Pages: 1287-1291
Madhurima Verma (Department of Sociology, University School of Open Learning, Panjab University, Chandigarh)
Amanpreet Singh (Department of Sociology, Punjabi University College, Ghudda, Bathinda, Punjab)

Adolescent sexuality' refers to development of sexual feelings, behaviour in adolescents. Sexuality is a vital aspect of adolescents' lives. The period of adolescence is marked as problem area because adolescents are not properly equipped with the knowledge of changes they are undergoing. Further, culture puts strong restrains to discuss openly issues related to pubertal transitions and problems associated with it thus adolescents explore other channels for information. The main focus was on the sources of sex related information used by adolescents in Indian society. A simple random sample of 60 respondents that included 30 female and 30 male adolescents, from ten schools in Sangrur district, Punjab. Questionnaire was used as a research tool to collect information. Adolescents reported that adults usually ignore any query on pubertal or sexual concern. Male adolescents regarded media and friends as the most reliable agencies for addressing their pubertal or sexual concerns. However female adolescents regarded family and school as most reliable agency for addressing their pubertal/sexual concerns. The gender and age differences were observed in the perception of adolescents on sources of information on sexuality.

Pages: 1297-1303
Rashmi Rani, Lok Nath Singh, and Arun Kumar Jaiswal (Department of Psychology, Faculty of Social Sciences, Mahatma Gandhi Kashi Vidyapith, Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh)

This study was designed to establish the construct, convergent and predictive validity (gender & age differences) of Hindi version of Dyadic Adjustment Scale in Indian cultural milieu. For the purpose three hundred 21 to 75 years old married couples (300 husbands & 300 wives) with at least graduation qualification were sampled from Chowk and adjoining areas of Varanasi city of Uttar Pradesh following a multistage sampling procedure, and they completed the Hindi version of 32-items DAS (Spanier & Cole, 1976). Factor analysis (principal components) on Hindi version of DAS (DAS-H) with the loading equal to or more than 0.400, Eigen value equal to 1.00, by applying Promax rotation method following Scree plot revealed three factors, and finally, confirmatory factor analysis by AMOS - version 20 revealed an acceptable model fit on 17 items, content of 9 items of the first factor (# 2, 4, 5, 6, 9, 10, 11, 12, & 14), 4 items of second factor (# 24, 26, 27 & 28) and 4 items of the third factor (# 16, 20, 21 & 22) showed similar behavioral components, i.e., Dyadic Consensus (DC), Dyadic Cohesion (DCH) and Dyadic Satisfaction (DS). The psychometric properties of the DAS-H manifested good internal consistency with fairly high reliability and acceptable construct and convergent validity. The gender and age differences analyses also indicated that the instrument has good predictive validity, thus, the DAS-H produced a reliable and valid measurement of marital adjustment in Hindi speaking Indian cultural milieu.

Pages: 1307-1309
Yashika Jain and Prashasti Jain (Department of Psychology, Manipal University Jaipur, Rajasthan)

Family structures, trends and set ups have significantly changed over the past few years. There is an increased trend of shifting away from the concept of joint families to nuclear families. At this point it becomes vital to understand how adolescents are impacted by their family structures. There is existing literature found on how adolescents are affected by family structures and how this factor influences their psychological makeup. The objective of the present study was to conduct a comparative study of family environment, self efficacy and cognitive distortions in adolescents of nuclear and joint family. The sample consisted of 50 individuals comprising of aged 18-23 years and belonging to two different family structures, i.e., Nuclear family and Joint family. Data was collected by using Family Environment Scale Revised (Bhatia & Chadha, 2005); Cognitive Distortion Scale (Briere, 2000); and General Self-Efficacy Scale (Schwarzer & Jerusalem, 1995). No significant difference was found between family environment, self-efficacy and cognitive distortions of joint families and nuclear families.

Pages: 1315-1318
Harneet Kaur (Department of History, Guru Nanak Dev University, Amritsar, Punjab)

This paper will attempt to study the efforts made by the colonial women against the oppression of the state officials of the Punjab. The colonial women do showed their resistance by filing petitions against the atrocities of the government officials and the people of local influence. There are 82 petitions filed by the women against the officials from 1881 to 1907. Out of 82 petitions 13 were against the police officials, 17 against the lambardars, 7 against the tahsildars, 9 against the Guardians and 36 against the others officials of the State. These 82 petitions showed that the women raised their voices against the issues like demand of bribery, extortion and corruption of the state officials. The women filed petitions against the police officials for having forcible connection and of the ill-treatment at the hand of the police. Even the women petitions showed their protests against the appointment of someone as Sarbah for her minor son. These all petition showed that women were awaked about their rights and laws of the British India. Though the numbers of such kind of the petitions are not significant but still these petitions give us good idea about the commendable effort of the colonial women against the state officials and their atrocities.

