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Komal Chandiramani ¹, Waheeda Khan ¹

Affiliations
1 Department of Psychology, Jamia Millia Islamia University, New Delhi, IN

Abstract

Post Traumatic Growth (PTG) and Subjective Well Being (SWB) play a very important role in evaluating a person's experience as cancer patients. The present study was designed to compare and examine the relationship between PTG and SWB among stage I and stage II breast cancer patients. For this, a sample of 60 patients was taken (30 in each group) from hospitals of Delhi and was administered Post Traumatic Growth Inventory and Subjective Well Being Inventory. Group differences were evaluated using t test. Results indicated that stage II breast cancer patients were significantly higher on overall PTG and its dimensions of new possibility, appreciation to life and spiritual change. The similar trend was observed with respect to overall SWB and its dimensions i.e. well being-positive affect, transcendence, social support, perceived ill health, deficiency in social contacts, well being-negative affect. Moreover, stage II patients indicated more significant positive relations between two constructs as compared to stage I patients. It was concluded that both are important constructs in evaluating positive change in cancer patients. Future research should focus on interventions that would be beneficial for stage I and II breast cancer patients and should also incorporate qualitative aspects of the cancer diagnosis.

Keywords

Brest Cancer, Post Traumatic Growth, Subjective Well Being

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M. I. R. Shahid Ali ¹, Meena Osmany ¹, Waheeda Khan ¹, Deepti Mishra ²

Affiliations
1 Department of Psychology, Jamia Millia Islamia, New Delhi, IN
2 Department of Clinical Psychology, PGIBAMS, Raipur, IN

Abstract

The cancer is curable disease, however appropriate coping and adjustment is important in facing chronic diseases, especially during the treatment period. Regardless of prognosis, the initial diagnosis of cancer is still perceived by many patients as a life-threatening event. Patients undergoing treatment for cancer face major physical and emotional challenges. All these factors have a negative impact on prognosis of illness. Most patients with chronic illnesses suffer at least some adverse psychological reactions as a result of the disease; however, do not seek formal or informal psychological treatment for their symptoms. Instead, they draw on their internal and social resources for solving problems and alleviating psychological distress. The present study is an attempt to examine fear of death, depression and coping among cancer patients. A sample of 60 cancer patients from Apollo BSR Hospital, Bhilai (C.G.) was randomly selected. Fear of death and depression level in cancer patients were measured by the Fear of Personal Death Scale and the Beck's Depression Inventory (BDI). The Cope Scale was administered to measure their coping strategies. It was observed that 21.7% patients had fear of death; 46.7% had moderate level of depression followed by mild (38.3%). Cancer patients used Emotion focused coping (M = 11.22) more than problem solving coping (M = 8.82). Significant gender differences in fear of death and depression (P < .05) were also observed. Different treatment groups differed significantly on depression, it was more in those who were receiving both radio and chemotherapy (26.7 %) than those who were receiving only chemotherapy (20 %). The study highlights the significant level of fear of death and depression in cancer patients as a function of gender and type of treatment. Fear of death and depression was comparatively higher in female patients. Patients receiving both chemo and radiotherapy treatment were more depressed than patients receiving only chemo

Keywords

No Keywords

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Aanchal Ahuja ¹, Waheeda Khan ¹

Affiliations
1 Department of Psychology, Jamia Millia Islamia, New Delhi, IN

Abstract

The article provides the research conducted on the mothers of dyslexic children. Aim of the research is to assess the social support and well-being of mothers. Sample of 50 mothers of dyslexic children were selected for the study. (25 were working and 25 were non-working). They were administered the perceived social support scale and adult well-being scale. Mean, standard division and t value were calculated for the data. Results show that there is a lack of social support to the working mothers, which is clearly identified in the study. The scores clearly show that there is a significant difference in the social support of the working and non-working mothers having dyslexic children. Level of well-being of working mothers is lower than the level of well-being of non-working mothers. Increase in social support of working mothers will increase the well-being, for non-working it is not positively correlated.

Keywords

Social Support, Wellbeing, Dyslexic Children.

