The Annual Conventions of the National Academy of Psychology (NAOP) aim to provide a platform to present, discuss, and debate issues that confront individuals, groups, and communities in this fast-changing world. Dr Sunaina K, Assistant Professor of the Department of Psychology, has presented a paper titled Social Writing and the Development of Critical Thinking amongst School Students at the 32nd International Annual Convention of the National Academy of Psychology (NAOP), held at Ahmedabad University, Gujarat, from March 3 to 5, 2023.

Abstract

This study attempted to examine the texts, contexts and voices of young adolescents in social writing activities in schools and how thinking is constructed through the same activities. An intervention study of one-year duration on social writing, based on a longitudinal quasi-experimental design, has been conducted with 15 students in a government school in Kozhikode district in Kerala. The intervention programme was conducted with the help of a module of writing activities prepared by the researcher by using the Vygotskian pedagogic ideas. Each writing session was preceded by a dialogue session between the adult member and the students.

The study employed Thematic Content Analysis as the method of data analysis. The thematic analysis of the mediated learning of social writing unfolds the dialectical interplay between the human mediators, cultural tools and the motives for developing critical thinking skills in the students. From the analysis of the pattern of appearing ‘self-reflections’, a domain of critical thinking (Barnette, 1997), it can be said that interactive participation in the dialogue session enhances participation in the writing activities with the involvement of self. Active participation in the dialogue session helps the students gather maximum information on the theme of dialogues (collection of everyday concepts) and also makes some generalisations. These generalised ideas are transforming into conceptualised thoughts (thinking in ‘scientific concepts’) when the students go through in a deliberate, systematic thinking process while writing. This conceptualisation of ideas, visible in students’ texts, is the base of the critical thinking that is getting reflected in their writings and further helps them in critical reasoning, self-reflection and thinking about critical actions while writing.

Dr Aehsan Ahmad Dar, Assistant Professor, Department of Psychology, delivered a lecture titled Impact of Childhood Adversity on the Mental Health of Young Adults in Kashmir at the Two – day National Conference on Youth Development held on March 24 and 25, 2023. Youth in the 21st Century: Prospects and Psychosocial Challenges was the theme of the conference, which was organised by the Department of Social Work and Department of Applied Psychology, Rajiv Gandhi National Institute of Youth Development (RGNIYD), Sriperumbudur, Tamil Nadu, in collaboration with ICMR – NIRT, Chennai.

Abstract of the Lecture

The study examines the impact of Adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) on mental health among young adults in Kashmir. A cross-sectional research design was followed to study the effect of ACEs on the mental health of Kashmiri youth by employing a multi-stage sampling method. Data were collected from 693 research participants who were studying in different colleges and universities in Kashmir, with the help of the Adverse Childhood Experiences scale and Mental Health Inventory (MHI-18). Findings revealed that various adversities during childhood, including psychological abuse, physical abuse, contact sexual abuse, household substance abuse, violent household treatment of mothers and fathers, household mental illness, and household criminal behaviour, had a significant impact on the mental health of Kashmiri youth in terms of increased anxiety, depression and loss of behavioural control and decreased positive affect.

Practical Implementation of the Findings

ACEs are traumatic events that individuals under 18 have experienced. Various individual, family, and community factors can affect a child’s likelihood of experiencing ACEs, and it causes long-term risks for mental health with the potential to carry over beyond the present generation. ACEs are linked to chronic health problems, mental illness, and adult risk-taking behaviours. There is a “dose-response relationship” between ACEs and health outcomes. Therefore, findings suggest advocating early targeted interventions to reduce ACEs and their impact on young people’s mental health in Kashmir. There is a need to design efficient measures, to enhance ACE resilience programs and ‘trauma-informed’ approaches to tackle the longer-term impact of ACEs on health and wellbeing.