Indian Journal of Health and Wellbeing

Page: 01-06
Daanesh M. Umrigar and Rajendra Mhaske (Department of Psychology, Savitribai Phule Pune University, Pune, Maharashtra)

To explore the psychological health, as well as the levels of marital and sexual satisfaction, of wives of patients with a chronic illness. The sample consisted of 34 women, whose husbands were diagnosed with, and were undergoing treatment for a chronic illness (Coronary Heart Disease (CHD), Diabetes; or Cancer). Correlational and comparative analysis were conducted on the data. Clinically significant marital and sexual dissatisfaction were found. Wives reported moderate levels of depression and anxiety, but severe levels of stress. Depression and Sexual satisfaction were found to be significant predictors of marital satisfaction. Wives are impacted by the illness status of their spouse. The additional stress of caregiving, along with societally ascribed roles and responsibilities on women creates a more difficult, stressful environment, which affects the relationship satisfaction as well as psychological health and well-being.

Page: 12-17
Monika Rikhi (Department of Applied Psychology, Sri Aurobindo College (Eve), University of Delhi, Delhi)

The world is grappling with Covid-19 pandemic for almost two years now. The human population has been affected at all strata in innumerable ways. The elderly seems to be the worst impacted not only at the physical health level but psychologically too. A meta-analytic understanding of elderly research clearly shows their high susceptibility to the pandemic conditions. The lockdown conditions led to a collapse of the social support networks enjoyed by the urban elderly population. The traditional roles of family members, relatives, domestic helps and paid caregivers as support systems, metamorphosised with the announcement of the lockdown. The study purports to understand the changed social support networks that the elderly population has used to satiate their physical, social and psychological needs during the lockdown period. A sample of the urban elderly population was studied for the social support networks using a standardized psychometric test. To understand the altered support systems during the pandemic lockdown a group of volunteers working with the elderly population was interviewed. This helped to understand the assistance provided by them for various needs expressed by the elderly population. The discussions and interviews have been taken as a source to develop a possible understanding of the elderly social support networks in the urban Indian settings for active ageing under modern critical conditions.

Page: 22-28
Sayantani Chatterjee (Department of Psychology, Loreto College, Kolkata, West Bengal)

Life undergoes different changes at different points of time, with both pleasure and displeasure being its integral parts. Adolescence having its own simplicity also imbibes complexities of various kinds. Early adolescents are referred to as 'teens,' and late adolescents as 'youths'. Adolescence is a launching phase of striving for self sufficiency. The purpose is to determine differences in psychosocial correlates of high and low suicidal risk groups in adolescents. Purposive random sampling has been used for selecting 380 individuals. The scores on the Adult Suicidal Ideation Questionnaire are used to segregate individuals into 'High' and 'Low' Suicidal Risk Groups by method of Median Split. Statistical measures used are Mean, Standard Deviation, t-test. For early adolescents, two groups differed significantly on psychiatric morbidity, self enhancing humor, aggressive humor, happiness, locus of control. High suicidal risk group scored high on psychiatric morbidity, aggressive humor, self-defeating humor, locus of control. Low suicidal risk group scored high on reasons for living, affiliative humor, self enhancing humor, happiness. For late adolescents, two groups differed significantly on psychiatric morbidity, aggressive humor, self defeating humor, happiness, locus of control. High suicidal risk group scored high on psychiatric morbidity, aggressive humor, self-defeating humor, locus of control. Low suicidal risk group scored high on affiliative humor, self-enhancing humor, happiness. The findings imply the need to give due emphasis on mental health functioning and the utilization of positive resources by adolescents to survive the stresses of this period and not to feel meaningless about their existence.

Page: 35-42
N. Savya1, A.S. Guru Prapanna Sri2, and K.P. Naachimuthu3 (Psychologist, Ernakulam, Kerala1, Department of Psychology, PSGR Krishnammal College for Women, Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu2, Department of Psychology, PSG College of Arts and Science, Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu3)

