Listen to the heart or mind first? Examining sequential coping mechanisms among Indians during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The present study examines the mediating role of emotion-focused and problem-focused coping between stress and psychological well-being during the COVID-19 pandemic. The sample comprised 501 (312 women and 184 men aged between 18 and 42) Indians who experienced the first-ever continued lockdown in India during the COVID-19 pandemic. The results of this study confirmed the presence of perceived stress due to the lockdown and pandemic among participants. Furthermore, perceived stress, coping including emotion-focused and problem-focused, and psychological well-being were found to be interrelated. The serial mediation analysis revealed that participants dealt with stress by choosing emotion-focused coping first as an immediate resort. After a reappraisal of stress-inducing situations, they used problem-focused coping, and this sequence of constant coping mechanisms helped maintain their psychological well-being. The findings of this study can be applied to develop strategies for people's mental health by public health organizations and health professionals.

Aging, sexual intimacy, and challenges in contemporary India: A qualitative study.

An individual's life is shaped by age norms practiced in a particular society. In most societies, there is a deadline for every life event. Sexual intimacy is an essential part of every individual. However, sexual intimacy seems appropriate for young individuals, and middle-aged and older are considered asexual. Those who share sexual intimacy at a later age have to face the consequences for this age-inappropriate behavior in society. This study analyses "Badhaai Ho" film to explore the consequences of sharing sexual intimacy by middle-aged heterosexual couples in their 50s as it is forbidden by prevalent social norms. This study also explores the role of family in dealing with the repercussions of actions against the prescribed social norms. Thematic analysis suggests that society has a predefined age-bound box for individuals with different age categories. The middle-aged couple suffers various consequences for breaking the prescribed age-bound box. The role of the family is found to be crucial in mending the box by replacing it with an updated version. There are also gender differences in attitude toward sexual intimacy. Implications of this study can be utilized to explore the pathway of social change in existing social (age) norms in any society.

Resilience in the lives of sexual minority women dealing with twofold peril in India.

Using a model of transactional resilience, this study examined the development of resilience in relation to stressors experienced by sexual minority women throughout the life course. Twenty-five urban women were interviewed about their experiences related to gender and sexuality in Indian society. Thematic analysis was used to analyse the data. Findings showed that women experienced implicit and explicit forms of sexism and heterosexism, making it difficult to survive in a patriarchal and heteronormative society. Several resilience factors were identified reflected in women's efforts to deal with stressors to maintain and create support. Positive characteristics and smart strategies helped participants survive stressful events and maintain healthy relations with others. They also helped them by creating a safe and positive social environment. Findings point to the need to better understand the resilience process among similar populations of women in societies like India, where patriarchy and unequal opportunities affect wellbeing and quality of life.

Association of eNOS (G894T, rs1799983) and KCNJ11 (E23K, rs5219) gene polymorphism with coronary artery disease in North Indian population.

BACKGROUND: Endothelial nitric oxide synthase (eNOS) and potassium voltage-gated channel subfamily J member 11 (KCNJ11) could be the candidate genes for coronary artery disease (CAD). This study investigated the relationship of the eNOS (rs1799983) and KCNJ11 (rs5219) polymorphisms with the presence and severity of CAD in the North Indian population. METHODS: This study included 300 subjects, 150 CAD cases and 150 healthy controls. Single nucleotide polymorphism was evaluated by Polymerase chain reaction and Restriction fragment length polymorphism (PCR-RFLP). Analysis was performed by SPSS (version 21.0). RESULTS: We observed that KK genotype of KCNJ11E23K (rs5219) polymorphism (P=0.0001) genotypes and K allele (P=0.0001) was found to be a positive risk factor and strongly associated with CAD. In the case of eNOSG894T (rs1799983) there was no association found with CAD. CONCLUSION: These results illustrate the probability of associations between SNPs and CAD although specific genetic polymorphisms affecting ion channel function and expression have still to be clarified by further investigations involving larger cohorts.

Exploring Factors Behind Offline and Online Selfie Popularity Among Youth in India.

"The Selfie Culture," practiced globally, is gaining popularity with each passing day. Owing to its ubiquitous fame across the globe, it becomes essential to inquire the grounds for such worldwide recognition. In few years, it also became the center of attraction among researchers and previous studies had recognized two important aspects of selfie: first, why is selfie posting on social media is increasing day by day and second, who choose to involve more frequently in selfie posting behavior on social media? However, these studies focused only on its online popularity on various social media platforms but did not pay much attention on its offline popularity among selfie takers. In addition to this, the multifaceted sides of selfie which may make it different from other pictures and might also play an important role in its popularity in both offline and online platforms remained unexplored. The present study addressed this gap and explored two important aspects of selfie related behavior, First, it emphasized the significance of understanding the user's conception of selfie and second, it explored the determining factors behind both offline (taking) and online (posting) modes of the practice. 60 college going students (44 females and 16 males) living in Delhi, India participated in the study. Semi-structured interviews were conducted and qualitative thematic analysis was used to cull out the themes. The results showed five factors (looks good, keeping memories, mood driven, mirroring the self and posting on social media) behind selfie offline (taking) involvement. Further, the online (posting) selfie popularity had been driven by three factors (social approval, being the best among the rest, to maintain online presence). Participants' popularity of selfie usage in both offline and online modes advocates the need to explore the offline selfie involvement of selfie takers in future research. The study also extended the existing conceptualization of selfie phenomenon which could help to unravel its wide popularity among its users.