Indian Journal of Health and Wellbeing

Pages: 188-192
Priyanka (Department of Psychology, M.A.C.W, Jhajjar, Haryana)
Promila Batra (Department of Psychology, M.D. University, Rohtak, Haryana)

Attention stands at the forefront of cognition. Without attention abilities, there would be no learning, no perception, no intellectual functioning, and no development of language. Attention enables the individual to gain these experiences. But, recent years have seen a sudden surge in an array of cognitive dysfunctions such as decline in memory, distraction in attention and attention related disorders. Stressful lifestyle in this competitive world may be the root cause. Allopathic psychoactive drugs have been the main stay of treating attention related problems in India and the world wide. However, experiences with these drugs have always not been satisfying. The administration of these drugs is very expensive and most often accompanied by side effects like insomnia, mood change, dizziness, respiratory depression, irritability, nausea, rash, and clumsiness etc. Therefore, the whole world is looking towards ancient science of Ayurveda to explore safe, alternative, cost effective treatment as well as reliable cure with no or minimal side effects. Ayurveda largely uses plants as raw material for the manufacture of drugs. Shankhpushpi is believed to be the one such herbal plant that is capable of enhancing all the aspects related to the brain power, such as learning memory, and the ability to recall. Earlier work on this plant conducted by many researchers as well as in our own department clear-cut indicates the memory enhancing potential of this plant. It can be inferred from the memory enhancing potential of this plant that if this plant can enhance memory, it is quite possible that attention also must be getting affected by it. Any improvement in attentional processes would have its implications in improving all other cognitive abilities. Keeping this wide implication in mind, this present piece of work was designed to examine the effect of Shankhapushpi, a herbal plant, on attentional processes. A 2 X 2 double blind, pre post, placebo controlled, parallel group design was employed. Sample was selected from college going students, belonging to an age group of 19 25 years, who were ready to sign informed consent. Total 60 subjects were selected and divided into 4 groups, each having 15 Ss. 2 groups were experimental groups, who received Shankhapushpi powder (3.5 gm per day with honey followed by a glass of milk) for 2 different durations i.e. 10 and 20 days. Other 2 groups were control groups, which were treated with ordinary powder (made with coriander, spinach, fenugreek etc.) with the same dose and in the same manner as experimental groups. Two aspects of attentional processes were tested i.e. Selective and Divided attention. The subjects were tested on these tasks before starting the treatment and immediately after the treatment. The paper will discusses the obtained results in details as analyzed by two-way ANOVA.

Pages: 197-200
Jini K. Gopinath and Rita Krishnan (Department of Psychology, University of Kerala, Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala)

The aim of the present study is to explore the relationship between specific learning difficulty and different aspects of psychopathology in upper primary children. 90 children with learning difficulty were assessed on various dimensions of psychopathology and learning difficulty. The mean age of the participants was 11.39 with a standard deviation of 0.63. The tools included Developmental Psychopathology Checklist, the arithmetic section of the NIMHANS Battery for Specific Learning disorder and a teacher rated Visual Analogue Scale. Learning difficulty was found to be associated with developmental history, developmental problems, hyperkinesis, emotional disorders, psychotic behaviour, total psychopathology, psychosocial stressors and teacher reported problems. The study points to the need to address psychosocial concerns of children with learning difficulty.

Pages: 205-210
Prem Prakash (Department of Psychiatric Social Work, Ranchi Institute of Neuro-Psychiatry and Allied Sciences, Kanke, Ranchi, Jharkhand)
Amool Ranjan Singh (Department of Psychology, Ranchi Institute of Neuro-Psychiatry and Allied Sciences, Kanke, Ranchi, Jharkhand)

Alcoholism is generally regarded as one of the most serious public health problems and a devastating disorder for affected individuals, their families and society. It becomes difficult for the individual to control his alcohol taking behavior, however, it can becured by psycho-therapeutic techniques and improving quality of life. The aim of the present study was to examine the role of group therapy in the enhancement of quality of life in individuals with alcohol dependence syndrome using Group Therapy. Twenty two individuals diagnosed with alcohol dependence syndrome according to ICD-10 DCR were chosen from the inpatient departments of RINPAS using the purposive sampling technique. After taking informed consent from the individuals, Socio-demographic and Clinical Data Sheet, Severity of Alcohol Dependence Questionnaire, and WHO Quality of Life- Bref were administered to establish the baseline. They were randomly assigned to the TAU+GT (experimental) group and TAU (control) group. Group therapy was given in the form of total ten to twelve sessions of 45 to 60 minutes with a frequency of twice a week to the TAU+GT group. After completion of the therapy sessions, post assessment was done and the follow up assessment was done after three months of post assessment. Data was analyzed with the help of Mann-Whitney U test, Wilcoxon Sign Rank test and Chi-square test. Significant better Enhancement was found in the level of Quality of life among individuals with alcohol dependence syndrome in the post intervention phase which was maintained at follow up stage.

