Feminist Psychologies in India

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Vindhya Undurti
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Common Mental Disorders ◽  
Historical Context ◽  
Psychosocial Interventions ◽  
Well Being ◽  
The Body ◽  
Feminist Psychology ◽  
Gender Based Violence ◽  
Care Giving ◽  
Gender Based

There is no explicitly defined field as feminist psychology(ies) in India. It is therefore necessary to look beyond the discipline of psychology and examine the scholarship available in other disciplines as well as in activist efforts to illumine questions that are of concern to feminist psychology(ies)—questions of how inequitable access to resources, disproportionate burden of care giving and gender stereotypical identities impact on gender relations and on women’s well-being and identity. From the interface of psychology with feminisms, three thematic areas emerge against the backdrop of past and contemporary socio-political developments in the country that have directly or indirectly influenced and informed the content and direction of research in these thematic areas. The three key themes are (a) mental health and well-being and the influence of the interlinked perspectives of gender, public health, human rights and social justice on this field, (b) gender-based violence and the evolution of psychosocial interventions for reduction and prevention of violence, and (c) the socio-historical construction of identities and the construction of masculinities in particular and that of the “modern Indian woman” in the conundrum of tradition and modernity. First, the literature on gender and mental health emphasizes the need to connect mental health with social determinants, demonstrates the existence of gender bias in access to mental health services, shows that women are represented more in common mental disorders whose aetiology is associated with the social position of women, and highlights the relationship of gender-specific risk factors such as domestic violence to the occurrence of depression in women. Second, the body of work on interventions for reducing and preventing gender-based violence shows services such as one-stop centers hinged on a psychosocial intervention model; and women’s collectives for alternate dispute resolution based loosely on feminist principles, serving as a platform for voicing and recognition of violence and connecting survivors to institutional services. Third, the socio-historical context of identity construction reveals masculinity as a product of interplay of the colonizing and colonized cultures in the nationalist period of pre-independence India, the subsequent turn to “aggressive Hindu communalism” as a model for masculinity and the construction of femininity in the conundrum of tradition and modernity. Thus, despite e some influence and infusion of perspectives on each other, feminisms and psychology in India continue to run parallel to each other, and feminist psychology(ies) in India remains an indistinct field as yet.

scholarly journals Gender Based Violence among Married Persons in Awka Town from a Glocalizing Context: A Comparative Study of Mental Health and Loneliness

2020 ◽  
pp. 6-15
Author(s):  
Nwankwo, Emeka Anthony ◽  
Mabia, Chidozie Emmanuel ◽  
Eweni, Henry Ikemefuna ◽  
Obasi, Ifeanyi Michael ◽  
Ezeakabekwe, Samuel Uche
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Sampling Technique ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Systematic Sampling ◽  
Data Generation ◽  
Gender Based Violence ◽  
Conflict Tactics Scales ◽  
Gender Based ◽  
Conflict Tactics ◽  
Mental Well Being

Aim: The study considered if mental health and loneliness would have comparativeness on gender based violence in glocalizing context in Awka town. Methods: 149 married persons serve as participants. Systematic sampling technique was used for participants’ selection. They comprised of 71 male and 78 female. Their age ranged from 23-53 years with mean age of 39.66 and standard deviation of 8.76. Conflict Tactics Scales, Short Warwick–Edinburgh Mental Well-Being Scale and UCLA Loneliness Scale were employed for data generation. 2×2 Factorial Design and Two-way Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) statistic were used to analyze the data. Results: The first hypothesis which stated that those with positive mental health will not differ significantly from those with negative mental health on gender based violence among married persons and second hypothesis which stated that those with positive loneliness will not differ significantly from those with negative loneliness on gender based violence among married persons were both confirmed at p>.05. The third hypothesis which stated that mental health and loneliness will not have significant interaction on gender based violence among married persons was also confirmed at p>.05. Hence, the study established suggestions.