The Impostor Syndrome (IS), characterized by intense feelings of self-doubt and a fear of being exposed as 'fraud' is being increasingly reported among Gen Z (Goel, 2021). It involves the person being excessively concerned with their social image due to their feelings of inadequacy. In other words, they remain in a perpetual state of heightened self-consciousness. A way to counter the experience of IS would be to turn down the volume of their ego and develop a more balanced sense of self-perception while being more accommodative of others in their environment. Quiet Ego (QE) is a self-identity that counters the loudness exuded by egotism. It is nurtured through deliberate self-reflection which people of the fast-paced world seldom have the time to engage in. The COVID-19 pandemic and the lockdown, however brought a temporary cessation to the drill. Drastic changes in the working arrangement, a feeling of being imprisoned at home, a constant threat of being affected by the virus has affected the lives of people in many ways. The present study aimed at exploring the relationship between IS and QE among Gen Z and the effect of lockdown on QE. The study was conducted using a mixed model research design, in two phases. Quantitative data from 76 participants were analysed using Pearson correlation and simple linear regression. Qualitative data from an in- depth interview of 44 participants were thematically analysed through manual coding. No significant correlation or regression between the two variables was found. The qualitative analysis yielded the themes under two major aspects-interpersonal (close circle & global community) and intrapersonal (engagement, outcome of introspection, effects of personality). The subthemes of the same are elucidated along with the implications.

Page: 48-52
V.P. Neeraja and K.P. Naachimuthu (Department of Psychology, PSG College of Arts & Science, Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu)

COVID-19 global pandemic has created a lot of stressful life events for the individuals. Some coped to this new way of living but the ones who couldn't develop mental distress. Sleep problems are common at the best of times, all the stress, worry created by this pandemic have made existing sleep difficulties even worse. Poor sleep quality is one of the major problem among young adult population, females showed more sleep related problems than males. The aim of the present study is to find out the effect of yoga nidra on quality of sleep among young female adults during Covid-19 pandemic. This quasi -experimental design was conducted among 24 young female adults, which were allocated equally into intervention and control group. The questionnaire used in the study was Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI). Intervention group was instructed to do yoga nidra for 3 weeks, every night for 30 minutes. Then both intervention and control group evaluated after 3 weeks. Data were analyzed using paired t test and correlation analysis. Data analysis showed that there was a significant difference in Global PSQI score (p < 0.01) for experimental group before and after the intervention. No significant difference found in the control group (p = .157) before and after the yoga nidra intervention. The study concluded that yoga nidra significantly improved the sleep quality among young female adults during Covid-19 pandemic.

Page: 57-59
Sanjay Fotedar1, Vikas Bhatti2, Vinay Rampal3, Zahid H. Gilani4, and Surinder Kumar5 (Department of Internal Medicine, Pt. B.D. Sharma PGIMS, Rohtak, Haryana1,2,5, Department of Internal Medicine, Govt. Medical College, Jammu, Jammu and Kashmir3, Department of Pharmacology, Govt. Medical College, Jammu, Jammu and Kashmir4)

People living with HIV/AIDS (PLHA) are at high risk of developing secondary infections, after seroconversion and with decreasing CD4 count the incidence of tuberculosis increases and adds to morbidity and mortality. Management includes concurrent treatment of HIV infection and specific management of tubercular infection. To study the clinical profile and disease outcome of tuberculosis in patients living with HIV/AIDS infection (PLHA). A prospective study from a tertiary care centre at Northern India. Patients with HIV/AIDS infection (PLHA) presenting with signs and symptoms of tuberculosis, diagnosed as cases of tuberculosis (pulmonary and extra pulmonary) were evaluated with respect to clinical profile, disease characteristics and socio demographic profile and respective data collected. 132 patients with HIV/AIDS infection diagnosed as cases of tuberculosis were included in study and data evaluated. Common clinical features included fever (84.4%), weight loss, (81.8%), cough with hemoptysis, followed by headache and altered sensorium. CD4 count <250 was significantly associated with tubercular infection with males effected more than females. Patients were diagnosed as having tubercular infection by AFB staining, Non-resolving pneumonitis on chest X-ray, HRTCT chest besides sputum culture, ESR, Monteux test, FNAC of lymph nodes and CSF study in extra pulmonary tubercular patients. The disease burden is more in developing and underdeveloped nations with high incidence of human immunodeficiency virus infection. Individuals infected with HIV infection may develop tubercular infection in course of HIV disease or may present with signs and symptoms of tubercular infection before being diagnosed as having HIV infection. The incidence of tubercular co-infection in PLHA is directly influenced by CD4 count and increases with fall in CD4 count. High degree of clinical suspicion with prompt evaluation for secondary infection including tuberculosis and timely management is associated with better outcomes.