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Manju Singh ¹, Waheeda Khan ¹, Meena Osmany ¹

Affiliations
1 Department of Psychology, Jamia Millia Islamia, New Delhi, IN

Abstract

Gratitude is held in high esteem by virtually in every society. From ancient religious scriptures through modern social science research, gratitude is viewed as a desirable human characteristic with the capacity for making life better for oneself and for others.Gratitudeas an action may be in response to something either material(e.g.,gift)or non-matertal (e.g., a spiritual or emotional experience). In this context, the present research was designed to study gratitude among young adults. For this purpose, data was collected from 80 young adults with equal number of males and females and were administered Gratitude Questionnaire-6 (McCullough, Emmons,& Tsang, 2002) and General Health Questionnaire-12(Goldberg & Williams,1988). Group differences were analyzed by t-test; Pearson product moment method of correlation and multiple regression analyses were also performed. Results revealed significant gender differences on gratitude, i.e. females showing high level of gratitude, however, differences were not significant on two dimensions of health. Significant negative correlation was observed between gratitude and dimensions of health i.e. depression/anxiety, social dysfunction. Overall health scores yielded significant but negative correlation with gratitude. Gratitude was significantly predicted by overall mental health for the total sample, explaining the role of gratitude as positive emotion in promoting mental health. Thus, highlighting the benefits of being grateful in maintaining the quality of life among the young adults.

Keywords

Gratitude, Health, Gender, Young Adults.

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Mohd Altaf Paul ¹, Mudassir Hassan ¹, Waheeda Khan ²

Affiliations
1 Department of Psychiatry Govt. Medical College, Srinagar, IN
2 Department of Psychology, Jamia Millia lslamia, New Delhi, IN

Abstract

Happiness is a concept which means many things to many people. Sources of happiness again vary from person to person. So in order to understand the phenomena from the perspective of research scholars, the present study was conducted on a sample of 60 research scholars in a central University, equally divided in two groups of male (n=30) and females (n=30). The Subjective Happiness Scale developed (Lyubomirsky & Lepper, 1999) was administered along with few open ended questions on sources of happiness. Quantitative and qualitative analyses of the data revealed that mean happiness scores were not statistically significant between male and female scholars. Content analysis of open ended questions yielded main sources of happiness for females in terms of importance of friends, family support, achieving goals, positive thinking, success, money, peace of mind and entertainment. While males reported belief in almighty, religious activities, honest work, achieving goals, family support, positive thinking, money, good health, friends and less responsibility as main sources of happiness. Some unique sources of happiness for females were internet surfing, going out to restaurants, self confidence, on the other hand, sports, less family burden, and accepting change easily were reported by males. The findings of the present study highlight the importance of directing more systematic research, particularly in the context of cross cultural understanding of happiness in youth.

Keywords

Happiness, Sources of Happiness, Gender.

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Pooja Bhatnagar ¹, Waheeda Khan ¹

Affiliations
1 Department of Psychology, Jamia Milia Islamia University, New Delhi, IN

Abstract

The present retrospective study investigates the influence of positive and negative affects among heart disease patients. The sample was comprised of 120 males equally divided in three groups, i.e., MI, AP and CO. The Positive and Negative Affect Schedule (PANAS) developed by Watson and Clark (1988) was administered on the heart patients and control group. The data was analyzed using one-way ANOVA. The results indicated that mean score of control group on the measure of positive affectivity differed significantly from MI and AP groups, however the latter two groups did not yield significant mean differences on this measure. Analysis of post- hoc mean comparisons on the measure of negative affectivity showed that means of AP and MI groups are significantly higher than Control group.

Keywords

Affectivity, Heart Disease, Affects.

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Komal Manshani ¹, Waheeda Khan ¹

Affiliations
1 Department of Psychology, Jamia Millia Islamia, New Delhi, IN

Abstract

Distress has been defined as an unpleasant subjective, mental state. It can be brought on by stress caused by adverse events. This occurs when there are excessive adaptive demands placed upon an individual, often having emotional and physiological manifestations. In old age, an individual faces many changes and challenges, in the form of loss of physical health and vitality, widowhood, retirement, death of peers and friends, loneliness, and dealing with ones impending mortality. All these changes take a toll on the older persons' mental health, leading to psychological distress. The changing social milieu, is also leading to decreased support for the elderly, with an increase in the nuclear family setting, and thereafter, the Empty Nest Syndrome. The coping strategies for the elderly persons, to deal with this distress are also discussed in this paper.

