Indian Journal of Positive Psychology

Pages:299-301
S.K. Rajesh, V.J. Ilavarasu, and T.M. Srinivasan (Swami Vivekananda Yoga Anusandhana Samsthana, Bangalore, Karnatka)

In recent years, construct mindfulness has emerged as one of the main focus of study within the positive psychology movement. The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between dispositional mindfulness and wellbeing in a sample of college students. The sample comprised 275 under graduate students (204 =Female; 76=Male; 5= unreported; in the age range18 to 29 years) from three colleges in Southern India. The Mindful Attention Awareness Scale( MAAS) was used to measure dispositional mindfulness. Further wellbeing was measure using Short Warwick-Edinburgh Mental Well-being Scale (SWEMWBS) and Short Depression Happiness Scale (SDHS). Spearman correlation coefficients were used to examine the association between mindfulness and well-being domains. Dispositional mindfulness was positively and significantly correlated with well-being related constructs SWEMWBS (rs = .46) and happiness (rs = .42) (all p's < .01). The results showed that participants higher on mindfulness had greater concordance with well-being.

Pages:305-308
Qudsia Tariq (Department of Psychology, University of Karachi, Pakistan)

The rationale of the present research was to explore the relationship between self efficacy and life satisfaction. The following three assumptions were formulated. 1- There would be a strong positive relationship between self efficacy and life satisfaction amongst student populace. 2- The males would have high self efficacy as compared to females. 3- The males would be more satisfied with life as compared to females. Life satisfaction was measured with Satisfaction with Life Scale (SWLS) by Ed Diener et al; (1985) and Generalized Self- efficacy Scale (GSES) by Schwarzer and Jerusalem (1995) was used for measuring self-efficacy. A sample of 150 participants (75 males and 75 females) were randomly selected from student populace of various universities of Karachi (Pakistan)The age range considered was 18 to 24 years. Pearson product moment was calculated for the 1st hypothesis and p>.05 hence rejecting the research hypothesis and unrelated t-test was calculated for 2nd and 3rd hypothesis and both were rejected p>.05.

Pages:317-320
Sangeeta Khullar (Department of Psychology, MKP Postgraduate College, Dehradun) Anjali Bhatia (Faculty Member at ICFAI University, Dehradun and Life Skills Mentor, Eupsychia)

While industrialization and urbanization have indisputable economic benefits, they also have unpleasant psychosocial consequences such as urban 'angst', incivility, crime, lack of empathy and reduced social support. Over the long term, such effects can pose a serious threat to individual stability and mental health. They may also defeat broader objectives such as the fair distribution of resources and maintaining the sustainability of human habitat. A trait such as Altruism may play a significant role in moderating the negative effects of urbanization. In turn, this trait is fostered by certain features of the physical environment, including the amount of green cover in one's residential neighbourhood. The present study investigated the effect of low, medium and high amounts of green cover in urban areas on the variable Altruism. Data was collected from two major cities of the state of Uttarakhand, IndiaDehradun and Haridwar. Using Rushton et al's Self-Report Altruism (SRA) scale, it was found that there is a statistically significant difference between the three green cover areas on altruism. Age as a predictor of altruism was not found to be significant. A process model was devised to explain the linkages between green cover and altruism.

Pages:324-329
Alpana Mohan (Department of Psychology, VMLG (PG) College, Ghaziabad)

