Glimpses of NIP Newsletter

Since 1982 the Institute has been publishing a quarterly Newsletter reporting the research work and other academic activities of the Institute. The Newsletter also reports developments taking place in other departments of psychology in different universities of the country.

NIP Celebrates "Women's day" on 9th March, 2010

National Institute of Psychology has organized a get together of all female faculty of Quaid-i-Azam University, Islamabad to celebrate the International Women Day. Every year on 8th March, thousands of events are held throughout the world to inspire women and celebrate their achievements. The event was attended by many female faculty of Quaid-i-Azam University including Dean Faculty Social Sciences, Dr. Naveed-e-Rahat. A global web of rich and diverse local activity connects women from all around the world ranging from political rallies, business conferences, and government activities as well as networking events to local women's craft markets, theatric performances, fashion parades and lot more. The United Nation’s theme for women day of 2010 was “Equal Rights, Equal Opportunities: Progress for All”. The General Assembly cited two reasons: (1) to recognize the fact that securing peace and social progress and the full enjoyment of human rights and fundamental freedoms require the active participation, equality and development of women; and (2) to acknowledge the contribution of women to the strengthening of international peace and security.

By: Irum Naqvi, Lecturer, NIP

Post-Conference Summary of 3rd International Conference

A three day International conference was organized on "Developmental Psychopathology: Prevalence, Management, & Prevention" from October 13th 15th by National Institute of Psychology, at National Centre for Physics auditorium, Islamabad. "Developmental psychopathology refers to those psychological problems that develop during any stage of development of the child and effects his/her cognitive, social, emotional, behavioral and intellectual functioning. The purpose of the conference was to facilitate the development of liaison among all related disciplines to work together for a betterment of population suffering from different developmental psychopathologies (e.g. Learning disabilities, Autism, etc.). It also aimed to help flourish the research culture in Pakistan in the field of developmental psychopathology and to bring into limelight the future dimensions for research and practice as conceived by the organizer of the event, Prof. Dr. Anila Kamal, Director National Institute of Psychology, Quaid-i-Azam University, Islamabad. After the successful completion of the conference, organizers received huge applause from all around the country as well as from distinguished international guests who attended the conference. During the conference, a symposium was presented by Department of Clinical Psychology, GCU Lahore on School Psychology: The GCU experience. Symposium included a state of the art lecture on "School Psychology in Pakistan" by Prof. Dr. Zahid Mahmood, followed by paper presentations on different aspects of school psychology. The symposium was highly appreciated by the audience.

Presently, proceeding committee is actively working for the finalization of proceeding book of the conference. Large number of articles, presented during the conference will be included in the procedings of the conference.

Reported by: Sohema Tahir Lecturer, NIP

A Hallmark of Honour for NIP Research Journal PJPR

Pakistan Journal of Psychological Research (PJPR) has been upgraded to category "X" in the social sciences category of journals by Higher Education Commission (HEC). This is a great achievement brought about by the dedication of the team of PJPR under the guidance of the Editor. This category includes only those journals which are par excellence in the field of social sciences. With this, the publications in PJPR shall be considered for selection and promotion by HEC and other authorities. You can submit your articles and queries to the Editor of PJPR. For more information please visit www.pjprnip.edu.pk.

By: Raiha Aftab, Lecturer / Publication Officer

NIP Participation in International Conference on Forensic Psychology at GCU, Lahore

First International Conference on Forensic Psychology was organized (April 1st to 2nd April, 2010) by Psychology Department of G.C. University, Lahore. Major objective of the conference was to explore ways to cope with indigenous problem of terrorism and to elevate awareness of the newly emerging field of forensic psychology. The conference covered wide areas including prison reforms, interventions for survivors of terrorism and management of anger, violence and aggression, among other areas where the legal system and psychology are on crossroads.National Institute of Psychology participated in the event and presented three empirical based research papers reflective of varying dimensions of social and psychological aspects of forensic psychology. First paper presented was titled as "Terrorism Catastrophizing, Perceived Stress, and Death Anxiety among University students by Rabia Nayab and Prof. Dr. Anila Kamal. The purpose of the study was to find the impact of terrorism among university students through three variables; Terrorism Catastrophizing, Perceived Stress, and Death Anxiety. The study based on cross-sectional research design through purposive sampling technique. Terrorism Catastrophizing Scale (TCS; Sinclair & Alice, 2007), Perceived Stress Scale (PSS; Cohen et al., 2001), and Death Anxiety Scale (DAS; Goreja & Pervez, 2000) were used. Comparison was made among students regarding their gender and status of living. Pearson correlation showed a highly significant positive correlation (p < .01) between Terrorism Catastrophizing, Perceived Stress, and Death Anxiety indicating that a person feeling terrorism Catastrophizing will perceive more stress and will experience more death anxiety. Study also found that both male and female students felt high Terrorism Catastrophizing and perceived high stress while female students were more anxious of death than male students.

Second paper presented was designed to explore "Relationship between social support and psychological well-being among incarcerated juveniles" by Yasmin Manzoor and Aisha Zubair. The present study was designed to examine the relationship between social support and well-being of incarcerated juveniles. Role of various demographic variables including gender, education, socio-economic status, and family system were also examined. Urdu version of Social Support Scale (Malik, 2002) and Well-Being Affectometer-2 Scale (Naheed, 1997) were used to collect the information. Results indicated that social support was significantly positively correlated with psychological well-being. Female juveniles exhibited less social support and well-being as compared to male juveniles. Similarly incarcerated juveniles from joint family system displayed more social support and well-being as compared to those from nuclear family system. Differential education and socioeconomic levels were also found significantly affecting social support and psychological well-being of juveniles. The third paper presented was "Emotional problems among street children" by Samreen Abid and Naeem Aslam. The study was intended to investigate the emotional problems in street children. Human Figure Drawing (HFD) test was used. For interpretation Koppitz (1969) scoring system was used. Frequencies and percentages were calculated and chi-square was computed to gauge the differences between two groups on emotional problems. Findings showed that street children experience more emotional problems as compared to normal children. Significant differences were found between two groups on impulsivity, aggression, and immaturity (p < .001). Anxiety and guilt was significantly high in street girls as compared to street boys (p < .01, p < .001). Significant differences were found on impulsivity for street girls and street boys (p < .001). Practical implications were discussed and suggestions for further research were made.

Reported by: Aisha Zubair, Lecturer, NIP

Patron:

Editor:

Prof. Dr. Anila Kamal dranilakamal@yahoo.com

Mr. Naeem Aslam
psy_naeem@yahoo.com