Pages: 217-219
Neeraj Malik (Department of Law, Chhaju Ram Law College, Hisar, Haryana)

Witness, through ages, has been a key player in the pursuit of justice delivery. The fundamentals of justice necessitate that the truth and impartiality must be quintessence of justice. This brings the role of an onlooker or third party as witness to confirm or report to criminal justice agencies the ingredients of the incident. The sanctity of the statements made by the witness is considered to be correct and factual as they are made under oath. Hence the role of witness has been paramount importance in assisting the course of justice. The purpose of this paper shall be confined to interested witness and deal with the way the courts appreciate and weigh the evidence proffered by such witnesses. Since in a catena of cases, the court has cautioned the Judge to take special care and weigh the evidence of such witnesses with care and caution. But at the same time there have been instances where the court has accepted the evidence without corroboration by any other independent witness. Thus this paper will try to strike a balance between these two lines of thought and try to understand the finer nuances of the appreciation of evidence under the (Indian Evidence Act, 1872).

Page: 227-231
Poonam Bharti (Department of Geography, Punjabi university Patiala, Punjab)

The present paper reveals the district wise sex ratio in Jammu and Kashmir State during 2001-2011. Since the beginning of this century, the sex ratio in the total population has long been low in Jammu and Kashmir. The provisional data in 2011 census showed that the overall sex ratio came down to 883 females per 1000 males against 892 females per 1000 males in 2001. Gender equality continues to remain a dream to the territory of Jammu and Kashmir where the child sex ratio i.e. 0-6 years of age and overall sex ratio have declined sharply between 2001 and 2011. The spatial pattern of sex ratio at the macro, meso and micro-levels reveals a high degree of variation. Decline in sex ratio in Jammu and Kashmir varies considerably from one region to another. Rapid decline in sex ratio is a serious issue which is due to the proving preponderance of males over females at birth which could be attributed to the female foeticide.

Pages: 235-238
Sandheep P. N. and Dinsh J. Narayankar (Department of Criminology and Forensic Science, Karnataka University, Dharwad, Karnataka)

Forensic document examination mainly concentrated on the analysis of disputed handwriting and signatures and comparison of disputed writing with standard writings. The main aim of Comparison of disputed writings is for the identification of consistencies, natural variations, similarities and dissimilarities etc. These all major characteristics are in accordance with the quality and type of standards. In brief the conclusiveness of the result of the examination depends on the quality of the standards. There are mainly two types of standards as requested and collected. The requested standards are writings which have been created under certain controlled circumstances and with the knowledge that these writings are going to be tested but at the same time the collected standards are away from the disguise as at the time of creation of the collected standards, the writer is not aware about the forthcoming examination. In this study we randomly selected cases from different courts in Kerala and examined the percentage of cases which has standards as admitted, requested and both. The percentage and result of the examination has been being discussed below. As of this study we will get an alert for collecting the proper standards and importance of admitted standards on the forensic signature analysis.

Pages: 247-251
Parul Gill (I.B. (P.G) College, Panipat, Haryana)
Saroj S. Jeet Singh (I.C. College of Home Science, CCSHAU, Hisar, Haryana)

Haryanvi women have always found deep personal pleasure and sense of satisfaction in creating articles of daily use. These articles are now required to be considered as lost treasure and raised as economic activity to make women economically strong. So the present study was conducted to assess the scope of income generation for rural women through traditional decorative textile handicraft articles of Haryana. The existing decorative handicraft articles were explored and three selected articles were modified for contemporary use and were got assessed for acceptability in Indian and foreign market. Two articles were found to have excellent acceptability whereas one found to have very good acceptability.

Pages: 257-260
Amrita Kadela and A.V.S. Madnawat (Department of Psychology, University of Rajasthan, Jaipur, Rajasthan)

The present study attempts to see the relationship of Health, Happiness, Personality, Emotion work and Perceived Life Stress with Compassion among Resident Doctors of Government Hospitals. A sample of 100 Resident Doctors from Jaipur and Kota Districts, Rajasthan was administered in the study. Pearson's Correlation was used to analyze the data. It can be concluded that compassion was significantly correlated with health, happiness, personality, emotion work and presumptive life stress among resident doctors of government hospitals.

Pages: 265-266
Yogita Singh and Manju Pandey (Department of Psychology, HNBGU, Srinagar, Garhwal, Uttarakhand)

The present study was carried out with the objective of studying the level of psychic immunity among male and female adolescents. The sample consisted of 80 undergraduate students selected by quota sampling technique on the basis of gender and age. The scale employed for data collection was Psychic Immunity Scale (Self Constructed). 't-test' was computed to analyse the data and to guide the study. The results reveal a significant difference between the psychic immunity of male and female adolescents. The findings indicate that the female adolescents have significantly high psychic immunity than the male adolescents.