Gender-Transformative Approaches to Engaging Men in Reducing Gender-Based Violence: A Response to Brush & Miller’s “Trouble in Paradigm”

2019 ◽  
Vol 25 (14) ◽  
pp. 1657-1671 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shari L. Dworkin ◽  
Gary Barker
Keyword(s):  
Risk Group ◽  
Evaluation Studies ◽  
Large Body ◽  
Well Being ◽  
The Body ◽  
Gender Based Violence ◽  
Social Norms Theory ◽  
Engaging Men ◽  
Gender Based ◽  
Health And Well Being

Brush and Miller’s paper is critical of gender-transformative interventions and they believe that the paradigm is in trouble. In this response, we examine the body of evidence and the conceptual frames that undergird gender-transformative interventions, along with the emergence of these interventions and their efficacy. We argue here that it is reductionist to state either (a) that gender-transformative programs do not work, or (b) that gender-transformative programs only rely on social norms theory. We reveal how these claims omit important developments emerging from research on homophobia, feminist thought, and intersectionality that have made their way into gender-transformative interventions in several countries. We show that the implementation of gender-transformative interventions is far from uniform and we examine how changing power relations, relationships, communities, and masculinities, as well as other structures and practices that negatively influence health and well-being are integrated into this large body of work. We highlight how gender-transformative interventions show solid promise on balance, as measured in several evaluation studies in several settings, when implemented well and sustained. Overall then, gender-transformative interventions represent a tremendous advance over the previous “risk group-focused,” single-topic approaches with men that have been implemented in public and global health interventions.

The plight of women in Iraq: Gender disparity, violence, and mental health

2021 ◽  
pp. 002076402110036
Author(s):  
Maha Sulaiman Younis ◽  
Riyadh Khudhiar Lafta
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Mental Disorders ◽  
Gender Inequality ◽  
Social Role ◽  
Gender Disparity ◽  
Women’S Mental Health ◽  
Gender Based Violence ◽  
Women's Mental Health ◽  
Internal Conflicts ◽  
Gender Based

Background: Generations of women living in Iraq endured three major regional wars and internal conflicts, which weakened their psychological vulnerability and social role by poverty, displacements, and loss of their beloved ones. The available literature about women’s mental health is scarce and does not signify the gender inequality and gender disparity of mental disorders. Method: During 1st August to October 2020, we explored the search engines: Google Scholar, Pub-Med, Medline, and Clarivate using keywords of Iraq, gender inequality, women’s mental health, violence, and conflict, mental disorders, gender-based violence, etc. From 1792 research items, 64 articles were scrutinized for this study. We selected the most relevant studies with some available documents excluding data bout Immigrant women outside Iraq and reports from foreign military sources. Finding: Women living in Iraq have struggled for equality and empowerment since the 20th century. For the last four decades, successive wars, economic sanction, gender-based violence, and internal conflicts have affected their development endeavors. The 2003 US-led invasion caused a loss of lives, destruction of infrastructure, and forced displacement for tens of thousands of civilians, including women and children. These atrocities increased women’s vulnerability to develop or worsen the existing mental disorders. This review tries to attract world attention to women’s situations in Iraq.

scholarly journals Psychological Consequences of the Delay in the Silent Mentor Programme During the COVID-19 Pandemic: Perspectives From Family Members of Silent Mentors

2021 ◽  
pp. 003022282110009
Author(s):  
Li Ping Wong ◽  
Sik Loo Tan ◽  
Haridah Alias ◽  
Thiam Eng Sia ◽  
Aik Saw
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Qualitative Interviews ◽  
Psychological Impact ◽  
Family Members ◽  
Well Being ◽  
The Body ◽  
Functional Health ◽  
Psychological Consequences ◽  
Negative Effect ◽  
Health And Well Being

The COVID-19 pandemic has put a hold on the Silent Mentor Programme (SMP); this pause has not only caused unprecedented challenges for the delivery of medical education but has forced changes in the programme ceremony sessions. We aimed to describe the psychological impact and experiences of family members of silent mentors during the COVID-19 pandemic using qualitative interviews. Many expressed feelings of remorse and unrest about the unprecedented delay of the SMP. The delay increased negative emotions particularly among some elderly family members; however, there was no prominent negative effect on their functional health and well-being. Several participants relayed the belief that the soul cannot rest until the body receives a proper burial while some worried about the deterioration of the physical condition of the mentors. In conclusion, findings provide insights into the importance of not overlooking the mental health implications of delaying the SMP in future outbreaks or crises.