Pages: 1328-1331
Ashwani Pundeer and Masroor Jahan (Department of Clinical Psychology, Ranchi Institute of Neuro-Psychiatry and Allied Sciences (RINPAS), Ranchi, Jharkhand)

The present investigation was aimed to evaluate the applicability of MBCT module on depression and emotion regulation in patient with OCD. A hospital based confirmatory study was conducted in patients with obsessive compulsive disorder using Pre Test and Post Test Control Group Design. A total of 20 patients with Obsessive-compulsive disorder as per inclusion and exclusion criteria were selected for the study. The severity of depression and emotion regulation was assessed through BDI-II and DERS. OCD specific module was prepared and applicability and sustain ability of the gain was assessed. The significant difference was found on severity of depression and emotion regulation in patient with OCD in pre, post and follow up assessment. After introducing MBCT, severity of depression was reduced and emotion regulation was improved. Thus, MBCT may be applicable and efficacious in severity of depression and improving emotion regulation in patients with OCD.

Pages: 1336-1339
Raj Ratan and Radhey Shyam (Department of Psychology, Maharshi Dayanand University, Rohatk, Haryana)

The spouses of serving personnel of military and paramilitary forces have pivotal role in maintaining mental health and well being of their serving partner and children at home. Deployment of their serving partner affects their mental health too. Social support is axial to moderate the effect of deployment stress among spouses. The objective of the present study is to compare the prevalent deployment stress and social support among 300 female spouses of various groups of military and paramilitary forces. Participants filled out researcher's self-developed scale of deployment stress and the social support questionnaire (Sarason, Leven, Bashan, & Sarson, 1983) to measure the variable under study. The finding suggested no significant difference for deployment stress and social support in different groups of military and paramilitary forces (F (3,296) = 0.958, F >.05 and (t = .76, p >.05). The study has practical implication in spousal welfare measures and policy making.

Pages: 1344-1347
Shilpa Siby and R. Nithya (Department of Psychology, Bharathiar University, Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu)

Polycystic Ovary Syndrome (PCOS) is a major health challenge which affects millions of women across the globe. Almost 8-13% of reproductive aged women are undergoing and experiencing this condition. Mental and physical health of PCOS women is severely affected. PCOS has been associated with a constellation of symptoms that can damage self-esteem, life satisfaction, confidence and relationships in women affecting emotional, cognitive, behavioural and social well-being. The objective of the study is to find out the effectiveness of Benson Relaxation therapy and Supportive therapy on perceived loneliness and Quality of life among PCOS women. The study throws light on the psychological disturbances of PCOS women and the significance of therapeutic approach. Both Supportive and relaxation therapy works to build a person's ability to overcome the stress and understanding the condition in a healthier way. By using purposive sampling method 30 women aged between 25-45 years were identified through hospitals in Kerala and Two Group: Experimental and Control (15 each) design was used with pre and post test assessment. The Personal data proforma sheet containing the component of demographic details and standardized questionnaire to measure Perceived loneliness (Perceived Loneliness Scale, Jha, 1971) Quality of life (SF-36 by RAND Corporation) were used. Independent and Paired 't' test were used for analysis and the results show the effectiveness of Supportive and Relaxation therapy in reducing Perceived loneliness and enhancing Quality of life among PCOS women.

Pages: 1351-1353
Meetakshi Pant (Department of Commerce, Shaheed Bhagat Singh College (M), University of Delhi, Delhi)

Fitness in India has come a long way from the days of local 'Akhadas' to professional wrestling in Olympics. There was a time when the majority of the population was ignorant about fitness. In the current scenario, a lot of people goes to aerobics, yoga, gym, swimming etc. on a regular basis. This is leading towards a fitness industry revolution in India. India has already seen a tremendous growth in Health and Fitness sector at the beginning of the 21st century. It is already sitting at a billion-rupee mark with its markets open to further investment and innovation. With this sector growing, India will be adding up to its booming economy with millions of jobs and better life.

