IAHRW International Journal of Social Sciences Review

Pages: 1119-1122
Jaya Bharti and Manini Srivastava (Department of Psychology, University of Lucknow, Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh)

The present study examined the role of stressful life events as risk factor in the etiology of Major Depression in women. The sample consisted of 100 married women having different symptoms of Major Depression and had been referred by Psychiatrist of Private psychiatric hospitals and clinics. The age range of the sample was 45 to 68 years and belonged to upper middle, middle, and lower middle socioeconomic class. Convenience sampling technique was used to select the sample. The Social Readjustment Rating Scale (Holmes & Rahe, 1967) was used to assess the number of stressful life events that had occurred before diagnosis in the past 12 years. As being informed about the final Major Depression diagnosis, patients might be more prone to report their prior stress in an effort to explain their disease The chi-square analyses were computed to test the significance of difference between the two groups, that is Major Depression and participants without Major Depression after the final diagnosis. Results showed that Women with Major Depression reported significantly higher number of stressful life events than the healthy participants. Results further demonstrated that Women with Major Depression perceived higher levels of stress due to these events than the healthy participants. The findings conclude that adverse life events and the resulting stress on account of these events may represent a risk factor for Major Depression in women.

Pages: 1127-1130
Asha and Anupam Nath Tripathi (Department of Psychology, Deen Dayal Upadhyay Gorakhpur University, Gorakhpur, Uttar Pradesh)

Reasoning is one of the important cognitive processes. Reasoning refers to the process of drawing conclusions or inferences from information (Bruner, 1957). Syllogistic reasoning is a type of reasoning. Reasoning is not flawless. In this paper our aim is to investigate how reasoning performance of females participants is affected on account of different faculties (discipline). Results revealed that among three educational discipline the standard formal logical rule was followed by discipline of science participants (90% have made correct response). Only 10% of science participants produced error in their performance while arts and commerce participants produced much erroneous performances (65% both participants committed error) it may be affected by pattern of their educational trainings.

Pages: 1136-1141
Shikha and Punam Midha (Department of Psychology, M.D.U, Rohtak, Haryana)

Life is a journey, mainly comprises of different stages of psychosocial development. During each stage the person experiences a psychosocial crisis, which revolves with the fostering of basic virtues. Virtues are the characteristic strengths which enhance one's well-being. Such strengths embedded in one's behavior are intended to benefit others with and without any selfish motive (e.g., helping behavior, altruism, gratitude & forgiveness) ultimately promoting well-being of the person being virtuous. In the contemporary era, the generation of elderly is blooming at a first pace, so their well-being is a matter of great concern for psychologists. Thus the present study is an attempt to explore the certain patterns of virtuous behaviors such as altruism and gratitude as markers of subjective well-being among geriatrics. A purposive sample of elderly from both male and female, aged 60-80 years was drawn from the urban areas of Rohtak city (Haryana, India). Descriptive, Correlational and Step-wise multiple regression analyses were computed. The findings indicated the high level of altruism and subjective well-being among geriatrics, followed by an average level of a sense of gratitude. Correlational analysis indicates the significant positive correlation of gratitude with subjective well-being and further gratitude emerged as a predictors of well-being.

Pages: 1146-1149
Mary Jeniffer. S, Anu Chandran, and Dheleepan G.V. (Department of Tourism Studies, Pondicherry University, Pondicherry, Tamil Nadu)

The Travel Insurance sector has become a dire need in the 21st century. This sector mooted as a fast developing ancillary travel service is cruising remarkably imbibing innovative ideas and integrating them into the pragmatic schemes and offerings which are gaining grounds across the globe. Albeit, the sector also faces enormous challenges arising from intense competition, rising regulatory compliances and growing payouts due to fraud and natural disasters while traveling, especially overseas. Consequently, the applications of novel technological features in the area of travel insurance have become the need of the hour in the context of globalized business environment. This study is based on the travel insurance companies in Chennai providing services online. The present work also examines the impacts of travel insurance on the demands of the clientele; whether it caters to the need of both urban and rural segments. Travel insurance majors have embraced online marketing communication as the ideal modus operandi to have effective reach with potential customers as regards dissemination of product offers and benefits. The customer centric perspectives linked to the marketing communication strategies as envisaged and practiced by the travel insurance firms in Chennai are assessed in this paper. The study also deals with the nature and extent of growth of travel insurance business post subscribing to the online marketing communication techniques. The mechanisms devised by the travel insurance companies in Chennai to ensure customer fulfillment are also being deliberated. The present paper carried out as a qualitative study with interviews from experts in the travel insurance sector assesses the operational outcomes and the services with respect to the online marketing communication. The scope of the study encompasses factors such as minimization of time, cost-effectiveness, easy accessibility, security aspects, etc. This article propounds an online communication model for travel insurance services. An explorative approach has been employed for unveiling the challenges and intricacies pertaining to online marketing communication in travel insurance business.

