PJPPRP

Irrational Beliefs as Predictors of Depressive Symptoms Among Urban Adolescents of Lahore, Pakistan

2024-02-10T18:17:36+00:00

The present study was conducted to investigate the role of irrational beliefs in the prediction of depressive symptoms among male and female adolescents of Lahore, Pakistan. A purposive sample of 1000 adolescent males and females with an age range of 13 to 19 years from a non-clinical population was taken from bilingual English medium educational institutions of Lahore. The subjects were administered an Irrational Belief Test to identify the irrational beliefs and Beck Depression Inventory-II to measure the degree of depressive symptoms. In addition, Demographic Questionnaire was given to take background information from them. Self Report Questionnaire was given to take the feed back of the subjects regarding assessment tools. Data were analyzed by using Pearson Product Moment Coefficient of Correlation and Multiple Regression Analyses. The results supported the hypotheses that irrational beliefs are important indicators to predict depressive symptoms among male and female adolescents in Lahore, Pakistan. Preventive educational programs can be designed and introduced in the educational institutions for adolescents highlighting
the importance of rational beliefs in maintaining adequate mental health.

Psycho-social Personality Features Among N.W.F.P. Male Population

2024-02-10T18:14:27+00:00

The main objective of the present investigation was to study the psychological and social aspects of the personality of the participants vis-a-vis their socioeconomic status. The authors realizing the degree of importance attached to the social status in Pakistani society
and its resultant characteristizations of the individuals in the shape of varied interests of the classes, personality traits etc, planned the present project. For this purpose CPI and MMP Iwere administered upon the participants. (N=695). The design of the study was 2x3 factorial, with 2 (low-high scoring subjects on the CPI sub-scales and the neurotic triad of MMPI) and 3 (socioeconomic classes: upper-middle-lower). The results showed a significant difference between the low-high scoring subjects on the two tests, for the three socioeconomic groups .

Psychological Correlates of Epilepsy

2024-02-10T18:06:57+00:00

The main objective of the present research was to investigate the vulnerability of epileptics towards various psychological disorders. It was hypothesized that epileptics are significantly different from non-epileptics in terms of their vulnerability to psychological disorders. The sample included 30 epileptics (i.e. grandmal, myoclonic, primary partial seizures, temporal lobe) from Institute of
Neurosciences, Hayat Shaheed Teaching Hospital and Mental Hospital Peshawar and 30 non-epileptics volunteers were selected from the population of Peshawar University. Human Figure Drawing Test (HFDT) and Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI-1) were administered individually on each participant. Results indicated significant qualitative and quantitative differences between epileptics and non-epileptics. Epileptics scored higher than non-epileptics on several clinical scales of MMPI: Among epileptics, patients with temporal lobe epilepsy showed higher mean scores on emotional indicators (of HFDT) as compared to other epileptics and non-epileptics suggesting that epileptic group may have more emotional problems. Therefore, it was concluded that epileptic patients were more anxious, aggressive, insecure and on the whole had poor self- concept and more symptoms of depression.

Psychosocial Correlates of Speech-Language Impairment in the Context of Bilingual Learning Environment in a Multi-Cultural Setting

2024-02-10T18:01:35+00:00

Language impairment is a major social and health problem. Most of the speech problems are the result of psychosocial correlates in cross-cultural / cross-linguistic perspectives. Hypotheses were formulated relevant to pro-active mother-child verbal transaction,
bilingual families, medium of instruction, and religious institutions (madressahs). Research entailed a questionnaire administered on speech-language disorders at the educational institutions / and OPD referrals, diagnosed as speech- language disorders, non-organic in Karachi SouthWest District. The data so collected were subjected to chi-square testing. In terms of the stated objectives, overall results of the research study supported two of the hypotheses pertaining to proactive mother-child verbal transaction, and madressah education (religious institution / school), whereas the other hypotheses remained deficient of the required support for the hypothesized variables like mother-father tongue compatibility i.e. monolingual families and medium of instruction.

