Indian Journal of Health and Wellbeing

C. Sisira ¹, B. Rangaiah ¹

Affiliations
1 Department of Applied Psychology, Pondicherry University, Pondicherry, IN

Abstract

There is a belief regarding HIV/AIDS that it affects only the immune system but the underlying truth is that decline in mental processes is another complication of HIV/AIDS infection. The present study aimed to assess the reaction time and attention of individuals with HIV positive and to compare it with Normal individuals. It was hypothesized that there would be a significant difference between HIV positive and Normal individuals on the measures of attention and reaction time. The neuropsychological tools Trail making test and reaction time test were administered to 30 HIV positive patients and were contrasted with those of 30 control subjects. Results of this study revealed that there was a significant difference between HIV positive and Normal individuals on the measure of attention (P<0.01). In reaction time the difference is more significant in simple reaction time (P<0.02) than in the choice reaction time (P<0.05). Reaction time and attention were significantly weakened in HIV-positive subjects compared to Normal individuals. Hence, the present study enlightens the importance of considering the cognitive aspects while rehabilitating the patients. The paper also discussed the further implications of the study.

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Theja Prabhakar ¹, B. Rangaiah ¹, Rameshbabu Tamarana ¹

Affiliations
1 Department of Applied Psychology, Pondicherry University, Pondicherry, IN

Abstract

The paper reports results of a study to examine attitudes towards spirituality among medical and non medical students. The sample consisted of 404 medical and non medical students of both genders; 259 girls and 145 boys. The age range of the sample was between 18 and 21 years. The tools used in the study were Personal Information Data Sheet, and the Spirituality Scale. The data were analyzed using t-test. Medical students were found to have a high level of attitudes toward spirituality and lesser for Non medical students. The results revealed gender differences in spirituality. The implications of the study for adolescent college students' health and wellbeing are discussed.

Keywords

Spirituality , Medical Students, Non Medical Students.

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Rayees Mohammad Bhat ¹, B. Rangaiah ¹

Affiliations
1 Department of Applied Psychology, Pondicherry University, Puducherry, IN

Abstract

Regular exposure to conflicts does have negative repercussions but people do adapt and report posttraumatic growth to mitigate their impact. Post traumatic growth is a challenging area and requires attention especially in conflict prone areas. This cross-sectional study comprised of 797 Kashmiri young adults between 18 years to 24 years of age who have been exposed to stressful life experiences regarding prolonged armed-conflict in Kashmir. The study explored the association of PTG with PTSD and trauma exposure, and whether the relationship of PTG with Trauma Exposure and PTSD symptoms were linear or curvilinear. Exposure to Kashmir Conflict Checklist, Posttraumatic Growth Inventory (PTGI) and PTSD Checklist-Civilian Version (PCL-C) were used to assess trauma exposure, posttraumatic growth and PTSD symptomology respectively. The results found a curvilinear relationship between trauma exposure and PTG (β=-.39), whereas linear relationship was found between PTSD and PTG ((β=-.17) with high PTSD scores associated with higher PTG scores. Older age was also associated with PTG (β=.10). The study found that both growth and negative symptoms can co-occur simultaneously. So, it becomes necessary to address both positive and negative symptoms when assessing and treating the traumatized population exposed to conflict like situation.

Keywords

Trauma Exposure, Kashmir Armed-Conflict, PTSD, PTG, Curvilinearity, Young Adults.

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