THE EFFECTS OF SOCIO-CULTURAL INTERVENTION ON PERCEIVED SOBRIETY IN SELECTED REFERRAL HOSPITALS AND REHABILITATION CENTRES IN KAMPALA AND WAKISO DISTRICTS, UGANDA. A CROSS-SECTIONAL STUDY.

Background Alcohol presents a serious challenge worldwide; it is increasingly associated with negative consequences in developing countries including Uganda which bear the heaviest burden of diseases and injuries attributed to alcohol. Alcohol abuse is alarming despite the availability of treatment facilities in Uganda. The study objective was to analyze the effect of recovery interventions on perceived sobriety in Butabika National Referral Hospital and Serenity Rehabilitation Centre in the Wakiso and Kampala districts, Uganda. The post-positivist paradigm guided the study.  Methods The research adopted a cross-sectional research design with a mixed-method approach known as simultaneous triangulation design. Using purposive sampling and simple random sampling, Data was collected, and questionnaires and interview guides were used. 338 subjects participated in the study. Quantitative data was analyzed using SPSS, and Pearson’s product-moment correlation coefficient was employed in hypothesis testing. Primary data was collected using self – self-administered questionnaires and Focused group discussions to obtain in-depth results.  Results Sociocultural intervention and perceived sobriety have r=0.544, with a probability value p=0.000 < a=0.01 suggesting a significant correlation. The null hypothesis was rejected; which implies that sociocultural intervention significantly positively correlates with perceived sobriety at a one percent level of significance. “Culturally, alcohol is taken when twins were born and at the initiation “wall” ceremony, a day for receiving the twins into the family, the birth of a new baby, marriage introduction, paying dowry and wedding ceremonies”. Conclusion   The more socio-cultural intervention is utilized in treatment facilities, the more sobriety is realized. Therefore, having workable socio-cultural intervention would help to reduce perceived sobriety. Recommendation   The Ministry of Health through the mental health desk office encourages mental health practitioners to empower therapists in the treatment facilities to give more attention to using sociocultural intervention to address beliefs about excessive use of alcohol

THE INFLUENCE OF PHARMACOTHERAPY INTERVENTION ON PERCEIVED SOBRIETY IN REHABILITATION CENTER AND HOSPITAL IN WAKISO AND KAMPALA DISTRICTS, UGANDA.

Background Pharmacological therapies diminish the level of perceived sobriety, improve the quality of life, reduce intake and affect, demand for alcohol. Physicians prescribe medications for patients to manage withdrawals, foster sobriety, and decrease alcohol and other substance use. The study objective was to examine the influence of pharmacotherapy intervention on perceived sobriety in Butabika National Referral Hospital Kampala and Serenity Rehabilitation Center Wakiso Districts, Uganda to address the challenges of perceived sobriety.  Methodology The study was guided by the post-positivist paradigm. The research adopted a cross-sectional research design with a mixed-method approach known as simultaneous triangulation. Using purposive sampling and simple random sampling, questionnaires and interview guides were used for data collection. 338 respondents participated in the study. SPSS was used for analyzing Quantitative data, and Pearson’s product-moment correlation coefficient was employed in testing the hypothesis. Primary data was collected using self – self-administered questionnaires, focused group discussions, observational checklists, and documentary reviews to obtain in-depth results.  Results The results showed pharmacotherapy intervention and perceived sobriety r=0.723, which was positive with probability value p=0.000 < a=0.01 suggesting a significant correlation. Therefore, the stated Null Hypothesis was rejected which implies that pharmacotherapy intervention significantly positively correlates with perceived sobriety. “Most patients respond to Pharmacotherapy intervention, it controls withdrawal effects, alcohol addicts are given treatment (detoxification) at the initial phase, later are encouraged to attend group and individual counseling sessions to manage psychological challenges and social issues that may have led them into the use of alcohol”.  Conclusion pharmacotherapy intervention has a significant positive correlation with perceived sobriety. Therefore, a change in pharmacotherapy positively affects perceived sobriety.  Recommendation The study recommended that District Health Officers should encourage psychiatric doctors and nurses to understand that, one single intervention (pharmacotherapy) cannot facilitate long-term recovery but rather integrate with other recovery interventions

Prosocial Spending and Well-Being: Cross-Cultural Evidence for a Psychological Universal

This research provides the first support for a possible psychological universal: human beings around the world derive emotional benefits from using their financial resources to help others (prosocial spending). Analyzing survey data from 136 countries, we show that prosocial spending is consistently associated with greater happiness. To test for causality, we conduct experiments within two very different countries (Canada and Uganda) and show that spending money on others has a consistent, causal impact on happiness. In contrast to traditional economic thought—which places self-interest as the guiding principle of human motivation—our findings suggest that the reward experienced from helping others may be deeply ingrained in human nature, emerging in diverse cultural and economic contexts.

