Indian Journal of Health and Wellbeing

Pages: 507-509
Akancha Srivastava (Department of Psychology, TD College, Jaunpur, UP)

The aim of the present study was to ascertain depression in Coronary Heart Disease (CHD) patients. 100 patients in CHD group were selected for testing. A normal group of same strength was also sampled for the purpose of comparison with patients. Depression in the subjects was measured with T.S. Depression Scale developed by Thakur and Singh (1994). The responses of the subjects were converted into scores and were subjected to suitable statistical techniques. The analysis of the data revealed that CHD patients suffer much more from the problem of depression as compared to their normal counterparts. Results are thoroughly discussed and implication of the findings are indicated.

Pages: 513-516
L. N. Bunker (J.N. V. University, Jodhpur)
Ajay K. Chaudhary (Government M.G. College, Udaipur)

The aim of this study was to explore the information processing of words related to food, shape and body parts in women of obese and normal weights. Twenty severely obese patients, 20 obese patients and 20 normal weight individuals, all of whom were female, were assessed using implicit and explicit memory tasks. The memory tasks involved words related to food, shape and body parts. Results showed biases in implicit memory measures. Severely obese women completed significantly more food-related words than other words. Obese patients completed significantly more food- and shape-related words than did the other groups. Normal weight females did not show any bias on the implicit memory measures. No explicit memory biases were found in any groups.

Pages: 520-523
Nirmala Kaushik and Rakesh Behmani (Department of Applied Psychology, G.J.U.S.&T, Hisar, Haryana)

Role conflict affects the mental health of the employees. It is the major determinant of organizational stress. Stress is the degree of tension, anxiety and pressure experienced by a person. Stress is generally assumed as the outcome of the transaction between the stimulus and the response. Mental health is an important internal resource which assures a stable quality of life. In other words mental health is how people look at themselves their lives and other people, evaluate their challenges and problems. It has been reported as an important factor influencing individual's various behaviours, activities, happiness and performance. The success of performance of mental functions results in productive activities. Qualitative work and good production in any organization depend on the mental health of workers of that organization. Keeping in view these points a study was conducted to know the effect of role conflict on mental health of industrial employees. This study was conducted on males and females (100 each in the age range of 25-55 years). The results indicated that role conflict affect the mental health of industrial workers. Higher role conflict indicated poorer mental health.

Pages: 549-550
Fatima, M. and Iqbal, K. (Department of Psychology, Aligarh Muslim University, Aligarh, U.P.)

Mental health and Well-being of Alcoholics vary significantly between males and females. This study is a comparative study of mental health and general well-being among male and females (100 alcoholics, 50 males and 50 females) aged between 20-50 years. Tools used for the collection of data included P.G.I Health questionnaire (N-1) and P.G.I General Well-being measure. The scores of the individuals were treated statistically, tabulated and interpreted. The results revealed that there is significant difference between male and female alcoholics with regard to their mental health and Well-being. The male alcoholics are in a higher state of mental health and Well-being as compared to female alcoholics. Study the mental and general well being of male and female alcoholics 100 alcoholics , comprising 50 males and females , 20 50 years age group , matched in terms of age, marital status and education, selected randomly from different rehabilitation centres of delhi. PGI Health Questionaire (N1) and PGI Well being Scales were used . Statistical analysis used: “t” test and “df” degree of freedom Alcohol is a social and physical hazard for both males and females , however female alcoholics are more prone to social, physical and psychological hazards of alcohol and its effect at a lower level and after a shorter duration of use. Alcohol is not an ordinary commodity. While it carries connotations of pleasure and sociability in the minds of many, harmful consequences of its use are diverse and widespread. Worldwide, alcohol is expected to take an increasing toll on lives and communities. Indeed more and more alcohol is consumed per person in countries such as India. National monitoring systems are needed to keep track of alcohol consumption and its consequences, in order to raise awareness among the general public and avoid the social, psychological and medical hazards associated with it .

Pages: 533-537
R. Subasree (Rajiv Gandhi National Institute of Youth Development, Sriperumbudur, Tamil Nadu)

The present investigation was carried out to study the effect of counseling on self-esteem and academic anxiety of tenth and twelfth standard students. The objectives of the study was to explore the relationship between 'self-esteem and academic anxiety of tenth and twelfth standard students. The study was to find out the relationship between self-esteem and academic anxiety of tenth and twelfth standard students. The study was experimental in nature and it was investigated by pre-test and post-test with intervention programme design. The sample size was 30 students from tenth standard and twelfth standard (18 boys, 12 girls). The group counseling programme was carried out to enhance the self-esteem to subjects. The programme duration was two weeks and two consecutive Saturday Sundays followed by a post-test. The test administered to the subject's pre-post intervention, were Karunanidhi's self esteem scale and academic anxiety scale for children by. Singh and Gupta A. Sen was used. The appropriate statistical analysis was utilized for the study. There has been relationship between self-esteem and academic anxiety of tenth and twelfth standard students, which shows negative correlation that is if the student is having low self-esteem the academic anxiety, is high for him/her. There is a significant improvement in factors of self-esteem as a result of counselling program. And the academic anxiety is reduced after the counselling programme among both standards. And the male and female doesn't differ in both the main variables even after the counseling the there is difference found.

