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Title Abstract Action(s)
PERCEIVED WORKPLACE INCIVILITY AND INTERPERSONAL CONFLICT AMONG WORKING ADULTS: ROLE Of COGNITIVE EMOTION REGULATION
UNEMPLOYMENT STRESS AND SUICIDAL IDEATION AMONG ADULTS: ROLE OF COGNITIVE APPRAISAL
PATHS TO POST-TRAUMATIC GROWTH: AN INTERPRETATIVE PHENOMENOLOGICAL ANALYSIS OF REACTIONS AND STRATEGIES OF GRIEVED PARENTS
ROLE OF ICT SELF-EFFICACY AND SELF-DIRECTED LEARNING IN E-LEARNING READINESS AND STUDENT ENGAGEMENT
ROLE OF RELIGIOUS VALUES ON WORK ETHICS AND WELLBEING AMONG WORKING ADULTS
INVESTIGATING THE ROLE OF EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE IN RELATION OF WORK OVERLOAD AND MULTITASKING WITH CONFLICT MANAGEMENT STYLES OF WORKING WOMEN
ROLE OF EMOTION REGULATION AND DRUG CARVING TRIGGERS IN PREDICTING RELAPSE PREVENTION
EXPLORING INDIGENOUS FACTORS ASSOCIATED WITH RECOVERY OF DRUG ADDICTS: A GROUNDED THEORY STUDY Ever increasing prevalence of drug use and addiction has always been a daunting challenge for individuals, societies and states. To mitigate this menace, policy level strategic interventions to curtail the demand and supply networks of drugs prove to have little effect as the statistic of incidence of drug use shows an upward trend over the past decades. Zooming into the state of affairs regarding drug addiction in Pakistan, the picture does not appear any different rather lack of resources, especially for prevention and treatment of drug use, adds to the gravity of the sorry plight. Mostly, run of the mill treatment programs are adopted in the privately run treatment/rehabilitation centers in their residential treatment programs for drug addiction which are unable to improve the relapse rate lying at 90% in Pakistan. Realizing the dearth of directional insights embedded in Pakistani culture and environment for the drug addiction treatment, the current study aims at exploring the indigenous factors associated with the sustainable recovery from the addiction on part of individuals. Digging deep into the phenomenon with a multi-angled approach, formation of a holistic body of insights about drug addiction relapse and recovery is the key objective of this Qualitative Study. Based on a Constructivist Grounded Theory Methodology, a total 40 semi-structured interviews were conducted from 10 recovering persons, 10 relapsed person and 10 chief caregivers of each set of recovering and relapsed persons. Out 20 recovering and relapsed persons, 7 were within age of 18-25, 10 were within 26-35 years of age and 3 respondents were over 35 years of age. Their respective 20 chief caregivers included their parents, siblings, spouses and case managers. Furthermore, 2 Focus Group Discussions (FGDs) were conducted having 4 participants i.e. Psychiatrists, Psychologists, Psychotherapists and Case Manager hailing from Drug Rehab Centers in each group. The digitally recorded interviews were transcribed/translated and further analyzed in Nvivo – Windows. Following the processes of Open, Axial and Selective Coding, five core categories of Familial, Personal, Socio-cultural, Psycho-emotive and Treatment Factors emerged to form the theoretical framework of the substantive grounded theory titled as Perils of and Pathways to Addiction Recovery. The theory connects various dimensions of the causal factors and recovery-assuring remedial measures in a holistic framework. This framework serves as a unique and first of its kind indigenously developed anthology of mutually coherent directional insights for developing or augmenting initiatives ranging from policy interventions to treatment programs. The substantive theory also reveals a number of factors stemming from peculiar characteristics of Pakistani society which can be attributed as protective factors or inhibitors of recovery process. Identification of the contributing factors for the efficacy of different treatment approaches and practices in residential treatment programs is also a distinct outcome of the current study. The assimilated five factor theoretical model is the result of a high-resolution data driven insights collected from all possible stakeholders of the eco system of falling prey to addiction and recovering from this menace. Salient contributions of the emerged grounded theory, implications of the findings, suggestions for the future researches and limitations of the current study have also been discussed at length.
Effectiveness of "Fun FRIENDS” Program in Promoting Social Emotional Competence Among Pakistani School Children Social emotional competence (SEC) refers to the broad range of social, emotional, and behavioral competencies in children. Previous research evidenced that the development of SEC at an early age can improve children’s overall wellbeing and reduce behavioral problems (social isolation, aggression, conduct, anxiety, academic and substance abuse problems). Globally, social emotional learning programs have become a fundamental component of education in schools. However, in Pakistan, despite the alarming reports of mental health problems in children and recommendations from experts and policy makers, there is limited support for such school-based interventions. The present study examines the effectiveness of a cognitive behavioral intervention program (Fun FRIENDS) in promoting SEC of Pakistani school children aged 4-8. Fun FRIENDS program has established its efficacy both as a prevention and intervention program for children in different Western cultures and has demonstrated short and long-term effects on better SEC. The present research consists of three studies. Study I is designed for translation and adaptation of outcome measures and pilot testing of these assessment tools. A sample of 78 school children participated in the study. The results indicate moderate to good reliability of all outcome measures for Pakistani children. Study II is designed to examine the estimates of behavioral problems in school children. The sample comprised of 473 school children from Islamabad, Pakistan (Mean age = 6.34, SD=.87) from three different grades kindergarten, 1, and 2, respectively. Results showed that 65% children from 4-6 years and 36.2% children from 6-8 years have borderline and clinical levels of internalizing and externalizing behavioral problems respectively. Girls were found to have more externalizing problems, whereas boys had more internalizing problems. SEC were negatively associated with both internalizing and externalizing problems. Study III assessed the effectiveness of Fun FRIENDS program in promoting SEC and reducing behavioral problems in Pakistani school children. Randomized control trial (RCT) with pre and post assessment was conducted with 473 children (4-8 years) enrolled in 15 classes of three grades i.e., kindergarten, one and two respectively from four public schools of Islamabad, Pakistan. Seven classrooms (n=244) were randomly allocated to Fun FRIENDS intervention condition and eight classrooms (n=229) to the control condition. Intervention took place during the first term of the academic year (August-October). Pre and post assessments were collected from the children and teachers. Considering the nested data, the study used MANCOVAs, repeated measure MANOVAs, and multilevel models to examine the effects of an intervention on baseline measures. Findings showed significant positive effect of intervention on SEC and behavioral inhibition. Children who received Fun FRIENDS intervention showed improved emotional knowledge and social emotional competencies. However, the intervention was not found effective in reducing behavioral problems of Pakistani school children. The study’s findings offer preliminary evidence supporting the evidence of Fun FRIENDS program for Pakistani children. Despite limitations, this study provides promising results and suggestions for further scaled up studies with diverse population and protocols across the country. Discussion and implications are suggested for school-based interventions aimed at promoting SEC within cultural context.
