Browsing by Author "Swaran Lata"

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Associated Factors of Suicidal Behavior Among Persons with Physical Disability: A Systematic Review
(SAGE Publications Ltd, 2024) Suneel Kumar; Swaran Lata; Saroj Verma; Anupriya
Background: Suicide is common among persons with physical disabilities as they face several physical, social, psychological, and economic problems. They are at risk for suicidal thoughts, behaviors, and death by suicide. We aimed to systematically review empirically published articles and identify the associated factors of suicidal ideation and suicide attempts in persons with physical disabilities. Methods: A systematic search was carried out on the literature published from January 1, 2000 to January 19, 2023 in PubMed, Cochrane, Web of Science, Google Scholar, Shodh Ganga, and so on. All the synonyms of keywords or MeSH terms for suicidal ideation, suicide attempt, and physical disability were used. Two hundred thirty-six articles were found, and after following inclusion and exclusion criteria, 12 remained. Result: The associated factors of suicidal behavior were disability status (11/12 studies), burdensomeness (8/12 studies), felt stigma (4/12 studies), depressive symptoms (6/12 studies), loneliness (2/12 studies), lack of social and emotional connectedness (2/12 studies), long-term physical or mental disability (2/12 studies), congenital disability (1/12 studies), and aggression (1/12 studies). Conclusion: Timely, evidence-based, low-cost interventions can provide great assistance and address the specific needs of this vulnerable population as they have higher risk for suicidal behavior. © 2024 The Author(s).
HIV/AIDS stigma, perceived social support and mental health problems among HIV/AIDS children: a mediation analysis
(Taylor and Francis Ltd., 2023) Varsha Singh; Anupriya; Shikha Verma; Swaran Lata
Extensive research on HIV/AIDS stigma is conducted on adults, but it cannot be equated with the experiences of children. This makes it obvious to develop an inclusive research on child experience of HIV/AIDS stigma. For that reason, the present study investigates the relationship among HIV/AIDS stigma, perceived social support and mental health problems in HIV/AIDS children. A sample of 90 HIV/AIDS children aged 10–18 years from Moti Lal Nehru Hospital, Allahabad, Uttar Pradesh, India, were recruited. Participants were assessed on HIV/AIDS stigma, perceived social support and mental health problems. Descriptive statistics, correlational and regression analysis and mediation analysis were performed to accomplish the purpose of the study. Correlational analysis makes it evident that perceived social support is prominently negatively correlated with HIV/AIDS stigma (r (88) = −.670, p < 0.01) whereas mental health problems (r (88) = .753, p < 0.01) was significantly positively correlated with HIV/AIDS stigma. Taking hierarchical regression analysis into consideration, it was found that the perceived social support significantly contributed to 33.2% variance in HIV/AIDS stigma and HIV/AIDS stigma contributed to 45.9% variance in mental health problems. Results of the mediation analyses validate the mediating role of HIV/AIDS stigma in the association between perceived social support and mental health problems (β = −0.27, CI = −.33 to −.034, p = .017). These findings contribute to empirical evidence about psychological predictors and the observable consequences of HIV/AIDS-related stigma. © 2022 Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group.
