Positive Psychology Progress in India: Accomplishments and Pathways Ahead

The aim of this study is to summarize the developments in the field of positive psychology in India by focusing on research and applications. Since the emergence of the positive psychology movement in the West in 1998, researchers worldwide including India have been influenced by its strength-based approach. Over time, positive psychology in India has garnered an empirical base. This paper attempts to trace the development of the field within India. Various databases such as PsycINFO, Science Direct, PubMed, EBSCO and Shodhganga were searched along with the gray literature according to a set of criteria. Relevant researches were categorized under study characteristics, variables studied and assessment of positive psychology variables. Findings show that well-being is the most widely studied topic in positive psychology in India. Other topics including character strengths and posttraumatic growth also seem to be gaining popularity. Future directions on investigating topics that have not received adequate attention, making efforts to bridge the gap between Indian psychology and positive psychology, addressing cultural issues in positive psychology research, focusing on interdisciplinary and multi-method approach and finally making positive psychology available to the non-scientific community, have been provided. It is hoped that these efforts will enable us to build a positive psychology community. On the basis of this analysis, it may be derived that psychology research in India has started focusing on prevention along with cure

Positive Psychology Interventions for Chronic Physical Illnesses: A Systematic Review

Positive health focuses on enhancing health along with curing illness to bring about well-being. Treatment for physical illness generally involves drug therapy, while the psycho-social aspects, specifically the positive psychology perspectives, are largely ignored; nevertheless, a growing number of investigations are now studying the effects of positive psychology interventions on health outcomes. The objective of this paper is to systematically review positive psychology interventions in chronic physical illness. A literature search through the databases of EBSCO, PubMed and PsycINFO, reference lists of significant papers and grey literature was conducted following four criteria set for this review. The number of studies selected finally that acceded to the criteria was 14. These studies were analysed by focusing on the study characteristics, kinds of intervention and outcomes of positive psychology interventions. Overall findings reveal that different intervention programmes have been devised by combining various exercises, writing is the most commonly used method for administration and positive psychology interventions are considered feasible and acceptable by patients, but findings about their usefulness are inconclusive. Suggestions for future research, clinical practice and application in communities have been provided which may be useful for clinicians, practitioners and caregivers

Melatonin Modulates Hypophyseal-Thyroid Function through Differential Activation of MT1 and MT2 Receptors in Hypothyroid Mice

Hypothyroidism is characterized by the low level of thyroid hormones in circulation, which affects the normal metabolic activities of organisms. Propylthiouracil (PTU) induced hypothyroid condition impairs the antioxidant defense system and therefore normal physiology alters. Melatonin influences most physiological activities and is also known for its antioxidative properties. Melatonin modulates physiological activities through receptor-mediated as well as non-receptor-mediated pathways. In this study, we evaluated the involvement of melatonin MT1 and MT2 receptors in the modulation of hypophyseal-thyroid function in PTU-induced hypothyroid mice. We have noted the decreased level of T3 and T4 and increased level of TSH hormone in PTU-treated mice. Melatonin treatment counteracted the PTU-caused changes in circulatory T3, T4, and TSH hormones. PTU treatment caused increased MT1 receptor protein expression in the thyroid as well as the pituitary gland while increased MT2 receptor protein in the pituitary gland. Melatonin treatment caused increased TSH receptor protein in the thyroid gland. Melatonin induced MT2 receptor protein expression in both the thyroid and pituitary glands whereas MT1 receptor proteins in the pituitary gland. This study may suggest that melatonin regulates hypophyseal-thyroid function through differential sensitization of MT1 and MT2 receptors on the pituitary and thyroid glands in hypothyroid mice

RAHI-SATHI Indo-U.S. Collaboration: The Evolution of a Trainee-Led Twinning Model in Global Health Into a Multidisciplinary Collaborative Program

