2002), which develops through a combination of other variables. Ryff has extensively researched the concept of psychological well-being and found these components  such as autonomy, personal growth, environmental mastery, purpose in life, positive relations with others and self-acceptance.

Rationale

The true goal behind women empowerment programmes is to ensure good mental health which is manifested through psychological wellbeing. A state of psychological wellbeing on the part of women furthers the empowerment process. Empowered women define their attitude, values and behaviours in relation to their own real interest. They enjoy autonomy and maintain equal mindedness and use their talent to live fulfilling lives. They maintain their strength on the face of pressures. Many variables along with economic empowerment variable determine psychological wellbeing of women.

The Mission Shakti movement initiated by the Government of Odisha in 2001 has provided a boost to the micro-finance programme in the state.  It is a flagship programme of the Government of Odisha to empower women by providing income generating occupations, appropriate credit facility from banks with very low interest and supportive market linkage. Mission Shakti along with other stakeholders such as NABARD, many nationalized banks and NGOs has been playing an effective role in the economic empowerment of women. Though many comprehensive studies have found the impact of SHG membership on different empowerment phenomenon, the psychological aspect of empowerment is highlighted in the present study.

Significance

The investigator had found sufficient reasons to carry out the present study. First, to our knowledge, no such studies have been conducted on women self help group members to explore the psychological wellbeing phenomenon. This has limited our understanding on this matter as the empowerment without psychological wellbeing is hollow. Second, when compared with other professions that women engaged in India, participation in self help groups to lead a dignified life calls for many improvements.

Objectives

1. To study the socio-economic condition of the women SHG members of Dhenkanal district.
2. To study the psychological wellbeing of the women SHG members of Dhenkanal district.
3. To find out impact of economic empowerment of women SHG members on their psychological wellbeing.
4. To study the latent variables underlying psychological wellbeing.

Method

The study was carried out in Dhenkanal district of Odisha. The participants were 300 women SHG members of the same district chosen through multi stage sampling. As per 2011 Provisional Census the Dhenkanal District has 1237 villages and the sex ratio is 927 female per1000 male. A survey method was used to reach the research objectives. Since no intervention was planed, a descriptive correlation design was utilised.  The following tools were utilized in the study.

1. Demographic variable Questionnaire.  It was prepared by the investigator.
2. Ryff scale for Psychological Well-being consist of 42 items to measure six dimensions namely self-acceptance, positive relations with others, autonomy, environmental mastery, purpose in life and personal growth. As the participants of the study were rural women, an Odia version of the questionnaire prepared by the investigator was used.

Data Collection and analysis

Both primary and secondary data were collected. The data is ordinal in nature. Descriptive analysis of the data, regression analysis and structural equation modeling were used to determine which factor play significant role in psychological wellbeing. The results found significant role of microfinance in the form of SHG membership in the psychological wellbeing of women. Results highlighted the impact of Mission Shakti in Dhenkanal district of Odisha.