Pages: 1359-1366
Ramandeep Saini (International Affairs, Chandigarh Group of Colleges, Landran, Mohali, Punjab)
Vipla Choudhary (Department of Management, I K Gujral Punjab Technical University, Kapurthala, Punjab)

The term Human Resource refers to the entity which appreciates with the passage of time. Behavioural scientists believes that it is the only factor in the journey of business enterprises whose expertise increases with the increase of its experience, time spend on performing various duties, education and training, developmental programs etc. Human Resource Accounting (HRA) encourages authorities to invest in this non-depreciable asset in a more balanced and wise way. It also recommends various tools to measure restore and enhance the expertise of this in dispensible variable of an organization by rightful investment. The purpose of this study is to elaborate the application of human resource accounting, to study the milestones and journey of HRA; to determine the level of acceptance of HRA in Indian industry and challenges being faced in implementation. Suggestions at the end of paper include measures that can be taken to increase acceptability of HRA. This study will enlighten the researchers and professionals about HRA and diluting the ambiguities that may be existing and refraining industry from adopting HRA.

Pages: 1371-1374
Gurpreet Dandiwal, Sandeep Singh Rana, and Priyanka (Department of Applied Psychology, Guru Jambheshwar University of Science and Technology, Hisar, Haryana)

Psychological well-being affects the overall quality of life of a person that includes happiness, peace of mind and life satisfaction. A positive psychological well-being is related with better emotional health, self-acceptance, occupational health and good inter-personal relationships. Political reservations for women create a 'potential of presence' (Agarwal, 2010). Women are strengthening their position in every sphere of life parallel to men, pursuing all leadership position all over the world. The women sarpanch slowly moving towards the leadership scale and changing the face of politics by giving new direction to the empowerment, highlighting their problems and finding solutions to make it successful. The participation of women in election not only make them independent, also provides a chance to women come forward but also affect their well-being, sense of worth, self-confidence, resilience and self esteem unfortunately there are still majority of women sarpanch who are guided by the their male members of her family, and are not in position to exercise their elected power effectively. They experience greater inter role conflict than either men or non-working women. Present study investigates the effect of role conflict on psychological well-being of women sarpanches. It was hypothesized that there is significant effect of role conflict on psychological well-being of elected women representative. For the present study sample of 300 elected women with age range 25 year 70 year and who completed the inclusion criteria for study are selected. Psychological well- being scale (Ryff et al., 1995) Role conflict scale (Pandey, 1999) scales are used for study. The findings of present research shows the negative correlation between role conflict and psychological well-being of elected women representatives(-.246**)

Pages: 1379-1381
Pooja Tyagi and Radhey Shyam (Department of Psychology, Maharishi Dayanand University, Rohtak, Haryana)

The present study is an endeavor to present the theoretical foundation of shopaholism or compulsive shopping. Data from interview and other previous research papers in marketing, psychology, psychiatry and sociology are incorporated to explain the role of stress, motivation, psychopathology, coping and the consequences of shopaholism. Implications of study as an interface with others, communicating outrage, boosting confidence, acquiring help to avoid troubled occasions, and a way of self therapy are demonstrated with directions for future research.

Pages: 1388-1394
Sanju Arya and Harshita Jha (Defence Institute of Psychological Research, DR & DO, Timarpur, Delhi)
Abdul Gafoor (Jamia Millia Islamia University, Jamia Nagar, New Delhi)
Sudarshan Behera (Defence Institute of Psychological Research, DR & DO, Timarpur, Delhi)

In the modern era, Listening as a communication process is perhaps one of the most underrated and undervalued skills. The value of Listening as a fundamental and potent way to commune with people around us is seldom explored. Listening as a process involves physiological as well as psychosocial aspects. In simple words, Listening is more than just hearing, it is about having an attitude, interest or effort in getting to know people around you as well as yourself. In the present paper, Listening as a concept has been discussed in the context of 'Listening Community', a recent initiative by an independent group of individuals who serve together with the common interest to create awareness about importance of listening, to promote development of listening skills and provide training in cultivation of listening behavior. Listening has been examined through the lens of Clinical, Psychosocial, Emotional and Cultural perspectives. In the above context, this paper intends to discuss the theoretical underpinnings of the Listening Buffer Model (LBM). The authors have conceptualized two models, namely 'Promotive Mental Heath Model' (PMHM) and 'Supportive Mental Health Model' (SMHM). In both these models, Listening plays a mediating role in promotion and development of mental health and well-being. In addition, the concept of 'Listening Community' has also been explained along with case studies. The implications and future scope of work in this area have also been mentioned.