Scientific Program

Day 1 :

Keynote Forum

Neha Sharma

Doctor, Warwick Research Services, UK

Keynote: Stress, Mental Health and Impact of Spiritual Practices: Results from Case Control Study

Time : 10:00 - 10:40

Biography:

Neha Sharma is the director of Warwick Research Services, UK and   She is also Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the International Research Initiative on India, China, Europe and Africa. Dr. Sharma has over 90 research articles and has been invited to speak at numerous national and international conferences. She has received many honors and awards including young scientist award and scientific excellence award. Dr Sharma has an international reputation in the field of the health and social care developing resources and practice for better health care.

Abstract:

Due to academic stress and fear of failure in examination, every day 6.23 Indian students commit suicide; raising concerns on the wellbeing of young people. Previous studies have found significant anxiety, distress, depression, worn outs and severe impact of psychological factors on the performances of student. There is accumulating evidence that spirituality are important correlates of mental health in adult populations. The associations between spirituality and mental health in adolescent populations had been eavaluated in the present study.

This study used convenience sampling to recruit adolescents  (N=133)  , ages 13 to 17, with and without spiritual involvement from three coaching centres in Rajasthan, India. Adolescents involved in practice with Advaita group were studied as cases compared with children without spiritual practices as control. In teaching the universal philosophy of Oneness (Advaita), children were led to understand Hindu culture. In Advaita Group, topics such as peer pressure, relationships, higher education and choice of career are addressed through discussion, debate and interactive workshops and the principles enshrined within Hinduism. A validated short-form of the Depression Anxiety Stress Scales (DASS-21), and  Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ) were self-administered in both groups.

Adolescents from Vedanta group reported less stress, anxiety and depression compared to control (p=0.000). Primary caregivers reported similar results. They reported more satisfaction with the behaviours of adolescents.  Control group  were more impaired on different SDQ scales and were more emotionally affected than vedanta group. 

Conclusion: Belief and practicing spiritual practices described in Vedanta philosophy is positively associated with well-being and distress; including parental satisfaction with their behaviour and performance .  Study design was one of the major limitations of the study but and several implications and promising directions for further research on religion and health/well-being are identified.

  • Psychology/Personality and Social Psychology/Perspectives of Psychology/Treatment and Recovery/

Session Introduction

Misla Nasarin K. P

Farook College, Kerala

Title: Perception of Faith Healing among Clients; a Qualitative Perspective
Speaker
Biography:

M. Sc. Student, Department of Psychology, Farook College (Affiliated to University of Calicut), Kerala

Abstract:

The present study aims to understand the perception of faith healing among clients. The study focused on how the clients perceive the faith healing. Further focused on religiosity and faith healing. Also, to understand placebo effect and faith healing among participants. The participant of the present study consists of 25 females’ clients from Kannur district of Kerala (ages are in between 22 and 60), who were consulted the faith healer at least once. Semi Structured Interview Schedule and Structured Questionnaire were administered to the participants, which are prepared by the researchers. Content analysis and descriptive frequency results are inferred that the client perceive, faith healing as a successful treatment method and points, they believed that the faith healers have a spiritual power and have a close contact with the God. The results also revealed that faith healing mainly works on placebo effect.

Inferences of study can be applied, to aware the society about the unscientific side of faith healing, about the medical care system and medical ethics, helpful to make policies against unscientific practices and, to ensure the rights of the citizens for getting appropriate treatment methods on both physical and mental illness.

Brahmaparananda Saraswati

Arsha Vidya Tirtha, India

Title: Advaita Vedanta: A model of spiritual development and psychological well-being
Speaker
Biography:

Swami Brahmaparananda Saraswati has been mentor and leader in Arshavidya Tirtha, Jaipur, India. He has been working for two decades to combine Indian spirituality with modern world. Social reform and spreading the true sense of Indian spirituality, religion and ethics given a prominent place in his aims and he specific activiities for elderly, children and families. He has been co-authored in international collaborative research studies and published several books.

 

Abstract:

Although religion and spirituality typically incorporate significant affective and relational components, in Advaita vedanta these components been examined both systematically and empirically. In the present paper, spiritual teachings of Advaita Vedanta and aims to identify and amplify the implicit psychology that is embedded in the texts of the tradition in explored.

Advaita Vedanta, is a school of Indian philosophy and tradition teaching tradition to spiritual realization. Advaita emphasizes the true nature of the human individual is a non-dual Self (Atman) which is manifestations of one undivided universal Self (brahman). This model for the structure and function of the human psyche is the individual Jiva; which in a state of unawareness and ignorance, see "I-ness", then act out of impulse, anger, fears, confusion, anxiety, passions, and a sense of ego. These ignorance leads to bondage caused by inborn ignorance (avidyā) of this fact, and liberation (mokṣa) is what takes place when a person gains knowledge of this truth.
 
Present study uses a methodology to study bondage and liberation through different levels of realities, three state of consciousness and practices of self-realization. Vedanta, brings to lung an understanding of the Vedantic vision of the Self, which extends his psychological understanding of the psyche to include the Self as revealed in the Upanisads (Vedanta).
 

NAHLA NIHMATH M.S

Santhula Trust Hospital, India

Title: EFFECT OF PERCEIVED SOCIAL SUPPORT AND REJECTION SENSITIVITY ON PERSONALITY AMONG TRANSGENDERS
Speaker
Biography:

MSc.Psychology, Trained from Santhula Trust Hospital, Koothatukulam as an intern, Participated in International Post conference workshop in Solution Focused couple therapy.

