Vol. 7, Issue 1, Part D (2025)

This study was carried out to see the presence of mental wellbeing in terms of positive feelings and positive functioning among the youth in Nagaland during the COVID-19 pandemic and also examine differences in wellbeing during COVID-19 pandemic and post the pandemic. An internet-based survey was conducted during the COVID-19 pandemic using the Mental Health Continuum-Short Form (MHC-SF) to which 357 youth in the age range of 15 to 36 years responded. In a follow-up study post-pandemic, 32 of these youth responded to the same questionnaire. Result from the first phase of the study during the pandemic showed that a total of 34.2% of participants were flourishing, almost a quarter of the participants were found to be languishing (21.6%) and nearly half of the participants (44.3%) had moderate mental health. Chi-Square tests revealed that gender, education and employment status were found to have significant relationships with mental wellbeing. Paired-sample t-test indicated that the mean MHC scores during pandemic and post pandemic were not significantly different (p>.05). The discussion of the findings of the study is done in the context of the related literature and the cultural background of the participants.