Recent News - Department of Psychology - SRM University-AP

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.

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.

Researchers of the School of Liberal Arts and Social Sciences have worked on India’s comparative advantage in information technology exports with competing developing nations, including China, the Philippines, Malaysia, and Brazil. The latest paper published by Assistant Professor Dr Manzoor Hassan Malik, Department of Economics and Assistant Professor Dr Aehsan Ahmad Dar, Department of Psychology, has implications for attaining sustainability in IT export growth. It is suggested that policies are directed at enhancing the overall performance of the IT sector. The novelty of the present study lies in the estimation of India’s competitiveness in IT exports in relation to the group of reference countries, namely China, the Philippines, Malaysia, and Brazil. With its policy recommendations, this research is helping to shape the sustainability of the IT sector.

The paper titled An appraisal of India’s comparative advantage in information technology exports was published in the Journal of Chinese Economic and Foreign Trade Studies with an impact factor of 1.560.

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to estimate revealed comparative advantage and Normalised Revealed Comparative Advantage (NRCA) indices of India’s Computer and Information Services (CIS) export competitiveness about Information Technology (IT) competing developing nations, such as China, Philippines, Malaysia and Brazil. Using annual data of total exports for CIS, transportation (TNS), travel (TVL) and insurance (INS) services under service categories of the balance of payment, the present study estimates the pattern of Comparative Advantage (CA) in India’s CIS exports with respect to IT competing developing nations such as China, Philippines, Malaysia and Brazil from 2000 to 2018. The choice of the study period is determined by the availability of consistent data on IT service exports of these nations. The study also estimates the export position of CIS export in comparison to India’s traditionally strong commercial services export of TNS, TVL and INS during the study period. Both indices showed that India had a strong CA in CIS compared to the selected nations, indicating India’s relative export performance to be stronger than that of China, Malaysia, the Philippines, and Brazil. The cross-service index showed that India’s relative specialisation level in CIS with respect to the world’s average specialisation level was stronger than its relative specialisation level in TNS, TVL and INS services. Furthermore, The NRCA cross-nation index showed that India’s NRCA index score has been declining since 2010 with respect to these nations, which implied a decline in the competitiveness of CIS. On the other hand, NRCA has increased in the case of the Philippines, Malaysia and Brazil for most of the period post-2010.

The latest research paper of Dr Aehsan Ahmad Dar, Assistant Professor, Department of Psychology, and Dr Idris Hassan Bhat, Assistant Professor, Department of Liberal Arts, examines the relationship between social support and resilience among young adults in Kashmir who have been exposed to the traumatic events of armed conflicts. His paper titled The Association Between Social Support and Resilience of Young Adults of Kashmir Exposed to Stressful Events of Armed Conflicts and with Their Background Variables was published in the esteemed journal Social Work in Mental Health, which is issued by the reputed publisher Routledge Taylor and Francis.

Through the research, they found that social support plays a crucial role in enhancing the resilience of young adults and reducing the adverse effects of traumatic experiences. This publication is a significant contribution to the field of social work and mental health, particularly in the context of the ongoing conflict in Kashmir. The findings of the researchers highlight the importance of social support in promoting the mental health and well-being of individuals who have experienced trauma.

Abstract

The current study examined the association of social support and background variables with resilience among young adults exposed to traumatic and stressful events of armed conflict in Kashmir, India. Data were collected from 693 participants using a multi-stage sampling method. Findings revealed that social support and gender were positively associated with resilience, whereas education, income, and maternal education were negatively associated with resilience. Moreover, feeling insecure and psychologically distressed as a result of the conflict was negatively associated with resilience, whereas the perception that the Kashmir conflict would be resolved was positively associated with resilience. The findings suggest fostering resilience in this population.