Page: 70-74
Chanda Rawat (Department of Human Development & Childhood Studies, Delhi University, Delhi)

The present study analyzed the emotional maturity of 320 adolescents across their ordinal position. Samples were selected randomly from two different geographical areas of Uttrakhand in which 42 samples were found to be 1st born, equal number of samples were 2nd and 3rd born (59 samples) in Uttarkashi (hilly terrain) and in U.S. Nagar (plain terrain) 50 samples were 1st born, 46 samples were 2nd born and 64samples were 3rd born. A demographic questionnaire was developed and administered to assess the socio-demographic characteristic of adolescents and emotional maturity was measured using Emotional Maturity Scale. One way ANOVA was applied to calculate the significant difference in emotional maturity of selected adolescents across their ordinal position. Results showed no significant difference in composite emotional maturity of adolescents from both districts across their ordinal position. However, first born respondents from both the districts were seen to significantly differ on two components of emotional maturity viz. they were significantly more independent and socially well-adjusted as compared to second and third born.

Page: 79-82
Shipra Sharma and Vandana Sharma (Department of Psychology, S.D. (P.G.) College, Ghaziabad, Uttar Pradesh)

The objective of this investigation was to analyze the relationship between family environment and depression among adolescent students. The study consisted 300 adolescent students (150 male & 150 female) selected through stratified random sampling. The age range of the sample group was between 14 to 17 years. They were taken from C.B.S.E. board schools of Ghaziabad city. The tools of the study, Family Environment Scale by Bhatia and Chadha and Cornell Medical Index Health Questionnaire by Wig, Pershad, and Verma, for Depression were used. Statistical analysis used for the present study were correlation and multiple regression. A significant negative correlation was found between family environment and depression among adolescent students in terms of family cohesion, expressiveness, acceptance and caring, independence, active-recreational orientation, organization and control except Conflict which was positively correlated to depression. In addition, three dimensions of family environment, i.e., independence, conflict and organization emerged as predictors of depression among adolescents in the present study.

Page: 88-94
Gour Sarkar1, Sujit Jogi2, Suman Paul3, Suvojit Sutradhar4, Rakesh Das5, Ajoy Roy6, and Ajoy Sarkar7 (MA (North Bengal University), MA (NSOU), B.Ed. (North Bengal University), West Bengal 1, UG 5th Semester of Geography, Raiganj University, West Bengal2,3,4,5,6, and Sayedpur Babhan Toli School, Jhitkia, Uttar Dinajpur, West Bengal7)

Religion and well-being have been intertwined since the beginning of civilization. Religion is associated with human thought, thought, creation of human civilization, the culture of civilization, improvement of the environment, and world peace. India is the lifeblood of religion and many rivers, trees, hills, animals, etc. are being preserved around this religion. The nourishing of the religion is based on the three sacred samples selected temple of South Bengal. It is clearly observed the trees and ponds are conserving for example in Kankalitala sacred temple area, the sacred pond and five sacred Banyan trees are conserving. In Ghagarburi sacred temple area mainly two people's trees are conserved for more than the last 1000 years. In Kankalitala sacred temple area more than fifteen business shops are doing their business based on the selling of Dhupkathi, Fruits, Sindur, Garland, Coconuts, Sacred trees, Religion yarn, Sweets, Soft toys, Photo frames, Ektaras, Dugdugi, The photo frame of many God-Goddess, Handicraft of Rabindranath Thakur, etc. apart from that some people are doing their jobs based on Car parking, Worshiping, Begging, Shopkeeping, Selling the rural handicraft things, etc. Beggars are earning during the time of festivals here. Again in Ghagarburi temple area, there are some shops like, Dhupkathi, Fruits, Sindur, Garland, Coconuts, Sacred trees, Religion yarn, Sweets, Soft toys, Photo frames, Ektaras, Dugdugi, The photo frame of many God-Goddess, Handcraft things of selling religions items are found and some Fooding hotel, Tea stalls are getting economic profit through the presents of religion culture. There are some infrastructural like, Construction of Roads, Tubal, Water tank, Dharmasala, Car parking area, Hotel, Toilet, Lodges, etc. have developed in Kankalitola sacred religion area, Ghagarburi temple, Shri Shri Baba Manikeshwar temple. But bloody sacrifice is still presented in these three case studies areas namely; Ghagarburi temple, Shri Shri Baba Manikeshwar temple. The Nunia River at the Site of Ghagarburi temple is completely polluted due to the urban sewage of Asansol and the waste items of Ghagarburi temple. The Damodar River at the site of Shri Shri Baba Manikeshwar temple is found as an open defecation area.

