Background: An endeavour to probe into the psychological profile of infertile women in a comparative stance with the fertile women is not very common. This study is an attempt to explore the possible non-apparent personality factors which contribute to the unexplained pain of infertility. Methods: The main objectives of the present study were (a) to examine whether infertile women are different from fertile women in terms of selected psychological variables- narcissistic components, dimensions of attachment style and uses of defensive manoeuvres; and (b) whether the primary infertile women (n=18) are different from the secondary infertile women (n=12) with respect to those variables. A total of 60 individuals (30 infertile women and 30 matched fertile women) were assessed through Attachment Style Questionnaire (ASQ), Narcissistic Personality Inventory (NPI) and Defense Style Questionnaire (DSQ-40). General Health Questionnaire (GHQ) was administered on to the fertile women to rule out the psychiatric morbidity. Results: Findings revealed that infertile women group differed from fertile women group with respect to narcissism, dimensions of attachment style and uses of defense mechanism. The primary infertile group also showed marked difference from the secondary infertile group with respect to those variables. Conclusions: This study endeavours to enrich the knowledge regarding the personality dynamics of infertile women to design psychotherapeutic programme to aid their well-being, help them to cherish the flavour of parenthood and improve their quality of life.
Aim: Autism spectrum disorders (ASDs) are neurodevelopmental disorders that hinder the normal developmental process and pose enormous challenges to the parents in terms of their role expectations and adjustment with the irreversible conditions of their child. However, little attention has been paid to their psychological needs and wellbeing. Acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT) focuses on accepting things that are beyond control and commit to changing those things, which are possible to change, by increasing the psychological flexibility of the person, thereby aiding to better realistic adjustments. The present study aims at studying the effectiveness of ACT on parents of children and adolescents with ASDs. Materials and Methods: It followed a repeated measures design, comprising five parents having children and adolescents with ASDs receiving treatment from inpatient and outpatient services of Child Guidance Clinic, Central Institute of Psychiatry, to test the effect of 10 session protocol spanned over 2-month. Assessment measures were done along state anxiety, depression, psychological flexibility and quality of life using State-Trait Anxiety Inventory, Beck Depression Inventory, Acceptance and Action Questionnaire, the World Health Organization Quality of Life Assessment-BREF respectively. Baseline measures were taken prior to the treatment and follow-up measures were taken after nine treatment sessions. Results: Pre- to post-treatment improvements were found on state anxiety, depression, psychological flexibility and quality of life. Conclusion: Findings implied that ACT may have promise in helping parents better to adjust to the difficulties in rearing children diagnosed with ASDs.
HIV infection in injecting drug users (IDUs) has worked as a driving force for further spread of the virus in other population groups. Major metropolitan cities such as Mumbai, Kolkota, Chennai and Delhi have seen a diffusion of injecting drug use within the last decade. The prevalence of HIV infection among injectors ranges from 2% to 30%. Identifying effective interventional elements that have kept the prevalence of HIV low for the past 7 years among IDUs of Kolkata is thus of public health importance.A purposive sample of opioid/opiate users was studied. Primary and secondary data on drug users, law-enforcement environment, records at drug treatment centres, jail admission data related to the 'Narcotic Drug and Psychotropic Substance Act' and interventions in other risk groups were collected. Laboratory tests for HIV, hepatitis B surface antigen and syphilis were done on consenting IDUs (n=129) and non-IDUs (n=120). For univariate and multivariate analysis, IDUs were taken as cases and non-IDUs as controls.Of the IDUs, 2% were positive for HIV. No non-IDU was HIV-positive. Significantly more non-IDUs (10% v. 4%, p=0.05) were positive for syphilis. Sharing injection equipment within the past 6 months was reported by 71% of IDUs; sharing partners were stable and ranged from 1 to 3. More IDUs compared to non-IDUs reported being in touch with intervention programmes. The police has been tolerant to needle-syringe exchange and oral sublingual buprenorphine substitution conducted in Kolkata. Unlike in the early 1990s, non-IDUs did not switch to injecting during non-availability of brown sugar in the latter half of the 1990s and instead sought tratment. The availability of high quality heroin (>20%-50%) was low and the proportion of moderate quality heroin (>10%-20%) went up during these times due to increased police seizures. No intervention exists in jails despite the fact that a large number of drug users spend time in jail.Stable and few injection equipment-sharing partners of IDUs, launching of early targeted interventions among IDUs and sex workers in the city, police tolerance to harm reduction activities and preference of non-IDUs for detoxification during heroin draught periods have kept HIV prevalence at a low level among drug users of Kolkata for the past 7 years. immediate launching of interventions for drug users in jails seems necessary. Similar multi-pronged strategies with targeted and environmental intervention could work in other settings as well.
