Pakistani Culture Research Articles

Drug Addiction in Pakistan: A step towards alleviation of sufferings

Drug Addiction in Pakistan: A step towards alleviation of sufferings

Psychometric properties of the revised Urdu version dyadic adjustment scale for evaluating marital relationship quality between madrassa and Non-Madrassa married women

PurposeThis study aims to explore the indigenous needs of married women in Pakistan due to the public health challenges they face due to marital conflict. The research focuses on investigating psychometric properties and cross-cultural validation of the revised dyadic adjustment scale’s (RDAS) Urdu translated version to assess marital relationship quality between married madrassa and non-madrassa women. The study examines empirically validated two-factor model (RDAS) between married madrassa and non-madrassa women (Busby et al., 1995; Hollist et al., 2012; Isanezhad et al., 2012; Christensen et al., 2006) and (Bayraktaroglu and Cakici, 2017). These studies approach including consensus, satisfaction and cohesion.Design/methodology/approachThe investigators executed the study into two phases: a pilot test and the main survey.FindingsThe pilot study's findings specified that the Urdu translated version of the revised DAS indicated a decent internal consistency (a = 0.70). The overall revised DAS maintained a stronger test-retest correlation and tested it over 15 days (r = 0.95). The main study recorded 300 respondents' responses from madrassa and non-madrassa married women using a purposive sampling approach and recruited them from the locality of various madrassas and housing societies of Islamabad, Azad Kashmir and Rawalpindi, Pakistan. The study findings showed higher intercorrelations between total and subscales of the revised DAS. It further compared the groups with a multi-group confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) method and examined the revised DAS structure in married madrassa and non-madrassa women.Practical implicationsThis study contributes to scientific knowledge and helps develop and validate indigenous cross-cultural instruments to examine marital life quality. It offers practical and reliable information about Pakistani couples' emotional attachment and marriage adjustment issues.Originality/valueThe study applied a three-factor solution, and it demonstrated a robust factorial validity in the context of Pakistani culture, which is a novel contribution to the literature.

Association of dowry practices with perceived marital life and intimate partner violence

Objective: To understand the perceptions of women about the influence of dowry customs on their marital life and on intimate partner violence (IPV) in a marriage. Method: This was a cross-sectional study on married women of reproductive age in Karachi, Pakistan between 2008 and 2009. Data was collected through a reliable questionnaire developed by World Health Organization, which was validated at local context and has been translated in to Urdu and then back translated in to English. Results: This study found that women whose marriages were decided conditionally on the provision of dowry to the groom’s family reported it to have had a positive impact on marital life (aOR: 11.5). Consenting to a marriage was positively associated with positive marital life (aOR: 36.8), as was the case when the marriage was contingent on dowry to be given to the groom’s family (aOR: 10.4). Provision of a dowry was not protective from physical (aOR: 3.7), sexual (aOR: 3.7), or psychological violence (aOR: 8.9). Conclusion: Dowry practices exist in Pakistani culture, despite the fact that dowry wives experience IPV. However, women perceive that the provision of dowry to groom’s family has a positive impact on marital life. In the immediate future, to protect women in and entering into marriage, there should be a strengthening of women’s organizations to provide legal, social and medical supports to women in need as well as the training of medical and paramedical professionals to recognize and respond to IPV. Continuous...

A Study of Word-Color Association for Pakistani and American Cultures

Every region has its own culture, values and traditions that are unique for that region and that vary from region to region and country to country. These cultural differences are also reflected in the choice and association of color; concept word association is one of those differences. In this paper, we study the color related cultural similarities and dissimilarities between United States of America (USA) and Pakistan (PK). The study is based on 8 questions asked from 280 respondents (184 USA and 96 PK) for three concept words i.e., high quality, reliable, cheap and color disliked and liked with reference to 10 colors using the RGB model. After external data validation subsequent analysis showed high similarity of word-color association between respondents from USA and PK for the amber colors i.e., yellow, brown and orange for like-dislike and cheap-dislike but clear disparity for black (high quality) and blue (like-reliable). This information could be useful for multinational companies for tailoring their digital marketing campaigns accordingly.