Page: 99-106
Sucharita Kundu and V. R. Shinde (Department of Psychology, Savitribai Phule Pune University, Pune, Maharashtra)

Schizophrenia, a debilitating neuropsychiatric disorder, is considered by WHO to be one amongst the foremost ten illnesses which contribute to the global burden of disease (Murray & Lopez, 1996). Antipsychotic medicines, considered to be first-line treatment of Schizophrenia, do not meaningfully improve cognitive deficits, negative symptoms and concomitant poor social adaptive functioning. Inclusion of empirically validated psychosocial interventions can enhance the quality of life and independent life skills in persons with Schizophrenia. The study aimed at evaluating efficacy of a Social Skills Training (SST) intervention of six months duration, on adaptive behavior among stabilized outpatients of chronic schizophrenia availing day care rehabilitation services. 96 stabilized outpatients with chronic schizophrenia, diagnosed as per DSM-V criteria, availing day care rehabilitation services, were allotted either to a wait list control group receiving standard care of treatment with antipsychotic medication (n=48) or experimental (active treatment) group, receiving SST in addition to standard care (n=48), through simple random sampling. This was a centre based pretest-posttest control group study. Both the groups were assessed once at the baseline and thereafter 6 months of SST intervention, comprising of 75 sessions, using Social Adaptive Functioning Evaluation (SAFE). Statistical analysis was conducted through independent samples t test on gain score (pre-intervention or baseline assessment post-intervention assessment) of the two groups. The results revealed an overall significant effect of SST program in the form of enhancing adaptive behaviour. At post intervention, the experimental group's gain scores on SAFE were found to be significantly higher (t= 2.458, p<0.05) while compared to the wait list control group. Thus, the present study highlighted efficacy of SST intervention in improving adaptive behaviour in persons with chronic schizophrenia. Therefore, in view of these favourable effects, it can be concluded that, although not routinely recommended in treatment guidelines of schizophrenia, integration of SST can improve present standard services, and can be recommended for wider implementation in rehabilitation centres in India.

Page: 111-115
Renu Gulati1, Veenu Wadhwa2, Reema Lamba3, and Priya Kaim4 (Department of Human Development and Childhood Studies, Institute of Home Economics, University of Delhi, Delhi1,2,4 and Aditi Mahavidyalaya, University of Delhi, Delhi3)

COVID-19 induced lockdowns across the globe have made people adjust and adapt themselves through changing patterns of lifestyle. This study aimed to study the impact of forced restrictions on young adults in terms of adaptive measures, well-being, and circadian rhythm during the lockdown. A short survey was conducted during the first lockdown in India among young adults (n=197) in different metropolitan cities of India to collect information on youth's perspectives, practices and experiences during the lockdown through an online platform. The results are based on the responses of 197 young college-going adults to a variety of questions related to stressors during the lockdown, their support system, and their actions towards ensuring their well-being amid the lockdown period. Sense of well-being was perceived as moderate by the majority of the young adults who participated in the study. However, the collected data also indicates that the COVID-19 lockdown has undoubtedly influenced sleep patterns, food behaviour, daily routines, perspectives towards relationships, life situations, and quality of communication in the youth. Some positive impact was also reported based on individual practices for improving health and well-being as well as coping with stress and related emotions. A family-based intervention program is needed for the vulnerable groups to ensure holistic well-being and help them work towards their recovery in different domains as in pre-pandemic lives.

Page: 408-412
Shakila Mahesh, Neeru Rani, Anuhska Rajesh Choudhary, Ishika Chandra, and Ankit Kumar (Manav Rachna Dental College, FDS, MRIIRS, Faridabad, Haryana)

Vaccines provide the most optimistic solutions to prevent the further spread of new viral strains. Rapid development of efficacious vaccines against COVID-19 epidemic is very crucial but the success of the COVID-19 vaccination program is dependent on people's knowledge and their attitude towards it. The aim of the study was to investigate society's knowledge, attitude and perception towards COVID-19 vaccination in India. The exploratory and anonymous population-based e-survey was conducted among the general individuals of Delhi- NCR. T-tests or one-way ANOVA tests were performed using Microsoft Excel 2019 and SPSS Software version 24.0. A total of 1005 responses were collected. The sample has a slight predominance of female participants (56.7%) with mostly in the age-group of 20-40 years. Mean scores of knowledge, attitude and perception of the study participants were 3.72±1.40, 3.69±1.62, 4.86±1.54 respectively. According to gender wise, mean scores of knowledge and perception were considerably higher in females with significant p-value of 0.028 but attitude scores were higher in males with p-value of 0.714. The findings reflect adequate knowledge, positive attitude and good perception of people towards COVID-19 vaccination program. Government should create awareness programs, limiting the barriers and strengthening the facilities regarding the vaccination drive to ensure higher vaccine acceptance.