Objectives: The present study firstly aimed to investigate the level of general well-being of university students and secondly, to specify the level of their well-being in terms of selected life skill attributes- perception of academic stress, degree of suicidal ideation and identity style. Method: Data were collected from purposively stratified random sample of 200 students selected from different departments of Calcutta University by using four tools [General Health Questionnaire, Stress Inventory for Students of Higher Education, Adult Suicidal Ideation Questionnaire, and Identity Style Inventory (Version-3)]. Data were statistically treated for Mean, SD, Percentage and Co relational analysis etc. Results: i. The trend of well-being was moderately high among university students. ii. The status of well being of students had marked specificity with respect to their perceptual skill of academic stress, suicidal ideation and identity style. iii. The nature of distress of both information and normative oriented students were associated with their level of academic stress and career competition. Conclusion: The present study indicated a trend of positive health and attitude of university students towards life including their tendency of optimum utilization of life skills.
Sir, Neurodevelopmental disorders (NDs) refer to a group of conditions that typically manifest early in development and are characterized by developmental deficits that produce impairments in personal, social, academic, or occupational functioning and the range varies from specific limitations to global impairments. As these problems invariably posit “nonnormative” life-long conditions and are unlikely to change, at least quickly, those evidently mallet the expectations and create parenting stress - An aversive psychological reaction to the demands of being a parent.[1] They set up long-lasting reverberations in their relationship with the child and also between themselves and with others who care for and teach the child. Moreover, the child's need for special nurturance is often inconvenient to the parents and family members, especially provided the socio-economic scenario and mental health awareness of our country. Acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT)[2] seems well-suited to address the issue as even widely used behavioral parent training overlook parents’ internal experiences, their ability to learn and implement behavioral parenting techniques and appropriately utilize those in changing contexts. ACT utilizes an eclectic mix of metaphor, paradox, and mindfulness skills, along with a wide range of experiential exercises and values-guided behavioral intervention that aim to undermine the power of experiential avoidance and cognitive fusion. The ACT practitioner targets six sub-processes in order to build psychological flexibility[3] using two main components: Acceptance and mindfulness processes (acceptance, defusion, the present moment, and a transcendent sense of self), and commitment and behavioral change processes (values, committed action, the present moment, and a transcendent sense of self). This study aimed to see whether intervention through ACT on parents can lead to greater acceptance, increased the psychological flexibility of their children's illness and lowered the amount of distress in them. The sample comprised 10 mothers (having continuous contact with their children) of children suffering from NDs (4 children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and 6 children with autism spectrum disorder, each having co-morbid intellectual disability), selected from a Tertiary Care Centre through purposive sampling method. The mean age of children was 9.87 ± 4.57 years and the mean duration of illness was 8.77 ± 3.67 years. The mean age of the parents was 38.76 ± 6.76 years and their mean years of education were 12.00 ± 3.00 years. The study followed a hospital-based before-after study design, categorizing its variables under three dimensions: Outcome variables – wellbeing; process measure – psychological flexibility; parenting variables – quality of life and attitude of parents. Measures used were sociodemographic and clinical data sheet (developed for the study); General Health Questionnaire 60;[4] Acceptance and Action Questionnaire;[3] the World Health Organization Quality of Life Assessment-BREF[5] and Attitude Questionnaire.[6] Participants meeting inclusion criteria were assessed using these questionnaires first to get the baseline measures. The therapeutic program consisted 9 sessions spread over 6 weeks. The final session (9) was conducted for postassessment, and review of the previous sessions along with feedback and therapy was terminated. Statistical analysis included nonparametric Wilcoxon signed rank coefficient, mean, and standard deviations using Statistical Package for Social Sciences version 16.0 (IBM, NY).