Construction of Moral Disengagement Scale for Adults: A Reliable Measure

The main objective of current research was development of an indigenous Moral Disengagement Scale for Adults (MDS-A) in Urdu language. The subsequent objective was the establishment of reliability of newly developed Scale. Initially an item pool of 116 items was formulated based on Bandura’s model (2002) which was reduced to 106 items and later 92 items after expert’s evaluation and item analysis, respectively. Exploratory Factor Analysis (EFA) was conducted on 92 items scale by administering it on 579 adults (250 men and 329 women), age range of 19-83 years from villages and various educational institutes of district Gujrat, Pakistan. EFA by using Principal Component Analysis with Varimax Orthogonal Rotation resulted in six factor solution of 63 items. Later Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA) confirmed the six-factor structure on an independent sample of 413 adults (193 men and 220 women) with age range 19-80 years from Gujrat district, Pakistan. After deletion of 43 items, CFA yielded good model fit indices for final 20 items MDS-A. MDS-A had very satisfactory Cronbach’s alpha reliability and test-retest reliability. MDS-A also demonstrated construct validity in terms of highly significant item-total correlations and subscale-to-scale total correlations. Overall, a reliable and valid scale for measurement of moral disengagement among adults in Pakistani culture is available for further indigenous research and counselling settings.

Pakistani Culture: In the Context of Urdu Language and Criticism

Pakistani Culture: In the Context of Urdu Language and Criticism

Depiction of Pakistani Culture through Code-Mixing: Critical Examination of the Novel Holy Woman by Qaisra Shahraz

Code mixing is a process that is unconscious which helps to establish communication in a multilingual group. The study in question examines the use of code-mixing throughout the book "The Holy Woman"by "Qaisra Shahraz." The study examines the socioeconomic and cultural lives that are in Sindh and Karachi. The marriage ceremony was analyzed using words like amazing Rishta three talaqs sister's Mehandi, Nikkah, and jahez. Through code-mixing, the author has not just shown the languages but also the depiction of Pakistani culture. The research found that the author is able to see the light in the regional languages that sound more familiar to the reader as well as Pakistani English to fulfill the language gap. The information has been examined by using Baum gardner, Kennedy, and Shamim's(1993) and Kachru's (1983) model of code-mixing. The researcher has discovered 400 terms (English-Urdu words) within the thirty-two contexts of semantics.

SOCIO-POLITICAL CHALLENGES OF 21ST CENTURYAND CULTURAL BARRIERS OF PAKISTANI SOCIETY

Pakistan is among the poor and over populated countries having abundance of natural resources and geographical prominence. It also has a multi-cultural society that comprises of different sub-cultures. After more than seven decades of independence, it has not been able to establish a coherent and composed social system yet, tangled with fragmented, mobile and materialistic society. Pakistan’s economy is primarily based on agriculture, gradually progressing towards industrialization and urbanization. The urban modes of living have also been widespread across the country. Traditional culture has been over saturated but the new one is struggling to takeover, therefore ideological divisions and moral uncertainty penetrates through the roots of its foundation. Pakistani society is divided and diverse, poor but in a process of transition. Therefore, the study aims to identify and examine the motives of uncertain and assorted elements of Pakistani culture which cause hurdles in the process of development and prosperity of the nation.

Socioeconomic Status, Gender, and Politeness Strategies: Studying the Usage of Request Speech Act in Pakistani Undergraduate Students

Politeness strategy has non-linguistic as well as linguistic apprehensions. Moreover, it is observed as part of the sociolinguistics and conversational competency of the orators of a particular language. This recent study investigates the politeness strategies in the context of Punjabi language. The goal is to classify the politeness strategies as a part of Pakistani set culture particularly with reference to Punjabi language context. To make this study valid, Brown and Levison’s (1987) framework is employed as a ration ground for this study. The variable of gender and socioeconomic factors has been analyzed to investigate the impending result by stalking down the politeness strategies especially in Pakistani culture context. A survey was conducted through an open ended questionnaire. For this study (DCT) Discourse conclusive test is selected as a modified version. A group of 120 people which is comprised of male and female native speakers of Punjabi language are selected. This study investigates that in Pakistani culture particularly with reference to Punjabi language, people tend to remain informal when making requests which can be classified as informal politeness strategies. This study investigates socioeconomic status of Punjabi language speakers both male and female by not making in gender specific. Through this study frequency of politeness strategies has been undergone in Punjabi language.

