Psychosocial adversities in women substance dependence: A case report

....

Book Review: Life is what you make it

.

Who is a psychiatric social worker anyway?: A burning debate in India

The Mental Healthcare Act 2017 defined various mental health professional which including "Psychiatric Social Worker” which hasten an ongoing debate on the qualification of a Psychiatric Social Worker. This write up will critically discuss some of the issues related to this debate. Since it is deemed necessary to have an open and inclusive perspective for the profession to practice efficiently and effectively in a very competitive contemporary era; where many other disciplines are competing not only to excel in the field practice but also on the ground of grabbing opportunities like employment, getting prominence, having policies in their favour, consuming maximum share of available resources and getting remuneration other. Keywords: Psychiatric social work, India, Mental Health Act

Impact of family intervention on self-esteem and well-being for individuals with alcohol dependence

Background: Family interventions are the core interventions in which mental health professionals provide support and understanding of the illness to affected individuals and family members. They work together on planning treatment; provide psychological support and understanding of the disorder. Aim: To study the impact of the family intervention on self-esteem and wellbeing of individuals with alcohol dependence syndrome. Methodology: It was a hospital-based pre-post design intervention study. Ten samples purposively selected and equal numbers were assigned to the experimental and control group. Tools used for assessment were - a semi-structured socio-demographic and clinical data sheet, Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale, PGI General Well-being, and The McMaster Family Assessment Device. Results: The study results show that family intervention brings significant improvement in the family functioning; self-esteem and well being of the study sample which sustained over three months follow up period. Conclusion: This line of treatment can be used for better outcome among persons with alcohol dependence syndrome. Keywords: Alcohol dependence, family interventions, self-esteem, wellbeing

Socio-demographic correlates of school refusal among primary school students in Ranchi City

Introduction: School refusal has some distinctive features and it can affect the academic achievement of the students very negatively. Several socio-demographic factors are responsible for school refusal. This study intends to see the role of some socio-demographic factors in school refusal among primary grade students of five private schools of the city of Ranchi. Methodology: It was a Cross-sectional school-based study on five private schools of Ranchi city. Total students approached were 1640, out of which 52 students were selected purposively as per the study criteria. Socio-demographic Data Sheet and School Refusal Assessment Scale-Revised (SRAS-R) were used and descriptive statistics, independent samples t-test, one way ANOVA and Bonferroni post hoc test were used. Results: Factors like the gender of the students, parental education, monthly family income and family type have a significant impact on school refusal behaviour of selected students. Conclusion: School refusal is a complicated problem and it has been influenced by various factors. Keywords: School refusal, demographic variables, parents, family, absenteeism

Depression among children at shelter care institutions in Terengganu Malaysia

Background: Depression is a state of psychological disease that occurs to someone divers in age due to certain reasons. Among the factors include lack of self-confidence, problematic family, stress, low self-esteem and social environment. It could lead to a mental disorder that endangers the mental health. Aim: To investigate the status of children depression using the Children Depression Inventory (CDI) at 21 shelter care institutions in Terengganu Malaysia. Methodology: Quantitative research design was used. The sample consists of 404 respondents from 21 Islamic shelter cares such as Tahfiz, Madrasah and Orphanage in Terengganu Malaysia from the age of 10 to 18 years. Data was analyzed using Exploratory Factor Analysis (EFA), Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA) and Discriminant Analysis (DA) which then computed to identify the most dominant factors whereas reducing the initial five parameters with recommended >0.50 of factor loading. Results: Forward stepwise of DA shows the total of groups validation percentage by 92.08% (17 independent). The result showed that the highest frequency of respondent index was at a moderate level (62.87% respondents). This showed that children still can be controlled and cared to reduce depression. Keywords: Children Depression Index, Depression, Children, Institution, Shelter Care

Psychiatric social work intervention with a person with severe depression based on cognitive behavioural case work approach: A case study