Pages: 541-545
Solomon Renati (Department of Psychology, KBP College, Vashi, Navi Mumbai)
Shreeletha Solomon (Institute for Child & Adolescent Health Research, Mumbai )

Research on adolescent mental health suggests that prevalence rates for suicide behavior are not uniformly distributed across all populations. This study examined sociodemographic difference in suicide intentions and suicide attempts among adolescent students of Mumbai schools and colleges. An epidemiological pilot survey was conducted on a sample of 1127 young people from 9 schools and colleges in Mumbai city. Rates of suicidal ideation and attempts were examined against the sociodemographic factors. Analysis used frequency distributions and cross tabulations to derive prevalence rates and associations between suicidal behavior and sociodemographic factors. Overall, 12.0% of the sample reported having suicidal ideation and 6.1% reported having made a suicide attempt during the past 6 months. Culturally relevant sociodemographic factors such as age, gender, religion, caste, linguistic background and socioeconomic factors were associated with both suicidal ideation and suicide attempts. Where the aetiology of suicide is concerned, researchers must examine both sociodemographic factors and the psychological factors associated with them. Understanding the role of sociodemographic factors on suicide behavior will greatly enhance our ability to design effective prevention strategies.

Pages: 551-555
Chava Nirmala (Department of Psychology, St. Anns College of Education, Secunderabad, Andhra Pradesh)
M.V.R. Raju (Department of Psychology, Andhra University Vishakapatnam, Andhra Pradesh)

Stress is universal human experience. Stress and strain are experienced by adolescents, especially students. The study is an attempt to find out the academic stress and anxiety among the students in twin cities of Andhra Pradesh. The total sample for the present study was 743 (male=373 and female=370). The Student Academic Stress Scale (1991) developed by Rajendranand K.V. Kaliappan was used to gather the data. A demographic questionnaire developed by the researcher was also used. A quantitative survey method was employed using statistical procedures such as t-test and f-test. The findings of the study points out that there were significant influence and difference between the demographical variables like gender, type of school, medium, type of syllabus with Academic Stress. Based on the findings of the study a set of recommendations were formulated.

Pages: 560-562
Manju Elizabeth Alexander (Department of Psychology)

Indian governments have seen education as a crucial development tool. The development of education is a continuum, which gathers its past history into a living stream, flowing through the present into the future. This paper begins with a brief historical background of educational development in India and the changing emphasis within government policy which have shaped the education system in India to better understand the present and visualize the future. It provides an understanding of how traditions have come to shape the content and methodologies employed in educational settings in India. The purpose of this reflection is to serve as a means to draw on strengths from ancient practices as well as to create an opportunity for rethinking other such practices having roots in Indian history which may be detrimental to the students' experience of learning.

Pages: 567-568
Urmi Shelley (Counselor and Psychotherapist, Bengaluru)
Geetha Appachu (Psychologist, SWAPRERAN, Bengaluru)

Children grow up in diverse families. These varying circumstances can affect children's development and influence students in and beyond the classroom (Luster& Okagaki, 2005). Learning and thinking styles are student's preferences in how they use their intellectual and other abilities. Academic performance is today understood as being beyond structured and elaborate learning styles. This paper attempts to highlight the influence of Emotional Intelligence and Moral values in Learning and performance.

Pages: 572-575
Zarina Ahmed (Womens Christian College, Madras University, Chennai )
Sujaritha Magdalin (Department of Psychology, Presidency College, Madras University, Chennai )

Child sexual abuse is an issue that transcends caste, creed, class or socioeconomic status and is found to be widespread in India. The problem of the present study was to find the effectiveness of an intervention on resisting sexual abuse among girl children, aged 11-13years, of girls belonging to standard six and seven from a Government school in Chennai, using the experimental research design. The effect of the independent variable- the intervention on resisting abuse on the dependent variables, knowledge of sexual abuse, self concept and assertiveness was studied among girl children. The inclusion criteria included girl children aged 11-13 years from the lower socio economic status. The exclusion criteria included those girls presently going through sexual abuse. The sample of 60 girl children, 30 girls in the experimental group and 30 girls in the control group was selected through random sampling, The tools used included the Children's knowledge of abuse questionnaire by Tutty, the Self-Concept scale by Piers and Harris and the Children's Assertiveness inventory by Ollander. The main study was conducted in four phases: pre-training assessment, implementation, post-training assessment and follow up. The data collected was analyzed using the paired t test, trend analysis and the repeated measures ANOVA to test the various hypotheses of the study. Pearson's product moment correlation was used to assess the relationship between the variables studied. Results obtained indicate that the Knowledge of abuse of girl children has significantly improved after the resisting abuse intervention. The intervention has also been effective in enhancing the assertiveness of children, but has not had a significant impact on the self-concept levels of the sample. There has not been maintenance of the learning acquired on knowledge of abuse and assertiveness among the children over the follow- up period. The trend analysis indicates that the knowledge of sexual abuse component of the intervention has been effective in bringing about change in the experimental group, during the post-test period. However, the gain in knowledge has not been maintained over the follow-up period.