Relationship between adolescents' health beliefs and health behavior

This study aims to determine the relationship between Health Behavior and Health Locus of Control among 1270 adolescents (Boys N = 635 and Girls = 635) who were drawn from Bangalore rural and urban district government high schools (mean age 13.76 years). Methodology: The Global School based Health survey (WHO, 2004) and Multidimensional Health Locus of Control by Wallston and Wallston, questionnaires were used to assess health locus of control and health behavior respectively. The data obtained was subjected to statistical analysis using Pearson’s product moment correlation methods to examine the relationship between these variables. Results and Interpretation: Findings revealed that total health behavior score of adolescents is significantly correlated with ‘internal’ and ‘powerful others’ dimensions of health locus of control. Further, the ‘chance factor’ of health locus of control did not show any significant relationship with the total health behavior score. From this it can be inferred that adolescents with high inclinations towards ‘internal health locus of control’ and ‘powerful others’ have healthier dimensions of positive behaviors. Findings have also revealed that health behavior is not significantly correlated with the beliefs that ‘health is a function of chance/luck’

The Use of Expressive Arts as Intervention for Children

Several scientific research have consistently proven that art has physical, cognitive, psychological, and social benefits for children and these benefits increased when art was applied in a therapeutic way (Cochran, 1996; Malchiodi, 1998; 2005; Schirrmacher, 2006; Nadkarni & Leonard, 2007) which has resulted in the development and popularity of expressive art therapies by helping professions. The present study aims at analyzing the knowledge, utilization, and definition of art and art in therapy among the professionals involved with HIV infected children. A checklist of 52-item survey of Likert –Scale and Yes – No format questions designed by Nicole L. Brogdon, 2011 was used. The findings revealed that helping professional?s are generally knowledgeable about the benefits of arts for children. The findings also illustrate a significant lacking in education about art therapy and also lack of exposure to the practical applications of art therapy within their educational experienc

Early Childhood Education-Book Review

Early Childhood Education-Book Revie

Behavioural Risk Factors, Hypertension Knowledge, and Hypertension in Rural India

Hypertension is an important health problem in India. The emergence of hypertension and other cardiovascular diseases are strongly related to various risk factors. Knowledge about hypertension and related risk factors is often stressed on their utility in prevention and management of the disease. Still, there is a poor understanding about associated behavioural risk factors of hypertension and importance of knowledge in adopting health-promoting behaviours and controlling hypertension among rural areas of India. This study aimed at assessing the association of behavioural risk factors with hypertension knowledge and hypertension among rural population. The present study focused on a south-western state of India from which a taluk with one of the lowest socioeconomic ratings was selected. A total of 263 participants were selected by using a multistage random sampling technique. Data were collected by in-person interview using behavioural risk factors questionnaire, hypertension knowledge questionnaire, and physical measurement. Data were analysed using descriptive statistics, chi square, Pearson correlation and binary logistic regression. Findings revealed that there is no significant relationship between risk factors index and knowledge of hypertension. It was also observed that factors such as smoking (OR = 0.29; CI: 090–0.961), fruit and vegetable consumption (OR = 1.32; CI: 1.01–1.74), body mass index (OR = 1.85; CI: 1.21–2.84), and age group (OR = 1.55; CI: 1.14–2.11) were significantly associated with the odds of hypertension. The factors such as smokeless tobacco use, alcohol consumption, physical activity, gender, education, and occupation were not associated with the odds of hypertension. Future research should focus on bringing down the associated risk factors to prevent and control hypertension

Team Building - a Tool for Management

This paper aims at analyzing the present definitions of a team and team building as a process. Existing models and research conducted on team and team building have been reviewed and evaluated. The tools used for evaluating team effectiveness and team building, approaches towards team roles and the changing views on team building over the years have also been discussed. The paper raises questions on the emphasis on interpersonal communication in teams in the present world scenario and the need to develop specific tools to meet role specific or organisation specific requirements with regard to team building. Finally, this paper also attempts to review the limitations in current research and training in team building and their applications, and suggests alternatives for further research

A Qualitative Comparative Analysis to explore the predictors of individuals’ willingness towards vaccination