BACKGROUND: In recent years there has been a surge in the number of global health programs operated by academic institutions. However, most of the existing programs describe partnerships that are primarily faculty-driven and supported by extramural funding. PROGRAM DESCRIPTION: Research and Advocacy for Health in India (RAHI, or pathfinder in Hindi) and Support and Action Towards Health-Equity in India (SATHI, or partnership in Hindi) are 2 interconnected, collaborative efforts between the University of Massachusetts Medical School (UMMS) and Charutar Arogya Mandal (CAM), a medical college and a tertiary care center in rural western India. The RAHI-SATHI program is the culmination of a series of student/trainee-led research and capacity strengthening initiatives that received institutional support in the form of faculty mentorship and seed funding. RAHI-SATHI\u27s trainee-led twinning approach overcomes traditional barriers faced by global health programs. Trainees help mitigate geographical barriers by acting as a bridge between members from different institutions, garner cultural insight through their ability to immerse themselves in a community, and overcome expertise limitations through pre-planned structured mentorship from faculty of both institutions. Trainees play a central role in cultivating trust among the team members and, in the process, they acquire personal leadership skills that may benefit them in their future careers. CONCLUSION: This paradigm of trainee-led twinning partnership promotes sustainability in an uncertain funding climate and provides a roadmap for conducting foundational work that is essential for the development of a broad, university-wide global health program

A Positive Psychology Framework for Chronic Physical Illness

Positive health is an emerging area of investigation which focuses on achieving optimal health. In this endeavor, psychologists have administered positive psychology interventions on patients suffering from chronic physical diseases with the aim of improving overall health and well-being. This paper introduces a theoretical framework that presents how positive psychology interventions can increase health and well-being by affecting physical and psychological factors. The framework, based on the information gathered from a systematic review conducted previously by the authors is a comprehensive approach. It describes the moderators, mediatorsand outcomes of positive psychology interventions in the area of chronic physical illnesses. Other than variables related to the patient, this framework also introduces the factor of community level influences. Additionally, since this framework addresses a wide range of variables, it can be used as a check list like the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) by future researchers; this will help to maintain consistency across studies while reporting findings. Finally, it is hoped that this framework will promote positive interventions by researchers and practitioners in chronic health related areas at the grass root levels, which will finally contribute to the formation of a positively oriented communit

An exploration of gratitude themes and suggestions for future interventions

For many years, the concept of gratitude was not considered worthy of investigation by psychologists since research goals were strongly dominated by the deficit-based approach and gratitude concepts were believed to be derived from common sense, and thus not warranting scientific query. This study, in attempting to understand gratitude themes, explores various events that elicit gratitude among engineering students in India. Thirty-two final year engineering students were introduced to gratitude research, administered gratitude exercises, and asked to provide feedback about the exercises. Nested questions, in the form of three-blessings and benefit finding exercises, were used to identify experiences of students leading to gratitude. Content analysis was applied to identify underlying themes and report them systematically. Four major themes and five minor themes were uncovered. Among these, positive emotions was the most prevalent theme and finance was the least encountered theme. Strategies to improve intervention studies, including restricting the area of investigation to one domain and making exercises interesting, have been suggested. Implications of the research within the socio-cultural context have been discussed with special reference to the complexities in separating the sense of duty and gratitude. Further research will provide us with more insights into the topic, specifically from an Indian socio-cultural perspective

Flourishing among public bank employees in India: A positive organizational behavior approach

This thesis aims at studying flourishing among public bank employees in India using a positive organizational behavior approach. A comprehensive review of literature conducted in this area revealed that flourishing was a seldom studied area, with most literature being theoretical in nature within the organizational behavior setting. Based on literature and gaps in knowledge identified, it was important to examine how flourishing conceptually and empirically relates, impacts and is influenced by other positive psychology variables, organizational behavior variables and specific socio-demographic factors. From a range of different variables, psychological variables were narrowed down to gratitude, job-related affective well-being, work engagement, organizational commitment and work-life balance. The study utilizes both qualitative and qualitative techniques and has been conducted in two parts. Study I involved a field survey (N=1474) using standardized questionnaires. Using non-probability purposive sampling, data was collected over a period of one month pre-demonetization. Study II involved telephonic interviews (N = 10) with employees across various public sector banks in India. This part of the study aimed to understand participants’ subjective experiences of well-being to supplement the findings of Study I. Data was analyzed using suitable statistical techniques. This is the first study in India to map the prevalence of flourishing. 38.53% participants reported very high flourishing which is similar to previous global studies. None of the interactions among socio-demographic variables were significant contributors to flourishing while interactions between psychological variables significantly contributed to flourishing. These findings are explained through previous literature. Limitations, future directions and implications of these findings have been provided