Body image perception as predictor of positive and negative self-concept scale for young adults (BIPS)

PurposeBody image perception is a complex cognitive process that involves several different dimensions. This has necessitated several studies to have different findings about each dimension, therefore. This is because body image perception is a continuous and constantly evolving process. The development of self-concept depends largely on positive or negative perception of body image in today’s time. This paper aims to develop an instrument to measure beliefs and attitudes of people involved in the perception of body image, defined as the perception that a person has of their physical self and the thoughts and feelings that result into a positive or negative self-concept.Design/methodology/approachThe factorial structure, reliability, content validity and impact of gender on factor structure of body image perception scale (BIPS) were examined among university students (N = 200) in study, with male (n = 100) and female (n = 100) population. Self-made instrument BIPS was used.FindingsExploratory factor analysis using direct obliman method based on principal component analysis indicated a three-factor, 20-item scale including subscales 1) negative feeling; 2) public perception; and 3) future success. BIPS exhibited decent reliability (0.789) and content validity in both male and female university students, suggesting a highly significant difference between the two genders on BIPS.Research limitations/implicationsThe major limitation was that the sample was obtained from student population; therefore, it will not be entirely correct to generalize it to the whole population of Pakistan. Future studies need to include samples from different populations in Pakistan to bring out a more generalized view and try to minimize the variances in sample as much as possible for better results. Finally, the sample was drawn only from educated and young adult males and females (age ranging 17–28). Middle age and old age people must be included in future study. Also, in this study incremental and discriminant validity can be computed by comparing results on BIPS with any other body image questionnaire.Practical implicationsThis standard instrument can be efficiently used for the research purpose and will enable the researcher to identify the positive and negative feelings and attitudes of male and females towards their body image and towards the development of healthy self-concept. The scale can be used by clinical psychologists and medical health professionals to help assess and treat their patients more accurately.Originality/valueAll in all, it can be suggested that the findings received illustrated that body image perception differs significantly among both men and women in Pakistani culture. The newly established version of BIPS with its high reliability indicates that the scale can be used in future as well with diverse populations to assess whether which among them hold either positive or negative self-concept of themselves based on their body image perceptions. Moreover, as the psychometric strength of the scale is well established, it can be used with future researches by health psychologists, dietitians and nutritionists to identify body image concerns among young males and females, especially in individuals with eating disorders.

Coping Strategies Scale for myocardial infarction survivors

Background & objective: Studies have indicated that myocardial infarction survivors (MIS) not only experience physiological and physical issues but also psychosocial issues. The survivors consciously or unconsciously may adopt certain strategies to cope with their biological and / or psychosocial issues. Such coping strategies may vary from culture to culture. The current study aimed to develop a scale to investigate the coping strategies adopted by myocardial infarction survival in Pakistani culture. Methodology: For this purpose, 25 MIS were interviewed and were asked about how they MIS cope with their biological and psychosocial issues. From this phenomenology, their coping statements were recorded and items were generated. Following the phase of scale development, the scale of 13 items with a 4-point Likert scale was administered on 200 MIS. Results: The use of Principle Component Factor Analysis through Varimax Rotation suggested two factors i.e. Spiritual Coping and Solution-Focused Coping. Conclusion: The results of the current study indicated the MIS not only use solution-focused coping but they also get involved in spiritual coping in managing their biological as well as psychosocial issues in Pakistani culture. The results are discussed in context to the importance of spirituality and a solution-focused approach. Key words: Coping strategies; Spiritual coping; Solution-focused coping; Myocardial infarction survivors; Pakistan Abbreviations: CDC – Cardiovascular diseases; MI – myocardial infarction; CSS – Coping Strategies Scale Citation: Khaliq T, Rafiq M. Coping Strategies Scale for myocardial infarction survivors. Anaesth. pain intensive care 2021;25(3):267–273. DOI: doi.org/10.35975/apic.v25i3.1512 Received: December 28, 2020; Reviewed: January 8, 2021; Accepted: February 28, 2021

Dilemmas Of Singlehood In Contemporary Pakistani Culture: A Qualitative Study Of Unheard Voices