Keywords

Psychological Distress, Old Age.

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Natasha Yasmin ¹, Waheeda Khan ¹

Affiliations
1 Department of Psychology, Jamia Millia Islamia University, New Delhi, IN

Abstract

Character strengths formulate the foundation of an individual's personality; positive traits representing an important route towards 'psychological good life'. These qualities help an individual to make significant contribution in the world and achieve well-being (Peterson & Seligman, 2004). However, it varies from individual to individual because of moral and cultural values placed on them. The current study aimed to investigate how character strengths are related to subjective well-being among Indian youth. 50 university students of age range 18-25 years were chosen. Data was collected by administering VIA Inventory of Strengths (Park, Peterson, & Seligman, 2004) and Subjective Well-being Inventory (Sell & Nagpal, 1992). Correlational analysis revealed significant relationship between different character strengths and the overall subjective well-being. Findings suggest that similar studies need to be conducted to find out if strengths varies across cultures and how they can be used to formulate interventions directed towards development of youth.

Keywords

Positive Psychology, Character Strength, Happiness, Youth Development, Subjective Well-Being.

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Nahid Burney ¹, Meena Osmany ¹, Waheeda Khan ²

Affiliations
1 Department of Psychology, Jamia Millia Islamia, New Delhi, IN
2 SGT University, Gurgaon, Haryana, IN

Abstract

The present study aimed at investigating the role as well as relation of spirituality and psychological well-being of young adults. The sample comprised of 160 young adults (60 males & 60 females) studying in different central universities situated in New Delhi, India. They were administered with Spirituality scale (Delaney, 2003) and Psychological well-being scale (Ryff & Singer, 1998). To study the gender difference as well as the relation between both the groups on the measures of spirituality and psychological well-being, t-test and correlation were applied. Further stepwise multiple regression analysis was used to find out the spirituality dimension which significantly predicted psychological well-being of young adults. Results of t-test showed significant difference between the two groups. Positive correlations were found between the dimensions of spirituality with overall psychological well-being and its dimensions autonomy and self acceptance; overall spirituality and its dimensions self-discovery and eco-awareness with self-acceptance dimension of psychological well-being; self-discovery dimension of spirituality with positive relations with others' dimension of psychological well-being. Negative correlations were found between eco-awareness and relationship dimensions of spirituality with personal growth and self-acceptance dimensions of psychological well-being, respectively. Result of multiple regression analysis revealed self-discovery dimension of spirituality as the sole predictor of psychological well-being.

Keywords

Spirituality, Psychological Well-Being, Young Adults.

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Anima Kumari ¹, Naved Iqbal ¹, Waheeda Khan ¹

Affiliations
1 Department of Psychology, Jamia Millia Islamia, New Delhi, IN

Abstract

Crime has always been considered as negative aspect of human behavior. Many studies described criminal behavior as associated with personality pattern and mental health. Most of the studies have been based on finding out what should be changed, so that the criminal would get an improved mental health status (World Health Organization, 2005; Fazel, Hayes, Bartellas, Clerici, & Trestman, 2016). Yet there found to be a lack of available literature regarding positive characteristics possessed by the criminals that may be improved in order to achieve a better mental health status. Therefore, the present research aimed to measure mental health status of the persons residing inside the prison walls and to predict it through their personality characteristics and character virtues. Two groups were selected for the study (i.e., first time criminals & habitual criminals). Atotal of 200 male prisoners were taken as sample (100 from each group) from the Tihar Central prison number 5, Delhi. Results showed that the first time criminals performed better than the habitual criminals on personality characteristics of extraversion, agreeableness, conscientiousness, and openness, as well as on character virtues of wisdom, humanity, justice, temperance, and transcendence. The two groups showed no significant difference on the virtue of courage. Habitual criminals scored higher on the personality characteristic of neuroticism that showed their emotional instability in comparison to that of the first time criminals. Also, the habitual criminals scored higher on the scores of mental health that meant a worse mental health status than that of the first time criminals. Personality characteristic of extraversion and virtue of justice predicted mental health among first time prisoners. Personality characteristics of neuroticism and extraversion, as well as virtue of temperance predicted mental health among habitual prisoners. Effect sizes ranged from small to large.

Keywords

Personality, Character Virtues, Mental Health, Prisoners.

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