Fear of COVID-19, Obsessive Compulsive Symptoms and Psychological Well-being: Moderating Role of Harm Avoidance Behaviors among Adults in Lahore, Pakistan

2024-02-09T19:27:37+00:00

The objective of the study was to investigate the relationship of fear of COVID-19 obsessivecompulsive symptoms, harm avoidance, and psychological well-being among adults, during the pandemic. The study hypothesized that there is a positive association of fear of COVID-19 with obsessive-compulsive symptoms, and a negative association with psychological well-being among adults. Further, harm avoidance is likely to moderate the relationship between fear of COVID-19 with obsessive-compulsive symptoms and the psychological well-being. A correlation research design and non-purposive sampling technique were used to select the sample of men between the age range of 28 and 31 years (N=75, 49.3%) and women between the age range of 32 and 35 years (N=74, 50.7%) were recruited via an online survey. Pearson Product Moment Correlation Analysis showed a significant positive relationship between fear of COVID-19 and obsessive-compulsive symptoms. A non-significant negative relationship emerged between fear of COVID-19 and psychological wellbeing. Moderation analysis was run through PROCESS and the findings indicated that harm avoidance behaviors partially moderate the relationship between fear of COVID-19 and psychological well-being. It is recommended that fear of negative events be considered as a target variable for devising interventions for mental health and well-being in both stressful situations and in
clinical practice.

Puberty in Boys: A Complex Phenomenon Unwind from Pakistan

2024-02-09T19:24:02+00:00

In order to explore puberty stages in teenage boys, the indices for boys in the Pubertal Development Scale (PDS, Carskadon & Acebo, 1993) were adapted to Urdu and 1344 participants aged 10-18 years were recruited from the different schools of Lahore, through convenient sampling. A four factor model fit with satisfactory internal consistency of items and inert-factor correlations was reported. The pubertal category scores have overlapping categories of pubertal stages that are comparable to the gold standard of Tanners stages. The findings suggest that the assessment of secondary sexual characteristics through PDS is quite subjective to rate for the
children especially when the target population has low level of awareness and knowledge about them. Implications are discussed in the light of the findings.

Materialism and Meaning in Life: A Cross-Cultural Study

2024-02-09T19:18:48+00:00

This study replicates the degree of association between materialism and meaning in life, and compares Pakistani and American adults, aged between18 to 25 (M = 21.01, SD = 1.83) years. We conveniently sampled 44 men and 72 women (n = 116) from Pakistan, and 24 men and 77 women (n = 101) from America for this study. The Materialism Scale (Belk, 1984) and Meaning in Life Questionnaire (Steger et al., 2006) were completed by the participants on social media during the period from July-September 2019 using purposive sampling. Pearson correlation indicated a significant inverse relationship between envy (subscale of materialism) and meaning in life for Pakistani (r = -.20, p < .05) and American (r = -.21, p < .05) samples. Additionally, a significant inverse relationship was identified in the American sample between presence of meaning (subscale of meaning in life) and overall materialism (r = -.26, p < .05); however, no other associations between materialism and meaning in life (and their subscales) were revealed. Data also revealed no significant overall differences for materialism and meaning in life in Pakistani and American adults, except non-generosity t (215) = 2.22, p < .05), a subscale of materialism, where the Pakistani sample demonstrated higher levels of non-generosity (M = 24.98, SD = 4.52) as compared to their American counterparts (M = 23.65, SD = 4.31). In the light of this data, we discuss changing views about materialism and meaning in life for young adults in collectivistic and individualistic cultures.