Background: Cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) is a widely recognized and accepted approach of treatment for depression. Aim: To examine the application of case work based on a cognitive behavioural approach concerning working with a client experiencing severe depression. Methodology: The single-subject case study design was adopted. Based on the assessment, psychiatric social work intervention was provided to client and family members. Pre and post assessment was done to see the effectiveness of psychiatric social work intervention in person with depression. Assessments were done using the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI), Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale (RSE), Bradford Somatic Inventory (BSI), and Family Assessment Proforma. Results: Client’s level of understanding about the illness was improved and the depressive symptoms were significantly reduced along with somatic complaints. Conclusion: The outcome of the case study approves that the cases with depression can be effectively seen using cognitive behavioural case work approach along with pharmacological treatment. Keywords: Depression, cognitive behaviour therapy, psychosocial, social work intervention

Influence of demographic profile and symptoms on insight among people with schizophrenia

Introduction: Insight facilitation is an integral step to achieve good treatment outcome in schizophrenia. Low insight always leads to poor drug adherence and treatment resistance. The study aimed to examine how demographic profile and symptoms influencing the insight among people with schizophrenia. Methods and Materials: Objectives were to assess socio-demographic variables, the symptoms, and insight among people with Schizophrenia and to understand the influence of those variables on the insight. The descriptive research design opted for the study. Sample size of the quantitative study was 53, and subjects were selected as per the study inclusion and exclusion criteria. The population of the study was patients who were attending the outpatient department of psychiatry at the National Institute of Mental Health and Neuro Sciences (NIMHANS). Results: Age and age at the onset of illness were not associated with insight. Male participants had better insight compared to female participants. Persons with middle school or primary school education reported better insight than illiterate, graduates or professional graduates. Participants from the urban area had better insight than participants from the rural area. Insight and positive and negative symptoms were negatively correlated. Conclusion: The demographic factors and symptoms influence the insight among people with Schizophrenia. Hence such factors must be considered while insight facilitation for increasing the adherence to the treatment. Keywords: Insight, schizophrenia, positive, negatives symptoms, age, gender, education, domicile

Types of Coping as a Determinant of Quality of Life of Mothers of Children with Developmental Disabilities

Background: It is well established that caregivers of children with developmental disabilities experience greater stress than caregivers of children without developmental disabilities. However, the experience of stress is dependent on the types of coping strategies that are used to manage stress. Such stress also affects the quality of life (QoL) of parents. Thus, parents of children with disabilities have specific mental health needs which play an important role in affecting their own and their child's QoL. Aim: To study coping as a determinant of QoL of mothers of children with intellectual disability (ID) and children with autism. Methodology: The sample consisted of 100 mothers of children (between 5-12 years of age) selected with purposive sampling, having an ID (n=50) or autism (n=50), diagnosed as per ICD-10 DCR criteria. In addition, the diagnostic assessment was also based on psychometric testing. Types of coping were assessed using Ways of Coping Questionnaires. QoL of caregivers was assessed by WHOQoL-BREF. Result: Multiple regression analysis revealed that seeking social support and planful problem solving were significant determinants of all four domains of QoL. Escape avoidance was a significant determinant of physical, psychological and social domains of QoL of mothers. Positive reappraisal significantly predicted the psychological and social domains of QoL in mothers. Conclusion: Types of coping are the determinant of QoL of mothers of children with ID and autism. Keywords: Quality of life, coping, autism

A Study on Frequent Selfie Users and Narcissism among College Students

Background: Selfie a generalized expression for a "self portrait”, has become a fad among today's youth. People love to take and post their selfies even when they are in critical situations or any annoying surroundings. For example, when someone met with an accident, people take pictures, rather than calling ambulance. Aim: This study aimed to investigate the narcissism and selfie users among college students of Coimbatore, India. Materials and Methods: Descriptive design was adapted. Conveniently selected 100 post graduate students were assessed on selfie usage and narcissism. Results: Study found that 67% of the students moderately using selfie and 50% of the students had narcissism. Narcissism had a significant relationship with selfie usage. Conclusion: Study concluded that majority of the college students who were taking selfies and uploading them on social networking sites after editing them had more narcissism. Study recommends that early screening followed by appropriate interventions are required for selfie takers to avoid psychological problems in future. Keywords: Selfie usage, narcissism, students