The emergence of COVID-19 traumatized individuals from all walks of life and while the demand for vaccines increased exponentially, the authorities seem to encounter greater challenges on their road to create herd immunity. Governments initiated numerous campaigns to influence individuals to opt for vaccination and India being a diverse country makes it difficult to understand the motivating factors for getting COVID-19 vaccination.The study aimed to explore the predictors of individuals’ willingness to get vaccinated using Qualitative Comparative Analysis (QCA). After screening using the vaccine hesitancy scale, a semi-structured interview was conducted among 30 respondents from India. Crisp Set QCA was utilized to analyse the data which lead to nine conditions.A solution combination of seven conditions showed a consistency of 1 and coverage of 0.6. They included knowledge about vaccines, perceived severity of the COVID-19 virus, family and peer influence, media and health department's influence, a sense of social responsibility, trust in the authorities and vaccine efficacy.This study contributes to the relevance of QCA's use in psychological research, especially to identify predictors of willingness to immunize. The findings of this study would help in designing appropriate interventions to enhance willingness to get vaccinated

What Contributes to COVID-19 Vaccine Hesitancy? A Systematic Review of the Psychological Factors Associated with COVID-19 Vaccine Hesitancy

Vaccine hesitancy plays a crucial role in worldwide pandemic-control efforts. The multifaceted nature of vaccine hesitancy entails many psychological factors that are widely discussed in the literature, although few studies specifically compile these factors. Thus, this systematic review aims to synthesize the psychological factors contributing to vaccine hesitancy. As per the PRISMA (preferred reporting items for systematic reviews and meta-analyses) guidelines, a systematic search was conducted on electronic databases PubMed, Scopus, Science Direct, PsycNET, and Web of Science, and a manual search was conducted on Google Scholar. Out of the 2289 articles obtained, 79 studies that met the inclusion criteria were deemed eligible for the review. The findings highlight appraisals of the COVID-19 pandemic, vaccine safety and side effects, vaccine confidence/trust, trust in government and healthcare professionals, scepticism around vaccine production, conspiracy beliefs, emotions, and information and knowledge about the vaccine as the major psychological factors contributing to vaccine hesitancy. Concerningly, misinformation on COVID-19 vaccination spread through social media platforms, increasing vaccine hesitancy. Recommendations for government authorities, healthcare professionals, and implications for future research are also outlined

Influence of decision-making styles and affective styles on academic procrastination among students

AbstractAcademic procrastination is one of the main problems students encounter during studying. It affects their mental health, academic performance, and even everyday activities. A lack of time management was once thought to be the cause of procrastination. Procrastination, however, has been linked to mood control, according to recent studies. Decision-making is also a factor that is influenced by emotion or a person’s affect. The present study aims to find whether decision-making and affective styles influence academic procrastination among Indian students. The participants (N = 211) who are currently studying any discipline in a regular mode and who are between the ages of 17 to 30 years (mean = 21.10 & SD = 2.168) were selected using purposive sampling, and data was collected online using Academic Procrastination Scale, General Decision-Making Style Instrument and Affective Style Questionnaire. Data were analyzed using Pearson correlation, along with multiple regression analysis. Results found a significant inverse correlation between rational decision-making and academic procrastination and a weak inverse correlation between adjusting affective style and academic procrastination. A significant positive correlation between avoidant decision-making and academic procrastination was also found. Through regression analysis avoidance, decision-making has been found as a positive predictor of academic procrastination along with rational decision-making, and spontaneous decision-making as negative predictors. No significant correlations were found for academic procrastination with intuitive, dependent, spontaneous, concealing, and tolerating styles. The current results contribute to the existing literature on academic procrastination and the development of effective strategies to reduce academic procrastination by managing unhealthy decision-making styles

Forest plot of meta-analysis of time since death*PTG among persons bereaved from cancer.

Note. CI = Confidence Interval; I2 = I2 statistic for measuring heterogeneity.</p

Results of risk of bias assessment for cohort studies using JBI checklist for cohort Studies.

Results of risk of bias assessment for cohort studies using JBI checklist for cohort Studies.</p