Pages: 272-275
Bindu Kumari and Bhateri (Department of Psychology, Hindu Girls College, Sonipat, Haryana)
Pritee Hooda (Department of CSE, SRM University, Sonipat, Haryana)

Smart phones have become an integral part of modern human lives. The review of literature suggested that students are more vulnerable to Smart phone addiction. The present study observed the Smart phone usage behavior of young female students using Field Observation method. The Smart phone using behavior (Talking, Texting, Holding Phone in Hand & Listening music in college campus) were observed in four selected key areas of college. After observation, a Survey was conducted on 100 students using Questionnaire translated from Teesa Jones (2014) on opinion of students Smart Phone addiction which has 10 structured questionnaire related to Smart Phone usage behavior and their psychological consequences. Mention the name of the tool used. The results revealed that students were aware about addiction to Smart Phone and Psychological traits associated with phone usage were figured out. The study identifies the Smart phone using behavior and will be helpful in formulating the intervention programs for students for the negative psychological consequences they face due to Smart Phone usage. Implications of the study

Pages: 280-285 Nandini N. (Department of Psychiatry, (Geriatric Project Unit), NIMHANS, Bangalore, Karnataka)
Nandita Chaube and M.S. Dahiya (Institute of Behavioral Science, Gujarat Forensic Sciences University, Gandhinagar, Gujarat)

Suicide is an act of death resulting from the force against oneself. Suicide is considered as sin in all the religions. There are social (history of family suicide, stressful life events etc.) and psychological (Mental illness, previous suicide attempts etc.) factors influencing individuals to commit suicide. There are many methods of committing suicide such as, pesticide poisoning, hanging, firearms, drug overdose, fatal injuries, exsanguinations, suffocation, drowning etc. This current study is conducted to analyze suicide stories of celebrities. The celebrities who commit suicide may have various reasons like, family problems, failed relationships, pressure of career, disturbed married life etc. As they are unable to cope up or face the pressure of their personal lives being telecasted openly they try to hide and suppress their relationship out of public glare. It has been noticed that, the celebrities who had failed in their love relations are more likely to commit suicide and the most common method of suicide has been by hanging. It is also seen that in all the celebrities suicide cases their male partners were accused of abetting them for committing suicide, but when investigated they were found innocent and released. The police reports also have declared all these deaths as “suicide”.

Pages: 289-291
Ritika and Gagandeep Kaur (Department of Education, Guru Nanak Dev University, Amritsar, Punjab)

A School is a place where student- teacher interaction takes place. School years are essential in creating well-being of students. Parents consider school as a key for the development of skills, knowledge and behaviours. School is vital to fulfil the educational needs of students. However, along with academic achievement of students, mental health of students is equally important. An attempt has been made in this paper to review the literature on mental health of adolescents. The review of literature depicts that Lack of competence end emotional disturbance, too many assignments, competitions with other students, failures and poor relationships with other students or lecturers, High aspirations, poor study habits etc. acts as a stressors. Persistent stress can lead to many adverse health problems, including and mental health problems.

Pages: 296-302
Ratnesh Dwivedi (Amity School of Communication Amity University, Noida, Uttar Pradesh)
Abha Singh (Amity Institute of Psychology and Allied Sciences, Amity University, Noida, Uttar Pradesh)
Sarah Partlow (Dept. of Communication Idaho State University, Idaho, USA)
Anuradha Sharma (Amity Institute of Psychology, and Allied Sciences, Amity University, Noida, Uttar Pradesh)

There are numerous parameters that have to be taken into consideration when considering the relationship between the media and terrorism. The relationship is complicated by the use of the media by terrorists to optimize the psychological impact of their acts of terror beyond the immediate location of the act itself, and what could cynically be described as the media's use of terrorism to attract audiences. The invasion of a terrorist victim's privacy is the most direct and visible harm from media coverage of terrorism. The invasion of privacy by the media both during and following a terrorist event such as kidnapping, for instance, can be as traumatic to victims and their families as the actual kidnapping itself. If business executives dicker about ransom, for instance, company management will be perceived as insensitive or materialistic in its concern. Thus, publicized ransom decisions can adversely effect executive morale and increase exposure to future terrorist attacks. The public has a valid interest in preserving domestic order.' The media, especially the broadcaster, can often frustrate police management by interfering with on-going operations, compounding the pressure on authorities, and impairing their ability to make decisions. By its very nature, terrorism is meant to capture the attention of the public. It is directed at changing the way society thinks. Modern technology, through television and the capabilities of global satellite communications systems, has provided terror groups with a critical communications instrument through which the terrorist receives instantaneous worldwide publicity. Terrorists use the media as a form of political advertising. Since they cannot buy television time, they gain coverage through commission of terrorist acts. Just as early television sponsors produced shows as vehicles for their commercials,30 media terrorists now provide live drama-murder and kidnapping-in return for "advertising time".