[7] The findings of this study are shown in Tables 1-4.Table 1: The comparison of the change of scores in GHQ (Wellbeing) across time (n=10)Table 2: The comparison of the change of scores in AAQ (psychological flexibility) across time (n=10)Table 3: The comparison of the change of scores in various domains of quality-of-life across time (n=10)Table 4: The comparison of the change of scores in various domains of attitude questionnaire across time (n=10)Results indicated a significant change in well-being, psychological flexibility, quality of life and critical comments from pre- to post-treatment, further indicating clear intervention effect along the selected aspects of the outcome, parenting and process measures. Avoidance and fusion decreased immediately in posttreatment, implying parents’ improved level of comprehension through intervention which led to increasing in well-being and psychological flexibility. We explained our findings in terms of an incubation effect denoting acceptance skills require time to be developed and needs to be practiced.[8] Change in the critical comments and betterment of quality of life implied impact of ACT intervention on the removal of cognitive and affective barriers (by targeting fusion and avoidance) and increased parent perceptions of their own effectiveness. However, this would acknowledge the existence of effective skills and suggest future integration of ACT with behavioral skills training. Though the sample size was small and long-term effects of ACT could not be assessed, the findings of our study were highly consistent with the theory and philosophy behind ACT and implied ACT intervention for parents having children diagnosed with NDs. Financial support and sponsorship Nil. Conflicts of interest There are no conflicts of interest.
Pervasive developmental disorders (PDDs) are characterized by several impairments in the domains of social communication, social interaction and expression of social attachment, and other aspects of development like symbolic play. As the role of drugs in treating these impairments is extremely limited, a variety of psychological interventions have been developed to deal with them. Some of these have strong empirical support, while others are relatively new and hence controversial. Though it may prove to be a daunting task to begin with, the final reward of being able to improve the life of a child with PDD is enormous and hugely satisfying. Therefore, knowledge of these psychological interventions is important for a mental health professional, in order to be effective in the profession. Present paper presents an overview of these techniques in the management of PDD.
Sonali chicken farming in the northern part of Bangladesh has been rapidly progressing. One of the major problems in rearing Sonali chicken in this area is considered the occurrence of various diseases although there are no data. The research was designed to determine the proportionate prevalence of the diseases and their associated risk factors including prescribed antimicrobials against each diseased Sonali chicken case presented at Upazila Livestock Office and Veterinary Hospital, Ullahpara, Sirajgonj, Bangladesh for a period of two months. A total of 73 clinical cases were examined for the diagnosis of different diseases based on history, clinical findings, and postmortem lesions. This study revealed that most of the farmers were male (74.0%), middle-aged group (31 to 50 years) (49.3%), were poorly educated (74.1% up to secondary level), and were relatively new in farming (1-4 years) (72.6%). The flock size (501 to 2500) of most of the farms was medium (52.1%). Classic Sonali chicken dominated the farms (60.3 %). Results also demonstrated that the prevalence of viral diseases was the highest (39.3%) in Sonali chicken followed by protozoal (31.0%), and bacterial diseases (20.2%). Among the diseases, Coccidiosis (31.0%), Newcastle Disease (14.3%), Infectious Bursal Disease (13.1%), Colibacillosis (11.9%), Low Pathogenic Avian Influenza (4.8%), and Necrotic enteritis (4.8%) were more predominant diseases observed in studied birds. The odds of coccidiosis being positive were significantly higher in male-operated farms (OR=6.8) and farms with flock sizes of 501 to 5100 (OR=2.93) in the Sonali chicken farm (p≤0.05). The odds of colibacillosis being positive were significantly higher in day-old chick (DOC) sourced from feed and chick dealers (OR=10.00) and significantly lower occurrences 29 to 70 days of age (OR=0.23) in the Sonali chicken (p≤0.05). Sulfa-quinoxaline (27.4%), Enrofloxacin (16.4%), Levofloxacin (13.7%), and Colistin (6.9%) were commonly prescribed antibiotics for different Sonali chicken cases. Ciprofloxacin and gentamicin were included in the category critically important for veterinary and human use. Proper farm management and good quality chicks should be taken into consideration for effective control of coccidiosis and colibacillosis with decreased antimicrobial usage.