Pages: 1154-1158
Trishna Ghosh (Chettri, Bista) (Clinical Psychologist, Mental Hospital, Lagankhel, Patan, Nepal)

Investigations have found the OCD indeed is associated with deficits in inhibition, impaired set shifting ability, poor working memory and low verbal frequency. However, till date, it has not been examined whether these deficits are trait-related (independent of symptomatology) or state-dependent (dependent of symptomatology). Since the data of this nature has an implication in the management of this condition, 51 OCD patient meeting the ICD-10 criteria for predominantly compulsive (F 42.1) formed the symptomatic group, and patients with file diagnosis of F 42.1 attending follow-up appointments and reporting 80% or more improvement currently with pharmacological, psychological or combination treatment formed the remitted group, were assessed by applying Wisconsin Card Sorting Test followed by Vancouver Obsessional Compulsive Inventory, State Trait Anxiety Inventory and Beck's Depression Inventory. After ascertaining the normality distribution (Shapiro-Wilk test), Students “t” test was employed to determine the significance level between the symptomatic and remitted groups with respect to socio-demographic variables such as age, onset of illness, duration of illness and number of years of education. For rest of the variables Mann-Whitney “U” test was employed. The correlation analysis was carried out between the clinical and the neuropsychological measures using Spearman's Rank difference method. Patients with OCD, both symptomatic and remitted, exhibit a lower level of performance in most measures of WCST as compared to patients with panic disorder and unspecified anxiety. Further, the present study indicated that the observed deficits in executive function are independent of symptomatology and unrelated to severity of the disorder. Though, the symptomatic group had more intensive symptoms than the remitted group, no significant relationship was evident between the symptoms and executive functions deficits in either of the groups. Though the remitted group made lesser number of perseverative errors and achieved more categories in comparison to symptomatic group, the differences were not significant. It suggest a trait hypothesis. The fact that the nature and severity of deficits on WCST in remitted group was similar to that was seen in symptomatic group; suggest the deficits in executive functions in OCD may be trait rather than state phenomena. Although, severity of obsessive-compulsive symptoms were found unrelated to performance, the anxiety and depression appeared to influence certain measures of executive functions in the current study. The presence of trait anxiety reduced the occurrence of preservative error, also decreased the number of correct responses, in symptomatic group. Similarly, the set maintaining ability was negatively influenced by the depressive symptoms in symptomatic group and by the trait anxiety in remitted group. These findings therefore suggest that abnormal WCST findings may not essentially indicative of specific neuropsychological dysfunction in obsessive-compulsive disorder and poor performance may occur in the context of anxiety and depressive symptoms. Though, various forms of psychological/behavioral and pharmacological treatments are found to be effective in controlling the symptoms, they may be ineffective to correcting the underlying pathophysiology.

Pages: 1163-1168
Toolika Wadhwa (Department of Education, Shyama Prasad Mukherji College, University of Delhi, Delhi)

Recent trends have shown an increasing usage of smart phones by the young adult population. Engagement with selfies, defined as taking and sharing selfies, is particularly pronounced in college going population. Concerns about this developing into an addiction have been voiced by adults. While there is no evidence of engagement with selfies becoming a clinical disorder, there is a visible preoccupation in young adults. It is in this context that the present study focuses on the nature of engagement with selfies and its interface with psychological well being of young adult women in Delhi. A descriptive, exploratory approach has been used to develop case profiles and undertake thematic analysis of semi structured interviews. The study found that young adults see selfies as a source of confidence building, self esteem enhancement, and fulfilment of needs for appreciation and acceptance. Editing their selfies before posting on social media shows low level of self acceptance which is detrimental for psychological well-being.

Pages: 1173-1178
Urvi Sharma and Harmehak Singh (Department of Psychology, G.G.D.S.D. College, Chandigarh)

The present research intends to examine gender differences in narcissism among men and women within the age group 17-35. A random sample of 200 young adults, including 100 males and 100 females is selected from north India. For this research, it is hypothesized that men are more narcissistic than women. The 40 item Narcissistic Personality Inventory (NPI) (Raskin & Hall, 1979-1981) is used in this study to measure narcissism. The results revealed that men tend to be more narcissistic than women (t=3.7619, p=0.0002). We further investigated gender differences in the exploitative facet of Narcissistic Personality Inventory (NPI). Results revealed that men tended to be more exploitative than women (t=3.0349, p=0.0027).