scholarly journals How managers experience situations involving employee mental ill-health

2018 ◽  
Vol 11 (6) ◽  
pp. 442-463 ◽  
Author(s):  
Angela Martin ◽  
Megan Woods ◽  
Sarah Dawkins
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Psychological Health ◽  
Safety Climate ◽  
Well Being ◽  
The Body ◽  
Health Issue ◽  
Mental Health Issue ◽  
Successful Implementation ◽  
Health Issues ◽  
Content Type

Purpose Mental health conditions such as depression are prevalent in working adults, costly to employers, and have implications for legal liability and corporate social responsibility. Managers play an important role in determining how employees’ and organizations’ interests are reconciled in situations involving employee mental ill-health issues. The purpose of this paper is to explore these situations from the perspective of managers in order to develop theory and inform practice in workplace mental health promotion. Design/methodology/approach Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 24 Australian managers who had supervised an employee with a mental health issue. Interview transcripts were content analyzed to explore themes in managers’ experiences. Findings Managing an employee with a mental health issue involves becoming aware of the issue, taking action to understand the situation and develop an action response, implementing the response and managing the ongoing situation. Each of these tasks had a range of positive and negative aspects to them, e.g., managing the situation can be experienced as both a source of stress for the manager but also as an opportunity to develop greater management skills. Practical implications Understanding line managers’ experiences is critical to successful implementation of HR policies regarding employee health and well-being. HR strategies for dealing with employee mental health issues need to consider implementation support for managers, including promotion of guiding policies, training, emotional support and creating a psychosocial safety climate in their work units or teams. Originality/value The insights gained from this study contribute to the body of knowledge regarding psychosocial safety climate, an emergent theoretical framework concerned with values, attitudes and philosophy regarding worker psychological health. The findings also have important implications for strategic human resource management approaches to managing mental health in the workplace.

scholarly journals ‘The fact that she just looked at me…’ – Narrations on shame in South African workplaces

2017 ◽  
Vol 43 (0) ◽  
Author(s):  
Claude-Hélène Mayer ◽  
Rian Viviers ◽  
Louise Tonelli
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Higher Education ◽  
South African ◽  
Well Being ◽  
The Body ◽  
Theory And Practice ◽  
Work Context ◽  
Negative Effects ◽  
Managerial Implications ◽  
Health And Well Being

Orientation: Shame has been internationally researched in various cultural and societal contexts as well as across cultures in the workplace, schools and institutions of higher education. It is an emotional signal that refers to experienced incongruence of identity goals and the judgement of others.Research purpose: The purpose of this study was to focus on experiences of shame in the South African (SA) workplace, to provide emic, in-depth insights into the experiences of shame of employees.Motivation for the study: Shame in the workplace often occurs and might impact negatively on mental health and well-being, capability, freedom and human rights. This article aims at gaining some in-depth understanding of shame experiences in SA workplaces. Building on this understanding the aim is to develop awareness in Industrial and Organisational Psychologists (IOPs), employees and organisations to cope with shame constructively in addition to add to the apparent void in the body of knowledge on shame in SA workplaces.Research design, approach and method: An interpretative hermeneutical research paradigm, based on Dilthey’s modern hermeneutics was applied. Data were collected through semistructured interviews of 11 employees narrating their experiences from various workplaces, including the military, consulting organisations and higher education institutions. Content analysis was used for data analysis and interpretation.Main findings: The major themes around which shameful experiences evolved included loss of face, mistreatment by others, low work quality, exclusion, lifestyle and internalised shame on failure in the workplace. Shame is experienced as a disturbing emotion that impacts negatively on the self within the work context. It is also experienced as reducing mental health and well-being at work.Practical/managerial implications: SA organisations need to be more aware of shame in the workplace, to address the potential negative effects of shame on employees, particularly if they are not prepared to reframe shame into a constructively and positively used emotion. Safe spaces should be made available to talk about shame. Strategies should be applied to deal with shame constructively.Contribution/value-add: This article expands an in-depth understanding of shame from emic and culture-specific perspectives within SA workplaces. The findings are beneficial to IOPs and organisations to understand what shame is from the perspective of SA employees across cultural groups. The article thereby adds value to theory and practice, offering IOPs a deeper understanding of shame in the work context.