Child rights as perceived by the community members in India

Attitudes, knowledge, and perceptions of an individual influence their behavior as well as culture of a society. The objective of the study was to understand the attitudes and knowledge of 584 Indian community members regarding child rights and their perceptions about whether selected child rights were secured in reality. Overall attitudes of vast majority (96 – 98%) of the participants towards child rights were found to be positive i.e., children should have rights in various respects except issue like right to meet others (Article 15 of CRC). Knowledge of majority of the participants about child rights related legislations was moderate and varied across the cities while participants were unanimous about poor lived experiences of child rights in reality. So far as attitude and perception are concerned about child rights, there was a significant difference in the distribution between cities (p<0.01). Overall, the Rights of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act, 2009 had the highest awareness (91.3%, n=533), followed by the Child Labour (Prohibition and Regulation) Act, 1986 (89.7%, n=523) and the Prohibition of Child Marriage Act, 2006 (89.6%, n=523). Findings of the present study speak in favor of community awareness about child rights and penalties for violation of child rights

Structure and composition of understory treelets and overstory trees in a protected area of Bangladesh

Species diversity, composition, and structure of the understory treelet and overstory tree layers were investigated at Lawachara National Park in Bangladesh. Plots were taken following a systematic sampling technique from the whole forest during January to May 2012. In this study, all the overstory trees (diameter at breast height [DBH] ≥ 10\ua0cm) and understory treelets (2\ua0cm ≤ DBH < 10\ua0cm) were investigated and the structure and diversity between them were compared. A total number of 347 individual trees belonging to 69 species and 29 families, and 311 individual treelets belonging to 61 species and 27 families were found in this study. Artocarpus chaplasha and Terminalia catappa were the most important species of tree and treelet respectively. The five most important families both for trees and treelets were Meliaceae, Elaeocarpaceae, Lythraceae, Combretaceae, and Moraceae. The different diversity indices and true diversity value indicate that the overstory tree layer was much more diverse than the understory treelet layer and thus trees may be an appropriate representation of the diversity status of a particular tropical forest type. However, treelet diversity at Lawachara National Park is also considerable and more attention needs to be paid to include treelets in any biodiversity inventory of tropical forest regardless of the size limit of 10\ua0cm DBH

Freshwater swamp forest trees of Bangladesh face extinction risk from climate change

Global climate change is impacting the distribution and abundance of species acting as a major cause of species extinction. It is rapid in freshwater swamp forest ecosystems, since they support disproportionate levels of biodiversity compared to their spatial coverage. The natural swamp forests of Bangladesh have been especially susceptible to climate change as they are limited in range to a few scattered patches in the north-eastern region. We sought to understand how climate change may impact the swamp forests of Bangladesh by modelling distributional changes in Pongamia pinnata and Barringtonia acutangula species, which dominate or co-dominate most swamp forest ecosystems across Bangladesh. We used the maximum entropy (MaxEnt) modelling tool, combined presence-only data of species and bioclimatic variables for two climate scenarios (RCP6.0 and RCP8.5). We compared current, 2050 and 2070 distributions. Results suggest that plant extractable water holding capacity of soil, annual precipitation, precipitation of warmest quarter and mean annual actual evapotranspiration are the key bioclimatic variables for the distribution of both trees. The MaxEnt models indicate that Pongamia pinnata and Barringtonia acutangula trees of Bangladesh face increasing climate stress and may become extinction under both mid-range and extreme climate scenarios.12 page(s