Infertility Stigma, Mental Health, and Illness Cognition among Infertile Women: A Mediation Analysis
(Jaypee Brothers Medical Publishers (P) Ltd, 2025) n. Anupriya; Swaran Lata; Aatika Siddiqui; Rv Singh
Background: Infertility is a global health concern, affecting approximately 17.5% of individuals during their lifetime, with a significant impact on women’s social and mental health, especially in developing countries like India. Aim: The current study was undertaken to assess the relationship between infertility stigma, mental health problems, and illness cognition among women affected by infertility. Materials and methods: A sample of 100 women from the Indira IVF Centre in Varanasi, India, was recruited. Participants were assessed using the Infertility Stigma Scale (ISS), the General Health Questionnaire (GHQ-12), and the Illness Cognition Questionnaire (ICQ). Data analysis included descriptive statistics, Pearson correlation, and mediation analysis using Hayes PROCESS macro. Results: The study found high levels of mental health problems, moderate infertility stigma, and illness cognition reflected in high helplessness, low acceptance, and low perceived benefit among participants. Mental health problems are significantly positively correlated with stigma (r = 0.808, p < 0.01) and cognition of helplessness (r = 0.666, p < 0.01), whereas negatively correlated with cognition of acceptance (r = –0.503, p < 0.01) and cognition of perceived benefit (r = –0.254, p < 0.05). Furthermore, infertility stigma is significantly positively correlated with cognition of helplessness (r = 0.690, p < 0.01) and negatively correlated with cognition of acceptance (r = –0.429, p < 0.01) and cognition of perceived benefit (r = –0.245, p < 0.05). Taking mediation analysis into consideration, it was found that infertility stigma mediated the relationship between illness cognitions (helplessness, acceptance, and perceived benefit) and mental health, with significant indirect effects. Conclusion: Infertility stigma significantly exacerbates mental health issues among infertile women, highlighting a critical public health concern. The study underscores that the stigma not only impacts mental health but also mediates the relationship between illness cognitions and mental health. Targeted interventions, such as counseling and public awareness, are crucial to reduce stigma and improve mental health. Additionally, interventions aimed at reshaping illness cognitions by fostering acceptance and emphasizing perceived benefits could mitigate the negative impact of infertility stigma on mental health. © The Author(s). 2025 Open Access. This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (https://creativecommons. org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and non-commercial reproduction in any medium, provided you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons license, and indicate if changes were made. The Creative Commons Public Domain Dedication waiver (http://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/) applies to the data made available in this article, unless otherwise stated.
Perceived social support in relation to psychosocial distress and hope among hiv/aids orphans and non-hiv/aids orphans
(Indian Academy of Applied Psychology, 2018) Shikha Verma; Swaran Lata
The present study examined the relationship between Perceived Social Support (PSS), Psychosocial Distress and Hope among HIV/AIDS orphans and non-HIV/AIDS orphans. The sample of the study consisted of 236 orphans, (116 HIV/AIDS orphans and 120 non-HIV/AIDS orphans) living in north Indian orphanages. The mean age of HIV/AIDS orphans was 11.98 years and SD 1.97 years, while the mean age of non-HIV/AIDS orphans was 11.78 years, and SD 1.64 years. The tools employed for the present study were PSS Scale for children, Psychosocial Distress Scale for children and Hope Scale for children. Results indicated that PSS from friends, teachers and family significantly and negatively correlated with psychosocial distress and significantly and positively correlated with hope. Hierarchical regression analysis revealed that PSS from friends and family significantly contributes to variance in psychosocial distress and hope for the HIV/AIDS orphans. PSS plays a protective role in dealing with psychosocial outcomes of HIV/AIDS orphans. Strong perception of support from caretakers, siblings, school teachers, school principal, friends, and others may reduce the deleterious effects of exposure to illness, psychosocial distress and increase hope among HIV/AIDS orphans and non-HIV/AIDS orphans. © Journal of the Indian Academy of Applied Psychology.
Perceived social support of HIV/AIDS orphans: a review
(Routledge, 2015) Shikha Verma; Swaran Lata
HIV/AIDS orphans are a vulnerable and disadvantaged group. The HIV/AIDS orphans’ crisis is an emerging problem of developing societies. Existing research, literature, and findings on perceived social support (PSS) of HIV/AIDS orphans in the world till date have been compiled with the aim of presenting the current status of research, major findings, and gaps in this area. A thorough review of published empirical studies from PubMed, PsycINFO databases, online publications of several organizations, web searches, and several online journals related to PSS of HIV/AIDS orphans have been reviewed. HIV/AIDS orphans from 6 to 18 years, whose either or both parents had died due to HIV/AIDS or were staying with HIV-positive parents were selected for this purpose. Six out of eight studies found low level of PSS in HIV/AIDS orphans and two studies found peer-group intervention very effective to improved PSS in HIV/AIDS orphans. They severely experience negative emotions, behavioral problems, higher levels of psychological difficulties, and poor academic performances due to the reasons like drawn out-of-school, living with an unaffectionate caretaker, inadequate care, child labor, physical and sexual abuse, stigma, and discrimination. The psychological health of HIV/AIDS orphans is at risk, and prevention and intervention efforts are missing for improving their psychological outcomes. The review recommends that a rigorous research needs to be prioritized so that the programs and policymakers that are attempting to work for their well-being may get helpful information to design evidence-based interventions. © 2015 Taylor & Francis.