scholarly journals Sexual Harassment at African Higher Education Institutions

2018 ◽  
Vol 94 ◽  
pp. 4 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christine Dranzoa
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Sexual Harassment ◽  
Gender Equity ◽  
Higher Education Institutions ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Good Health ◽  
Gender Based Violence ◽  
The Sustainable Development ◽  
Gender Policy ◽  
Gender Based

In most African states, joining higher education institutions (HEIs) is, for students, an investment in their own economic progress. Yet, HEIs are sites where sexual harassment and gender-based violence (GBV) occur, increasing the vulnerability of newly enrolled female students and of women in general. A strong gender policy environment, a clear stand by senior management at HEIs, and the empowerment ofmen with respect to gender equity issues are remedies to help achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), especially goal 3 (Good Health and Well-being), goal 4 (Quality Education), goal 5 (Gender Equality), and goal 10 (Reduced Inequality).

scholarly journals Undergraduate Education in Psychiatry in India

2020 ◽  
Vol 3 (1) ◽  
pp. 9-16
Author(s):  
Roy Abraham Kallivayalil ◽  
Arun Enara
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Medical Education ◽  
Help Seeking ◽  
Medical Training ◽  
Common Mental Disorders ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Mental Illnesses ◽  
Treatment Gap ◽  
The World ◽  
Education In India

AbstractMedical education curricula, from around the world, have often neglected psychiatry as a subject of importance in undergraduate medical training.In India, the scenario has not been different from the rest of the world. The National Mental Health Survey done in India, recently, estimates a treatment gap of around 80–85% for various mental illnesses. This provides a strong case to strengthen the undergraduate psychiatry curricula since it would help tackle the treatment gap of common mental disorders in the community.Further, a strong educational foundation with meaningful inclusion of mental health and well-being, will also make the trainee aware of their own mental well-being and better help seeking behaviour in the medical student. In this article, we look to review the evolution of undergraduate medical education in India.

scholarly journals Assessing COVID-19-related anxiety and functional impairment amongst nurses in Malawi

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Genesis Chorwe-Sungani
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Functional Impairment ◽  
Area Under The Curve ◽  
Reliability And Validity ◽  
Psychosocial Interventions ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Receiver Operating Curve ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Online Data ◽  
Cross Sectional

Background: Psychological well-being of nurses is crucial for them to effectively discharge their duties. However, coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19)-related anxiety can interfere with nurses’ performance and reduce their self-efficacy.Aim: The primary aim of this study was to assess COVID-19-related anxiety and functional impairment amongst nurses in Malawi. The secondary aim of the study was to determine reliability and validity of the Coronavirus Anxiety Scale.Setting: The study was conducted in Malawi.Methods: This was a cross-sectional study that collected quantitative data from 102 nurses in Malawi online. Data were analysed using descriptive statistics and receiver operating curve analysis.Results: This study found that 25.5% (26) of respondents had COVID-19-related anxiety and 48% (49) functional impairment. There were significant differences in the numbers of respondents who had functional impairment in relation to workplace (Χ2 = 8.7, p = 0.03), with many of those working in hospitals (58.6%, n = 34) having highest levels (mean = 20.6 ± 10.4). The Coronavirus Anxiety Scale proved to be an effective instrument (Sensitivity = 73.1%; Specificity = 60.5%; area under the curve = 0.73) for assessing COVID-19-related anxiety amongst nurses.Conclusion: It is necessary to screen nurses for COVID-19-related anxiety and functional impairment and provide them effective psychosocial interventions. Policymakers should place more emphasis on allocation of financial resources to mental health services and staff support programmes targeting nurses during pandemics. There is a need to conduct future research on mental health interventions that might be used to assist nurses with COVID-19-related anxiety and functional impairment.

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