Pages: 1182-1185
Amreen Sekhon (Department of Psychology, Panjab University, Chandigarh)

Consistent evidence has shown that materialism is negatively related to satisfaction with life. This study is aimed to further investigate the relationship between materialism and atisfaction with life among the adolescents. It also measures the gender differences among adolescents on materialism and life satisfaction. The study consists of 100 participants with 50 males and 50 females who all are college students pursuing their graduation in the field of arts. The age range varied from 18-21 years. Moreover, this study has used the Materialism scale and Satisfaction with life scale to collect data from the research participants. Description statistics is used in addition to intercorrelation analysis to calculate the results.

Pages: 1191-1194
Ghazala Shaheen (Department of Economics, Patna University, Patna, Bihar)

Organic farming as we are aware of is a method of farming which uses organic products, i.e., green manures, bio-fertilisers, compost and discards the use of pesticides and chemical fertilisers. “Organic agriculture is a production system that sustains the health of soils, ecosystems and people. It relies on ecological processes, biodiversity and cycles adapted to local conditions, rather than the use of inputs with adverse effects. Organic agriculture combines tradition, innovation and science to benefit the shared environment and promote fair relationships and a good quality of life for all involved” ( IFOAM). In India it is not a new concept, we had been doing cultivation organically till green revolution came into the picture. That changed the whole scenario of farming. Chemical fertilisers gave bumper crops and farmers were attracted towards it. But it was not going to remain like this for a long period of time. Soon the chemical fertiliser started deteriorating the land that resulted in lower productivity. Farmers were looking for alternative and Organic Farming came as the answer. Bihar was also not untouched from this revolution. Farmers were dismayed by the lowering of the land productivity and were thus attracted by Organic Farming which promised better productivity. This paper looks into the production, cost and pricing of organic crops being produced in the Nalanda District of Bihar. It tries to explore the problems faced by the farmers and what are their expectations from the government.

Pages: 1198-1201
Sameera Banu and Sonakshi Ruhela (Department of Applied Psychology, Amity University, Dubai, United Arab Emirates)

The current paper was written with the purpose of exploring and understanding the attitudes people hold towards sexual and gender minority groups, which comes under the umbrella term, “Homophobia”. It looks into the various factors leading to the development of homophobia and how this attitude causes disruption in the society. The study employs review of existing literature as its methodology. Results show that homophobia stems from gender role attitudes, masculinity, authoritarian attitudes, and religious beliefs, among many others. Findings also reveal that these negative attitudes further result in aversion and aggression towards the members of LGBTQ+ as well as the community as a whole. It is a major source of discrimination, violence, verbal/physical abuse, bullying and prejudice which has detrimental effects on the mental and physical well-being of the victims. Consequences of such mistreatment are found to be depression, anxiety, suicide ideation and other psychological torments. Solutions to the issue at hand can be sought through educating people, spreading awareness, respecting individual differences as well as legal safeguarding.

Pages: 1205-1209

Pratibha Singh (Department of Psychology, V.K.S. University Arrah, Arrah, Bihar)

The battle for life commences right from the day of girl child is conceived in her mother's womb. India Every country is recovering from years of abuse in the time of the more years of economic suffering at the hands of the licence Raj. It is only now that globalisation, liberalization and other socioeconomic sources have given Some respite to a large proportion of the population. However, there are quite a few areas where women empowerment in India is largely lacking. To truly understand what is women empowerment, their needs to be a sea change in the mindset of the people in the country. Not just the women themselves, but the men have to wake up to a word that is moving towards equality and equity. It is better that this is embraced earlier rather than later, for our own good. Swami Vivekananda once said,” arise awake and stop not until the goal is reached”.Thus, our country should thus be catapulted into the horizon of empowerment of women and revel in its glory

Pages: 1215-1219
Girija Kumari (Department of Sociology, Bharathidasan University, Tiruchirappalli, Tamil Nadu)
Sampath Kumar (Department of Sociology and Population Studies Bharathiar University, Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu)

More direct efforts to influence fertility behaviour address gender equality in more specific ways. In low-fertility settings, many countries have policies that seek to raise fertility by offering various incentives, some of which make for greater gender equality. In high fertility settings, many countries in the developing world have had policies that seek to lower fertility. To examine the autonomy of women in fertility control behaviour in Coimbatore Descriptive study was done among rural women through multi stage sampling technique and a pretested interview schedule was used for data collection. Nearly 50% of them are between the age group of 26 -30 years and about 70% of them had education till Diploma/graduate level. The age at marriage was between 18-25 years for about 90% of the mothers. About 62% of the respondents have a high level of reproductive autonomy which shows that they have a freedom of thought on birth spacing. There was a significant association between age, education, employment, type of family, monthly income, head of the family, duration of marriage life in years and Religion with the reproductive autonomy. The study reveals that to improve contraceptive use through improving women's education and employment can play a major role in enhancing women's autonomy.