Proactive Coping, Optimism, and Resilience among Students with Visual Disabilities
(Springer Nature, 2025) Suneel Kumar; Saroj Verma; Swaran Lata
Visual disabilities are when an individual experiences significant impairment in vision that cannot be fully corrected with standard glasses, contact lenses, medication, or surgery. Students with visual disabilities face different kinds of challenges in daily life, so they are more prone to psychological problems. To deal with psychological issues, proactive coping is essential. Based on the above rationale, the following objectives have been formulated: To examine the gender difference in optimism, resilience, and proactive coping, and to explore relationships between optimism, resilience, and proactive coping of students with visual disabilities. One hundred and two participants with visual disabilities, aged 18–30, completed the assessment of optimism, resilience, and proactive coping. Mean, SD, t-test, Pearson correlation, and hierarchical regression were computed to analyse the group difference, associations between optimism, resilience, and proactive coping, and contribution of the predictor variables to explain criterion variable. Findings illustrate men students with visual disabilities received significantly higher scores in optimism, resilience, and proactive coping than their women counterparts, and significant positive correlations were found among resilience, optimism, and proactive coping. Optimism and resilience emerged as significant predictors of proactive coping of students with visual disabilities. The study findings suggest that students with visual disability had moderate proactive coping mechanisms. Resilience and optimism facilitate adaptive coping mechanisms required for improving the psychological and mental well-being of students with visual disabilities. The findings provide valuable insights for educators, counsellors, and policymakers aiming to support the well-being and academic success of students with visual disabilities. © The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2025.
PSYCHO-SOCIAL OUTCOMES OF DISABILITY-RELATED STIGMA AND SOCIAL EXCLUSION AMONG PEOPLE WITH PHYSICAL DISABILITIES: A SYSTEMATIC REVIEW
(Psychological Society of Northern Greece, 2024) Suneel Kumar; Swaran Lata; Saroj Verma
Disability is a broad concept and carries several classifications. Generally, it refers to a condition or impairment that limits a person’s physical, sensory, cognitive, or psychological capacities to such an extent that it interferes with their day-to-day activities and participation in society. This study, based on published articles aimed to illuminate the psychosocial outcomes of disability-related stigma and social exclusion among people with physical disabilities. A systematic search was carried out from January 1st 2001 to January 25th 2024 in various databases, namely PubMed, Scopus, Web of Science, Cochrane Library, Google Scholar, and Random Google Searches. Studies related to psychosocial outcomes of disability-related stigma and social exclusion were located. Seven hundred sixteen articles were found, and after applying inclusion and exclusion criteria, fifteen studies remained. Psychosocial outcomes of disability-related stigma and social exclusion were psychological outcomes such as mental health issues, low self-esteem, social outcomes such as discrimination, diminished quality of life, social isolation, economic outcomes, and academic outcomes. Disability-related stigma and social exclusion significantly impact the psychological and social well-being of individuals with physical disabilities, leading to adverse psychological outcomes (reduced self-esteem), social outcomes (reduced social support and increased social isolation), academic and economic outcomes (poor academic performance, low education, and lake of job) that facilitate the diminished quality of life. © Copyright: The Author(s). All articles are licensed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (CC-BY 4.0 ).