Understanding and predicting students' dishonesty: development of a measure of dishonest and unreliable behaviours

In this paper we present findings from a study that was designed, based on a cheating experiment conducted to a sample of 390 university students in an examination situation. We discuss the development of a local (Ugandan) measure of attitudes towards honesty, which can be used for assessing aspects of dishonest and unreliable behaviour among individuals. We hypothesised that individuals with favourable attitudes toward theft and other forms of dishonesty are more likely to be involved in dishonest acts. Results show that the measure that we developed is a valid predictor of a person's level of honesty and has significant correlations with other well known and validated measures of such personality profiles. Secondly, we hypothesised that individuals with low levels of socialisation, as measured by Gough's 1987 revised socialisation scale, or a history of delinquency, are more likely to be involved in dishonesty. The findings indicate substantial evidence for the above two relationships. By using the results obtained from the study, it is possible to identify items from the local honesty scale that can be used to identify more honest people and less honest ones. Keywords: academic honesty, cheating, honesty, socialisationJournal of Psychology in Africa 2005, 15(1): 81–8

Prosocial spending and well-Being: Cross-cultural evidence for a psychological universal

This research provides the first support for a possible psychological universal: Human beings around the world derive emotional benefits from using their financial resources to help others (prosocial spending). In Study 1, survey data from 136 countries were examined and showed that prosocial spending is associated with greater happiness around the world, in poor and rich countries alike. To test for causality, in Studies 2a and 2b, we used experimental methodology, demonstrating that recalling a past instance of prosocial spending has a causal impact on happiness across countries that differ greatly in terms of wealth (Canada, Uganda, and India). Finally, in Study 3, participants in Canada and South Africa randomly assigned to buy items for charity reported higher levels of positive affect than participants assigned to buy the same items for themselves, even when this prosocial spending did not provide an opportunity to build or strengthen social ties. Our findings suggest that the reward experienced from helping others may be deeply ingrained in human nature, emerging in diverse cultural and economic contexts

Prosocial Spending and Well-Being:Cross-Cultural Evidence for a Psychological Universal

<p>This research provides the first support for a possible psychological universal: Human beings around the world derive emotional benefits from using their financial resources to help others (prosocial spending). In Study 1, survey data from 136 countries were examined and showed that prosocial spending is associated with greater happiness around the world, in poor and rich countries alike. To test for causality, in Studies 2a and 2b, we used experimental methodology, demonstrating that recalling a past instance of prosocial spending has a causal impact on happiness across countries that differ greatly in terms of wealth (Canada, Uganda, and India). Finally, in Study 3, participants in Canada and South Africa randomly assigned to buy items for charity reported higher levels of positive affect than participants assigned to buy the same items for themselves, even when this prosocial spending did not provide an opportunity to build or strengthen social ties. Our findings suggest that the reward experienced from helping others may be deeply ingrained in human nature, emerging in diverse cultural and economic contexts.</p>

Prosocial spending and wellbeing: cross-cultural evidence for a psychological universal‟ NBER Working Paper 16415. Cambridge: National Bureau of Economic Research.

This research provides the first support for a possible psychological universal: Human beings around the world derive emotional benefits from using their financial resources to help others (prosocial spending). In Study 1, survey data from 136 countries were examined and showed that prosocial spending is associated with greater happiness around the world, in poor and rich countries alike. To test for causality, in Studies 2a and 2b, we used experimental methodology, demonstrating that recalling a past instance of prosocial spending has a causal impact on happiness across countries that differ greatly in terms of wealth (Canada, Uganda, and India). Finally, in Study 3, participants in Canada and South Africa randomly assigned to buy items for charity reported higher levels of positive affect than participants assigned to buy the same items for themselves, even when this prosocial spending did not provide an opportunity to build or strengthen social ties. Our findings suggest that the reward experienced from helping others may be deeply ingrained in human nature, emerging in diverse cultural and economic contexts

The impact of microfinance on household livelihoods: Evidence from rural Eritrea

This study examined the impact of microfinance on the livelihoods of households in rural Eritrea. It specifically sought to find out whether the Saving and Microcredit Programme (SMCP), introduced by the Eritrean Government in 1996 to support the poorest of the poor, had a significant impact on the livelihood of its clients. The study employed logistic regression and propensity score matching estimation techniques. The findings reveal that households that participated in the SMCP had reported significantly higher profits from their microenterprises, had more valuable assets, higher consumption expenditure, significantly improved nutrition and increased savings. The findings have important social and economic policy implications regarding the role of finance in rural development in an African context