This research paper is concerned with atypical laterality in the field of perceptual- motor skill among mentally challenged, reveals about the anomalous pattern of lateralisation and severity of cerebral dysfunction in this population. The number of children diagnosed with mental retardation and developmental disorder such as dyslexia, autism, speech and language impairment and attention deficit disorder are increasing as these disorders become better defined in terms of their behavioural and motor characteristics. The studies of brain morphometry were stimulated by the landmark study of Geschwind and Levitsky (1968), which provided evidence of asymmetry in brain structure that correlated with the well established functional asymmetry and found dominance of the left hemisphere for language and motor related activity. Implicit in the notion that mentally challenged persons are associated with anomalous lateralisation pattern or atypical lateralisation pattern. Atypical laterality (i.e. the lack of a clear pattern of lateralisation) has been found to be characteristics of individual with intellectual disability (ID). The evidence has been based on handedness studies which have contain little information about the ability of people with ID to carry out interhemispheric task reflecting bilateral transfer. The present study examined the atypical laterality among mentally challenged person by utilising bilateral transfer of motor skill by transfer paradigm. Right handed mentally challenged (No= 60) and controls matched (N=60) for age and sex were tested for bilateral transfer of motor skills in contralateral hands with a mirror drawing task. The finding indicated that mentally challenged people are significantly deficient relative to match controls in bilateral transfer of motor skills from their non-preferred (left) hand to their preferred (right) hand. Mentally challenged persons were found to perform better with their non- preferred hand than with their preferred hand. A within group comparison revealed that right handed performance was more affected and committed more errors than left hand in these subjects.

Pages:333-337
K. Radhika and D. BaraniGanth (Department of Applied Psychology, Pondicherry University, Pondicherry) S. Thiyagarajan (Department of International Business, Pondicherry University, Pondicherry)

The aim of the study was to understand the relationship between religious copingstyles and silver lining tendencies among cancer patients and also to consider the role of demographic variables like age, gender and duration of treatment. 50 cancer patients were administered Brief Religious Coping Inventory (RCOPE) and Silver Lining Questionnaire. The results showed that there is a relationship between religious coping style and silver lining among cancer patients. There is a gender difference in positive religious coping, wherein females show higher positive religious coping than males. On the other hand, there is no difference in the silver lining tendencies with regard to gender and age. Also, there is a relationship between the duration of treatment and the silver lining tendencies of the person, as well as with one of its dimensions, the enhanced relationships with others.

Pages:340-344
Grant J. Rich (Editor, International Psychology Bulletin, Juneau, Alaska, USA)

This article explores the flow experience in the domain of jazz piano music. Developed by Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi and colleagues, this theory of optimal motivation and engagement argues, in part, that enjoyment and enhanced performance result if certain conditions- the nine components of flow- are met. These elements include: having clear, specific goals; receiving immediate feedback; maintaining a balance between the challenges of an activity and the skills one brings to it; feeling a sense of control; increased concentration; experiencing an altered sense of time; sensing a merging of the action and awareness; a lack of self-consciousness; and the sense that the activity has become autotelic, an end in itself. This article demonstrates that the general flow experience may be modified to a degree for performing improvisational musicians, as the flow experience of pianists often involves an additional merging of action and awareness, including a sense that the musician has become one with both music and piano, and sometimes, with an audience. Data for the article include interviews with well-known jazz pianists, as well as autobiographical and biographical material. Implications of this flow state in jazz pianists for enhanced performance, pedagogy, motivation, task persistence, and personal growth and enjoyment are discussed.

Pages:353-355
Alicia Saxe and Luís Sérgio Vieira (University of Algarve, Portugal)

The main purpose of this study is to examine and describe the subjects and themes in the data collected from a two-month positive psychology intervention with 3rd and 4th grade students. The activity required each of the students to begin and finish each school day by recording three positive events that happened during that day or the prior evening in a positive notebook that was provided to them, therefore increasing the frequency of positive thinking inside the classroom. The students were also encouraged to reflect on the personal significance and value of these positive incidents. A coding system was created to define topics and patterns of the entries. Results show that elementary school students consider academic and physical activities, as well as their friends, families, and teachers as being the most positive, although context may play an intervening role. Differences in the frequency and quality of the entries indicate that the success of this program is highly influenced by the teacher/administrator. This activity further demonstrates elementary school students' ability to express and reflect on their own emotions and well-being, a characteristic which could serve as a protective factor as they enter into adolescence.

Pages:365-373
Mahesh Kumar Maurya and Yukti Gill (Department of Psychology, F.S.S., BHU, Varanasi, U.P.)