Marriage has always been central to women’s lives in Pakistan and to remain single is not only considered socially unacceptable but also perceived as non-compliance to the cultural hegemony of the institute of marriage. Pakistan is a country where marriage is considered mandatory and singlehood is viewed as anomalous particularly in the case of women. The present study put light on the experiences of those women who remain unmarried in a traditional society like Pakistan where women are generally seen only as wives and mothers. This study attempted to analyse the perspectives of never-married women with greater emphasis on the issues and challenges faced by them. The primary objective of this paper is to highlight the cultural and psycho-social aspects ofsinglehood and to voice the opinions and ‘lived experiences’ of the never-married female from their perspective. In Pakistani culture, women are generally expected to get married by their mid-twenties. The study was conducted with the help of a qualitative phenomenological approach. It relied on anthropological methods of data collection from twenty never-married women over the age of thirty-five years. Findings revealed that respondents in this study acknowledged their latent desire to be married and having fulfilled lives, however, owing to some tragic socio-familial circumstances, such as financial constraints, the death of father and the responsibility to look after widowed mother and younger siblings, caste-based endogamy, lack of physical attractiveness, failure to find a compatible spouse, were identified as some of the contributory. Regardless of whether the causes for their single status were circumstantial or optional, unmarried women experience criticism, disgrace, loneliness, and feeling of being left out in a patriarchal societal setup where traditional gender role expectations bound women with marriage and motherhood.

Identity Construction through Cultural Heritage of Folklore

The great diversity in Pakistani folklore is evident from the distinguishedvariety of cultural folk assets of each province of Pakistan. The current paperexplores and analyses the most popular folklores, in the genres of both proseand poetry from the perspective of quest for identity. The paper tries to findout the answer to the question if Pakistani cultural heritage of oral traditioni.e., folklores have quest for identity or go beyond that. The paper alsoexplores the motives behind the search for identity. The translated folkloresare then analyzed qualitatively using interpretive method, particularly throughthe perspective of hermeneutic-interpretive research based on performancetheory of folklores. Hermeneutic-interpretive research technique is chosenhere because the folklores are based on the ideological and cultural traditionsof a specific region, and the proper understanding requires the study in thespecific relevant domain of hermeneutics. This research is important for thepropagation, preservation and revival of Pakistani culture as presentedthrough folklores. This research aims at developing the interest and draw theattention of researchers on cultures and traditions to revive and enliven therichness and fertility of varieties in Pakistani culture

Drive for muscularity and tendencies of muscle dysmorphia among Pakistani bodybuilders: A prevalence study.

To assess the relationship between drive for muscularity and muscle dysmorphic tendencies in Pakistani bodybuilders. The cross-sectional study was conducted in Lahore, Pakistan, from June to September 2017, and comprised male bodybuilders in their early and middle adulthood. Data was collected using an indigenous Drive for Muscularity Inventory and the Body Dysmorphic Disorder factors of the Yale-Brown Obsessive Compulsive Scale. Data was analysed using SPSS 21. There were 211 subjects with a mean age of 26.25±5.946 years. There was a positive relationship between drive for muscularity and tendencies of muscle dysmorphia (p<0.05). Of the total, 130(62%) bodybuilders had a moderate level of drive for muscularity. Unmarried bodybuilders aged 18-25 years had more drive for muscularity compared to married bodybuilders age 26 years and above (p<0.001). The drive for muscularity and muscle dysmorphic tendencies were found prevalent in Pakistani culture.

Glimpses Of Civilization And Culture In Urdu Translations Of Novels: A Review

Every literature reflects the cultural, economic, political and social life of its age. The art of novel involves all these factors to the maximum. In that period when urdu reader was becoming more and more inquisitive about the western literature in India, a new society was shaping itself. Feudal system was degenerating and the capitalist society was taking place of the former. In this period western novels were translated, which resulted not only in the form of new values but also provided material to researchers for comparative study of societies. This research work is an effort to reach those means which will also provide a basic source for 'Urdu Literature: Pakistani Cultures and Globalization.