Abstract:

The purpose of research was to find out the effect of perceived social support and rejection sensitivity on personality among transgenders. The study was conducted in 30 transgenders from Thrissur and Malappuram districts of Kerala. The hypotheses were set to find out the significance difference and correlation between perceived social support (IV) and rejection sensitivity (IV) and personality (DV). Data were collected using perceived social support scale (Manikandan, 2015), rejection sensitivity questionnaire adult version (Berenson, 2009) and NEO FFI-3 questionnaire (Costa and McCrae, 2005).. Independent sample t-test, Pearson correlation coefficient and regression were used for statistical analysis. The result indicates that there is significant age difference in neuroticism. And also there exists correlation between perceived social support, rejection sensitivity, and dimensions of personality.

Farah Haris

Farook College (Affiliated to University of Calicut), Kerala

Title: Perception of Faith Healing among Clients; a Qualitative Perspective
Speaker
Biography:

Master of Science in Applied Psychology, Pondicherry Uniersity & Assistant Professor, Department of Psychology, Farook College (Affiliated to University of Calicut), Kerala.

Abstract:

The present study aims to understand the perception of faith healing among clients. The study focused on how the clients perceive the faith healing. Further focused on religiosity and faith healing. Also, to understand placebo effect and faith healing among participants. The participant of the present study consists of 25 females clients from Kannur district of Kerala (ages are in between 22 and 60), who were consulted the faith healer at least once. Semi Structured Interview Schedule and Structured Questionnaire were administered to the participants, which are prepared by the researchers. Content analysis and descriptive frequency results are inferred that the client perceive, faith healing as a successful treatment method and points, they believed that the faith healers have a spiritual power and have a close contact with the God. The results also revealed that faith healing mainly works on placebo effect. Inferences of study can be applied, to aware the society about the unscientific side of faith healing, about the medical care system and medical ethics, helpful to make policies against unscientific practices and also, to ensure the rights of the citizens for getting appropriate treatment methods on both physical and mental illnesses.

 

Kehinde Shakiru Salami

Tai Solarin University, Nigeria

Title: Psychology of Brain and Behaviors
Speaker
Biography:

The author is a graduate of industrial chemistry in Tai Solarin University of Education in Ogun State Nigeria and also master’s degree in psychology. He serves as education trainer since graduate and also quality Control officer in one of industrial company in Oyo State Nigeria. Due to perfectly as Educator, I have presented paper on seminars for production of House material and standard practical on it. Such papers include Paint production; paper production, Soap Production, chalk and maker production. Also organize free talk among student every season on way and method of learning fast and positive attitude towards their teachers

 

Abstract:

The purpose of this review is to provide an overview of attention as it has been studied in the field of psychology. Broad themes in terms of theory are highlighted, focusing on concepts of attentional resources and attentional effort. Psychological states such as thoughts and feelings are real. Brain states are real. The problem is that the two are not real in the same way, creating the mind—brain correspondence problem.

In this article, I present a possible solution to this problem that involves two suggestions. First, complex psychological states such as emotion and cognition can be thought of as constructed events that can be causally reduced to a set of more basic, psychologically primitive ingredients that are more clearly respected by the brain. Second, complex psychological categories like emotion and cognition are the phenomena that require explanation in psychology, and, therefore, they cannot be abandoned by science. Describing the content and structure of these categories is a necessary and valuable scientific activity.

Cognitive neuroscience is motivated by the precept that a discoverable correspondence exists between mental states and brain states. This precept seems to be supported by remarkable observations and conclusions derived from event-related potentials and functional imaging with humans and neurophysiology behaviour.

Besides, Brain plasticity refers to the brain's ability to change structure and function. Experience is a major stimulant of brain plasticity in animal species as diverse as insects and humans. It is now clear that experience produces multiple, dissociable changes in the brain including increases in dendritic length, increases (or decreases) in spine density, synapse formation, increased glial activity, and altered metabolic activity. These anatomical changes are correlated with behavioral differences between subjects with and without the changes. Experience-dependent changes in neurons are affected by various factors including aging, gonadal hormones, trophic factors, stress, and brain pathology. We discuss the important role that changes in dendritic arborization play in brain plasticity and behavior, and we consider these changes in the context of changing intrinsic circuitry of the cortex in processes such as learning.

 

Nadia Shafique

Foundation University Islamabad, Pakistan

Title: Moderating Effect of Duration of Epilepsy on The Relationship Between Child Dysfunctional Modes and Hostility
Speaker
Biography:

Nadia Shafique has recently completed her PhD in Psychology from International Islamic University Islamabad, Pakistan. She is working as Assistant Prof at Foundation University Islamabad. She has three publications and now supervising research students as well. Present abstract is based on her PhD dissertation. 

Abstract:

The current study aimed at investing in the moderating role of duration of epilepsy on the relationship between dysfunctional child modes and hostility. A purposive sample of 108 people with epilepsy with a mean age (M=24.91, SD=7.42) in Pakistan. The respondents completed the Schema Mode Inventory and subscale of Hostility from SCL-90, also the demographic and clinical variables were taken from the semi-structured interview. Findings revealed that duration of epilepsy significantly moderated the relationship between dysfunctional child modes and hostility. The mod graph showed that the hostility increases in the acute stage of epilepsy. Moreover, people with epilepsy from low-socio-economic status significantly utilized the angry, impulsive, enraged, and undisciplined child modes. This study meaningfully highlights the relationship of epilepsy and aggression among the individuals of epilepsy.