ABSTRACT
@#Introduction: Childhood abuse is a worrisome societal issue as it becomes largely prevalent worldwide, with associated mental and behavioural consequences on the victims. Cases of child violence, mostly owing to its heavy stigma, are seldom recorded. This study aims to investigate the prevalence of multi-type childhood abuse (physical, emotional, sexual abuse, and neglect), its relation to victims’ psychological development and coping strategies utilized by them. Methods: The study was conducted on 121 participants from Perdana University using self-administered questionnaire. Results: Emotional abuse was a recurrent form of abuse (43.8%) experienced by young adults in Perdana University, followed by physical abuse (15.7%), neglect (6.6%) and sexual abuse (2.5%). Hence, leading to significant negative effects on the victims’ psychological status. Majority of the participants had a Normal scale of Depression, Anxiety and Stress Scale (DASS), followed by a Moderate scale of DASS. Neglect and maltreatment predominantly contributed to participants’ depression (rs=0.313), anxiety (rs=0.378) and stress (rs=0.382) levels. Abused victims commonly utilized the method of disengagement, specifically emotion-focused disengagement coping strategy (99.2%). Conclusion: Screening of students’ mental health pre-enrolment and throughout years of university studies aids in early intervention and support such as counselling services to alleviate stress and develop positive coping skills. Execution of mentorship programmes fosters quality relationships and fashions comfortability for students to disclose any psychological trauma or abuse experience, plus requires regular revision to strengthen its implementation. Effective policies should be developed and enforced by child protection bodies and law enforcement agencies to impede childhood abuse and its influence among young adults.
ABSTRACT
Objective: To study the effectiveness of mandala-coloring as a therapeutic intervention for reducing anxiety in university students
Study Design: Quasi experimental study
Place and Duration of Study: International Islamic University Islamabad, from Feb to Jun 2016
Material and Methods: A sample of 100 university students of 13-18 years of education was taken [men=50, women=50] with the age range of 18 to 34 years. Convenience sampling technique was used. A pretest-posttest design was adopted in which State-Trait Anxiety Inventory was administered to measure the levels of State Anxiety and Trait Anxiety before and after coloring a pre-drawn mandala
Results: Results were analyzed using t-test. They indicated that there was a significant difference in the levels of State and Trait Anxieties in the pretest and posttest measures in both men and women
Conclusion: Using mandala-coloring as a therapeutic intervention can reduce State Anxiety and Trait Anxiety in university students