TRANSLATION AND VALIDATION OF THE PEDIATRIC QUALITY OF LIFE INVENTORY (PEDSQLâ„¢ 4.0) FOR CHILDREN IN PAKISTANI CONTEXT

Ponte Academic JournalDec 2021, Volume 77, Issue 12 TRANSLATION AND VALIDATION OF THE PEDIATRIC QUALITY OF LIFE INVENTORY (PEDSQL™ 4.0) FOR CHILDREN IN PAKISTANI CONTEXTAuthor(s): Nazia Mustafa ,Aneela MaqsoodJ. Ponte - Dec 2021 - Volume 77 - Issue 12 doi: 10.21506/j.ponte.2021.12.1 Abstract:Mental health problems often arise in childhood and adolescence and can have detrimental effects on quality of life. Pediatric Quality of Life Inventory is the most widely used instrument for assessing children and adolescent health-related quality of life and has shown excellent markers of validity and reliability. However, it is not available in all languages. The current study carried out translation and cross-language validation of Pediatric Quality of Life Inventory along with determination of factor Structure and psychometric properties of Urdu version for children in Pakistan. The study was carried out in two phases; phase I comprised of translation and cross -language validation of scale followed by phase II of investigation of the psychometric properties and factor structure of it in Pakistani culture. Urdu translated version was administered on 154 Primary School Children with age range 10 to12years (M= 10.86, S.D = .62), boys (n=92) and girls (n = 62) who were recruited from two randomly selected schools from Rawalpindi district. Preliminary analysis revealed that the overall instrument had good internal consistency and reliability (Urdu Version α = .798; English Version α = .795) as well as test-retest correlation coefficients over a period of 15 days (r = .85). Exploratory factor analysis (EFA) resulted in three factorial structures; social and school functioning (k=8), psychological functioning (k=7) and physical functioning (k=6) considered suitable for our sample instead of four factors. Bartlett's test of sphericity showed inter-correlation between variables. However, factor loadings for items 22 and 23 of School Functioning subscale were problematic. After removing both items, model was fit to the data and indicated overall Cronbach’s alpha reliability of the scale (k=21) as .87 and for subscales as .75, .77 and .73 for social/school Scale, psychological subscale and physical subscale respectively. These results supported the feasibility, reliability and validity of the Urdu version of the Pediatric Quality of Life Inventory as reliable and effective tool for measurement of quality of life among Pakistani children. Download full text:Check if you have access through your login credentials or your institution Username Password

Impact of Personal Resource Inventory on Psychological Well-Being and Depression in Pakistani Sample

The objective of the study was to find out the impact of Personal Resource variable on psychological well-being and depression in Pakistani population. Study design was cross-sectional research design, survey method. The study was conducted in privately registered, semi-government and government institutions of Rawalpindi and Federal Capital Territory during the year 2016-2018. Data was collected using purposive random sampling from 200 employees working in private, semi-government and government organizations. 55.5% were males and 44.5% were females; Mean age = 26.81 (SD = 5.7); Mean job experience was M = 4.5; SD = 5.49; highest qualification was 35 % Masters among Matric, Inter, Graduation, M.Phil and PhD. Results of the study showed that regression analysis showed that Personal Resource variable accounts for 21% of variance in psychological wellbeing and 27% of variance in depression. The alpha coefficient reliability for the newly constructed four factors of self-efficacy, resilience, hope and optimism based questionnaire, was found to be α = 0.86 and split half reliability coefficient was .74 and .79 on Pakistani sample which was sufficiently adequate. Hence our objective of the study which was to find out the impact of Personal Resource variable on mental health and depression within Pakistani culture was thus established.

TRANSLATION, CULTURAL ADAPTATION AND LINGUISTIC VALIDATION OF MOTIVES FOR RISK-TAKING SCALE

Understanding motivations for high risk behaviors is an important yet neglected area in Pakistan. Although, most research on motives for risky behaviors has been done in western cultures but few studies determined its cultural diversity reflecting significant, cultural differences. To enhance the understanding of various motives for risk-taking in eastern culture, this study realized the need of a culturally valid and reliable measure to assess different motivations to engage in high risk behaviors for vulnerable population in Pakistan. This study sets out to investigate perceived motivations involved in actual risks in a sample of emerging adult destitute women (N=400) between 18-25 years approached through various shelter-homes in Pakistan. For this, a measurement scale to assess motivations to engage in high risk behaviors was translated, adapted and culturally validated. For the empirical evaluation, Exploratory Factor Analysis (EFA) performed through SPSS. 21 that reported excellent validity and reliability estimates. