Page No.18-25
Anindita Bhattacharya, Charu Gupta, and Seema Mehrotra
NIMHANS, Bangalore Tech-Mahindra, New Delhi NIMHANS, Bangalore
The role of intentional plan or purpose in human development has been insufficiently
addressed in empirical research. The concept of intentional self development (ISD)
has brought into fore a focus on individuals’ own contribution to their development.
This paper aims at providing a brief overview of the construct of ISD and its conceptual
overlap with other constructs. There is a scarcity of literature from India on this
construct. A few exploratory studies on Indian samples are used as illustrations to
bring to light the scope of future research. The limited empirical research on ISD
available so far suggests that a fairly significant proportion of adults, especially
youth, see themselves as active agents in their own development, set personal
growth-goals, experience a sense of cognitive engagement in such goals and work
towards realizing such goals. Implications of the construct of ISD for research and
practice in mental health promotion are highlighted