Irrational Beliefs, Resilience and Mental Health of University Students

2024-02-09T19:12:22+00:00

This study aimed to investigate the relationship between irrational beliefs, resilience, and mental health in university students. Due to the Covid-19 pandemic, 400 online participants from various Pakistani universities were a part of this study, predominantly female (72.3%), aged 18-25 years (MA= 22.17; SD= 2.42). Data was collected using Irrational Belief Inventory (Al-Heeti et al., 2012),Brief Resilience Scale (Smith et al., 2008) and Depression, Anxiety Stress Scale (Smith et al., 2008). Our independent variables were irrational beliefs (IBs) and resilience, while the dependent variable was students' mental health. Pearson Product Moment Correlation Coefficient, Multiple Hierarchical Regression, and Independent Sample t test were used. The results indicated that irrational beliefs like
worrying, rigidity, problem avoidance, and demand for approval were positively associated with mental health issues. However, emotional irresponsibility and resilience were negatively linked to mental health issues. All sub types of IBs were significant predictors of depression whereas, rigidity, problem avoidance and emotional irresponsibility were significant predictors of anxiety and stress.
While demand for approval proved to be a significant predictor of stress. Resilience did not emerge as a significant predictor of mental health and there were no gender differences of IBs, Resilience and Mental Health Issues in university students. These findings hold implications for clinical psychologists, mental health workers, psychiatrists, and guidance counselors, suggesting that interventions like psychological therapies, behavioral techniques, college-based counseling, and family-university strategies could be incorporated into students' lives to reduce irrational beliefs and enhance mental well-being, thereby aiding their ability to cope with challenges.

Impact of Body Dissatisfaction, Self-Objectification, and Internalization of Media Ideals on Appearance Anxiety in Males

2024-02-09T19:03:34+00:00

The current study aimed to ascertain the relation amongst body dissatisfaction, self-objectification, and internalization of media ideals on appearance anxiety in males. The study followed quantitative correlational survey research design and through purposive convenient sampling, the data from 334 males, age ranging from 18-25 (M= 20.9 SD= 1.80) was collected from different areas of Karachi, Pakistan. The scales used for the collection of data were Appearance Anxiety Scale – Brief Version, Internalization subscale from SATAQ – III, Male Body Dissatisfaction Scale and Self –Objectification Scale. The findings revealed through Pearson’s Correlation test were that there is a significant weak correlation between Body Dissatisfaction and Appearance Anxiety in males (r=.20, p < 0.01), followed by weak significant correlation between Self-Objectification and Appearance Anxiety in males (r=.15, p < 0.0.1) and a similar, however highest correlation was found between Internalization of Media Ideals and Appearance Anxiety in males (r=.20, p < 0.01). According to the results the relationship between Self-Objectification and Appearance Anxiety in males is weak, withonly 1.8% of the variance in Appearance Anxiety being explained by Self- Objectification. The relationship between Body Dissatisfaction and Appearance Anxiety in males is also weak, with only 3.6% of the variance in Appearance Anxiety being explained by Body Dissatisfaction. The relationship between Internalization of Media Ideals and Self-Objectification in males is stronger, with 12.2% of the variance in Self-Objectification being explained by Internalization of Media Ideals. The findings can help understand the predictors of appearance anxiety in male population in Asian cultures.

Resilience, Hope, and Self-Efficacy in Mothers having Children Diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder

2024-02-01T11:59:45+00:00

This research aimed to investigate resilience and hope as correlates and predictors of self-efficacy in mothers of children diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). Correlational research design was employed. Using purposive sampling strategy, a sample of 60 mothers having children with ASD with age range of between 4-12 years was selected from Children Hospital, Lahore. Three self-reported questionnaires were used for data collection that includes State Trait Resilience Inventory (Hiew, Mori, Shimizu, & Tominga, 2000), The Adult Dispositional Hope Scale (Snyder et al., 1991) and General Self- Efficacy Scale (Schwarzer & Jerusalem, 1995). Results showed that a significant positive relationship existed between resilience and hope. However, resilience and hope didn‟t have any significant relationship with self-efficacy. Multiple hierarchical regression analysis showed that self-efficacy was not predicted by resilience and hope. Findings imply the importance of considering socio-demographic characteristics of mothers rearing a child with ASD to better understand their sense of self-efficacy.