ABSTRACT
Cherishing refers to a secure attachment behavior manifesting a strong sense of affect, protectiveness, and care toward certain targets or objects. Most of the literatures on cherishing are found to be in the domain of objects of cherishing. However, cherishing as a psycho-social construct has never been investigated thoroughly by any psychologist or any social scientist. A recent study reveals cherishing as a psychosocial construct performs various functions and correlate significantly with psychological well-being. Several other researches also reports that secure attachment style positively associates with several individual outcomes such as coping with stress, social and emotional adjustment and psychological well-being. Based on the review of contemporary literature, the present study explores the association between cherishing and psychological well-being on 105 undergraduate students from a large university in eastern India. The findings of the study show significant positive association between cherishing and the six subcomponents of psychological well-being. This study offers an initial empirical understanding about the possibility of the association between cherishing and psychological well-being. The findings of the study offer several possibilities and opportunities for psychological interventions for nurturing cherishing to strengthen individual capacities for enhancing psychological wellbeing.