Aims: The present study aims to find out how obese adults differ from nonobese adults with respect to self-concept, various domains of family environment, and general well-being. Subjects and Methods: A sample of sixty individuals within age group 21–50 years, selected using purposive sampling from obesity and lifestyle clinic of a hospital, was divided into obese and nonobese groups on the basis of body mass index (BMI) (≥25 kg/m2), with thirty individuals in each group. The sample was assessed on the basis of Self-concept Inventory (Shah, 1986), Family Environment Scale (Bhatia and Chadha, 1993), and General Health Questionnaire-28 (GHQ-28; Goldberg and Miller, 1979). Statistical Analyses: Statistical analyses included descriptive statistics, Student's t-test, Chi-square test, and correlational analysis. Results: Results showed statistically significant differences between the obese and nonobese individuals with respect to various domains of self-concept, family environment, and general well-being. Significant gender differences were found among the obese group with respect to different variables. Significant correlations between BMI and the different variables were also found. Conclusions: The findings imply several significant psychological and social issues associated with obesity in comparison to nonobese individuals. This underscores the need for nonmedical interventions (along with medical ones) for risk minimization and prevention.
INTRODUCTIONThe stigmatization and labelling of mental illness is a major problem which affects patients and their caregivers as well as institutions and health care professionals working with persons with mental illness. Many individuals with mental problems are discriminated against because of their mental illness. There has been only limited study of how individuals experiencing mental illness stigma.Stigma attached with mental illness refers to the view that persons with mental illness are marked, have undesirable traits, or deserve reproach because of their mental illness (Corrigan & Penn, 1999). Stigma leads to negative behavior and stereotyping and to discriminatory behavior toward persons with mental illness (Davidson et al.,1998). Stigma may cause affected persons to experience denial, rejection and to feel shame about their condition. The present study is based on Link's and Phelan's model of stigma. According to this model, stigmatization occurs when some interrelated factors converge: (1) people distinguish and label human differences; (2) dominant cultural and social beliefs link the person's thus labelled to undesirable characteristics, i.e. to negative behaviors and stereotypes; (3) labeled persons are placed in different categories and a degree of separation of ''us'' from ''them'' is created; (4) the labeled persons experience a loss of status, positions and discrimination. The model distinguishes three types of stigma on the basis of their source. Individual discrimination consists in individual persons' negative behaviour towards members of a stigmatised group. Structural discrimination indicates to the negative results and consequences of injustices inherent in social, legal and political structures or decisions. Self-stigmatisation is the process by which mentally ill persons adopt the negative behavior and stereotypes about people with mental illness prevailing in the society and consequently come to perceive themselves as socially unacceptable. Perceived stigma can result in a reluctance of the patient to seek help for mental illness (Taylor et al., 1981).Stigma can be divided into public and self-stigma. Public stigma occurs when the general public supports a prejudice and thoughts about a stigmatized group. Self-stigma occurs when a member of a stigmatized group self/internalize the negative views held by the general public (Thara et al., 2003). Given its negative impact on treatment seeking, adherence and effectiveness, the stigma associated with mental illness can be considered as a major public health problem.Need for the studyCommunity attitude towards mental illness & Stigma have been extensively explored in chronic illnesses like Schizophrenia, Dementia and Cancer. Most of studied has been done with care giving experience extensively investigated in some chronic/severe mental illnesses such as schizophrenia. There are limited number of studies in the field of community attitude towards mental illness & stigma in India of the male & female. No systematic research addressing the issue of stigma & community attitude towards mental illness of male & female. There are literature suggested high level of burden & low level of coping of female as compared to male.OBJECTIVESTo compare the Community attitude towards mental illness & Stigma between male and females of the community.HYPOTHESESThere will be no significant difference in Community attitude towards mental illness & Stigma of male and female of the community.METHODOLOGYVenue: Central Institute of Psychiatry, Ranchi.Study Design : Cross-sectional, single contact study.Sampling technique : Purposive sampling.Sample size : 60 subjects (30 male & 30 female) were selected from the community level.Criteria for Selection (Male)* Male age more than 18 years.* No history of Psychiatric illness, substance abuse, Mental retardation, other comorbidity. …
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