HUMAN RESOURCE PRACTICES, JOB EMBEDDEDNESS AND AFFECTIVE COMMITMENT: INVESTIGATING THE ROLE OF WORKPLACE INCIVILITY In the twenty-first century, work commitment and high employee retention have emerged as key organizational challenges of any industry. The present study was conducted to investigate the impact of Human Resource Practices in developing Job Embeddedness and Affective Commitment with the moderating role of Workplace Incivility among workers in corporate sector. Data were collected using purposive convenient sampling technique. Participants (N=394) were employees (age range 20 to 60 years), of four telecommunication organizations (Zong, Telenor, Ufone and Nayatel) located in Rawalpindi, Islamabad. To assess the Job Embeddedness, Affective Commitment and Workplace Incivility along with the practices of HR, Job Embeddedness, Affective Commitment, Workplace Incivility, Autonomy, Feedback, Job Security, and Opportunities for Training and Development scales were used. The trend of relationships among study variables were measured using the analysis of Pearson Correlation. PROCESS MACRO (Hayes, 2013) was used to test the hypothesized relationships. The results obtained revealed that the proposed model for the research was validated as the association of HR practices (Autonomy, Job Security and Opportunities for Training and Development) and Job Embeddedness has a significant relationship with each other. In the current study, employee’s Affective Commitment revealed to be developed by the three HR practices (Autonomy, Job Security and Opportunities for Training and Development) specifically. Current study has also shown that the relation between Job Security and Affective Commitment, Autonomy and Job Embeddedness, Autonomy and Affective Commitment, Opportunities for Training and Development and Job Embeddedness as well as Affective Commitment is buffered by Workplace Incivility. With the implementation of the three HR practices in order to have workers who are more emotionally attached to the workplace, the study results will help companies in meeting the targets successfully. The study has proven that the presence of Workplace Incivility at work moderates the effect of Autonomy and Opportunities for Training and Development in developing Affective Commitment in workers. Study has shown that Workplace Incivility neither strengthens nor weakens the association between HR practices and outcome variable Job Embeddedness. To sum up, the research is of enormous significance for organizations in developing Affective Commitment among their employees through the application of suggested HR practices. For future implications, individuals must look for additional HR practices that may aid Affective Commitment as well Job Embeddedness and contribute in employee retention. Future research should focus on psychological, emotional, spiritual as well physical coping mechanisms that employees can use to control the destructive effects of incivility at work, or may tends to contribute in developing Affective Commitment and Job Embeddedness.
Antecedent and Consequences of Truancy in School Students: An Exploratory Sequential Study This study explored the antecedents and consequences of school truancy among Pakistani school students. It also developed a novel model and a diagnostic instrument for early screening of truant behavior in middle and high school students. A mixed-methods approach was used for this purpose. This study was divided into two phases: (1) the qualitative phase and (2) the quantitative phase. In the qualitative phase, ten focus group discussions with eighty-one truant students were conducted in Faisalabad, Pakistan. The thematic analysis explored many indigenous psychosocial factors, including personal, school, family, and environmental factors triggering truancy. The study also explored different indigenous psychosocial problems, including school, health concerns, and mental health problems developed by school-truant behavior in students. Moreover, this study's findings led to the development of a novel duo-dimensional deviance development model that highlighted the interplay between delinquent behavior and mental health problems in Pakistani high and middle schools. This study concludes that the personal experiences of truant students highlighted multiple indigenous factors that adversely impact or instigate school truancy in school students. The quantitative study involved nine hundred sixty participants (truant students, n = 361; punctual students, n = 599) from different public schools, internet cafes, and community parks in Faisalabad, Pakistan. Exploratory factor analysis (EFA) was used to examine the novel structure of the School Truancy Scale (STS) in school-truant students. EFA analysis explored a distinctive five-factor model, delineating specific factors targeting general school truancy, personal issues-based truancy, teacher-based truancy, social problems-based truancy, and educational or institutional-based truancy. This standard classification enhances the precision of the instrument, providing a comprehensive understanding of the complex nature of school truancy in school settings. The Receiver Operating Characteristic (ROC) curve analysis also revealed that the STS had strong diagnostic ability to differentiate between punctual and truant students. This study highlighted that STS has good reliability and validity and effectively distinguishes between truant and punctual students. This study’s findings highlighted the dire need to develop early psychosocial proactive measures, preventions, and interventions by school practitioners, policymakers, and researchers to address and tackle the school truancy problem and enhance and spread public awareness of how to resolve this serious problem in Pakistani educational settings.