The Faculty of Psychology and Economics have jointly published a paper titled “Prevalence of Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) among young adults of Kashmir” in the Q1 Journal Child Abuse & Neglect, having an impact factor of 4.863. Dr Aehsan Ahmad Dar, Assistant Professor, Department of Psychology; Dr Manzoor Hassan Malik, Assistant Professor, Department of Economics; Dr Ayesha Parveen Haroon, Lecturer, Department of Psychology; Dr Dhamodharan M, Assistant Professor, Department of Psychology have worked on interpreting the emotional constraints that are harboured among the young adults experiencing the adversities in turbulent Kashmir.

Abstract

The present study estimated the prevalence of ACEs among young adults studying in the colleges and universities of Kashmir, India. Findings disclosed that 15.4 % of the students reported high exposure to ACEs, 13.4% of the participants reported high exposure to ACEs, 26.3 % of the sample reported moderate exposure to ACEs, 33.0 % of the youth reported low exposure to ACEs and 11.8 % of the respondents reported no exposure to ACEs. The prevalence of ACEs was found to be 88.2 % (females: 82.7 % and males: 90.8 %) with a mean of 4.72 adverse events during childhood. The ACEs with the highest level of prevalence were “often or very often insulted or put down” (49.8 %), followed by “often or very often hurt physically” (47.6 %), “often or very often pushed, grabbed, or slapped” (41.6 %), “lived with a mentally ill household member” (28.3%), “touched or sexually fondled” (25.3 %),” household member being into the prison” (25.0%) and “witnessed father or mother being pushed, grabbed, slapped, or had something thrown at them” (24.0%).

Practical Implementation of the Research

The findings of the study will serve as a reliable source for healthcare professionals, policymakers and NGOs to better understand the impact of ACEs on the health and well-being of individuals. Since ACEs are associated with several immediate and long-term health hazards, therefore, necessary efforts in this direction are suggested to advocate the early targeted intervention to reduce ACEs and their impact as well as design effective measures to improve the health and well-being of young adults, thereby reducing the development of physical and mental disorders.

Collaborations

1. Prof. Sibnath Deb, Rajiv Gandhi National Institute of Youth Development, Sriperumbudur, Tamil Nadu, India.
2. Dr Manzoor Hassan Mali, Department of Economics, SRM University-AP, Andhra Pradesh, India
3. Prof. Waheeda khan, Department of Clinical Psychology, Faculty of Behavioural Sciences, Shree Guru Gobind Singh Tricentenary University, Budhera, Gurugram, Delhi-NCR, India.
4. Dr Ayesha Parveen Haroon, Department of Psychology, SRM University-AP, Andhra Pradesh, India
5. Dr Amra Ahsan, Department of Clinical Psychology, Faculty of Behavioural Sciences, Shree Guru Gobind Singh Tricentenary University, Budhera, Gurugram, Delhi-NCR, India
6. Dr Farhat Jahan, Department of Clinical Psychology, Faculty of Behavioural Sciences, Shree Guru Gobind Singh Tricentenary University, Budhera, Gurugram, Delhi-NCR, India
7. Dr Bushra Sumaiya, Faculty of Education, Shree Guru Gobind Singh Tricentenary University, Budhera, Gurugram, Delhi-NCR, India.
8. Shaheen Yawar Bhat, Department of Physiology, All India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi, India.
9. Dr Dhamodharan M, Department of Psychology, SRM University-AP, Andhra Pradesh, India
10. Mohamad Qasim, Independent Researcher

The research cohort plans to study youth’s mental health and ascertain its risk and protective factors. About 19% of the world’s children live in India, which constitutes 42% of the total Indian population, and nearly half of these children are vulnerable and need care and protection. Due to various traumatic experiences, stress has increased among young people resulting in various physical and mental disorders.

The research will focus on the pathogenic (post-traumatic stress disorder, depression, anxiety, somatisation) and salutogenic (post-traumatic growth and resilience) consequences of trauma to help the youth withstand adverse experiences and develop psychological competence. The research will provide insights into the mental health of youth that would be helpful for the administration, policymakers, and other voluntary organisations to understand effective ways to devise and implement the best intervention programs for maximising mental health protective factors and minimising its risk factors.