The present study was conducted with the objective of examining the nature of the relationship between life satisfaction dimensions and mental health among the married and unmarried research scholar. The population for our study was university research scholars, so we included a wide variety of satisfaction measures we thought relevant to this population, such as satisfaction with the family, friends, university, living environment and self. Participants were 143 research scholars from the Faculty of Social Science (FSS) and Arts, BHU, Varanasi (U.P.), India. Among these, 111 participants were unmarried and 32 participants were married research scholars. The scale, for measuring Multidimensional Students' life satisfaction, developed by Huebner (2001) was used. Among the mental health status dimensions, general well-being was assessed on the dimensions of) psychological wellbeing (PWB) and psychological distress (PD (Heubeck & Neill, 2000). Among the demographic variables, there were significant difference between the married and unmarried research scholar with regard to age, research experience and income. Results also showed that family, friends, university, living environment and self was no significant difference between the married and unmarried research scholar. Among the mental health dimension there was no significant difference between the married and unmarried research scholar with regard to psychological wellbeing and psychological distress. Psychological wellbeing of married and unmarried research scholar was significantly, positively correlated with family, friends, university, living environment and self. On the other hand the psychological distress of married research scholar was significantly, positively correlated with experience and negatively correlated with family, friends, living environment and psychological wellbeing and psychological distress of unmarried research scholar was significantly, negatively correlated with experience, family, friends, university, living environment and psychological wellbeing. Family and university significantly predicted psychological wellbeing of married research scholar. On the other hand university, self and living environment significantly predicted psychological wellbeing of unmarried research scholar. Research experience and family significantly predicted psychological distress of married research scholar. On the other hand research experience, university and living environment significantly predicted psychological distress of unmarried research scholar. Purchase PDF Purchase hard copy

Pages:378-387
Meenu (Department of School and Non-formal Education National University of Educational Planning and Administration [NUEPA], New Delhi )

This paper draws on empirical research to explore the ways to understand how cancer patients cope with their suffering throughout their life. A qualitative paradigm was used for this study with data collected using semi-structured interview protocol. The study was conducted on 15 cancer patients of Rajiv Gandhi Cancer Institute and Research Centre, New Delhi, India. To explore the impact and experience of living with cancer in a way that could pressure the situated wholeness of the experience, a phenomenology methodology was used, capture the participants own perception and constructions in living out with cancer. The data collected by the form of interaction with participants. The interviews were open ended to the extent that the participants were allowed to freely talk about their experience. The interviews were then transcribed; meaning unit's word extracted & themes were derived through the method of analysis given by Strauss Corbin (1990). Four common themes emerged from the analysis of the interviews. They are broadly categorized as: First, Personal meaning of the cancer patient: how the patient sees the cancer and answers quarries in different ways to identify and creating the meaning of their illness. Second, Psycho-social reaction to their illness: many of the psycho-social effects of cancer patient understood in terms of reaction to their illness such as physical, emotional, and socially deprived experience. Third, Coping strategies used by them during the different phases of illness: how does the patients manage their suffering with variety of coping skills and Fourth, Perspective on pre-cancer lives and post-cancer lives: how the patients have changed their thoughts, beliefs such as now they plan their future with some amount of uncertainty but there was no uncertainty prior to diagnosis. Conclusion included that, for the cancer patients, different coping strategies and their attitude towards cancer appeared to be powerful key to fight with their suffering.

Pages:394-396
T. Rajesh ( Composite Regional Centre for Persons with Disabilities Social Welfare Complex, Vellimadukunnu Kozhikode, Kerala) K. G. Dhanesh (Composite Regional Centre for Persons with Disabilities, Social Welfare Complex, Vellimadukunnu, Kozhikode, Kerala )

The present study aimed to identify the benefits of multidisciplinary approach in managing adult with autism. A 19 year old boy with autism was taken for this study. Initial assessments were done using detailed Clinical Interview, Childhood Autism Rating Scale (CARS) and Sensory Integration inventory were used for this study. The boy was trained with the use of Behaviour Modification Techniques, Sensory Integration (SI) Therapy, Picture Exchange Communication System (PECS), ADL and Cognitive Training. Post test was conducted after 6 months of therapy. Results discussed in detail.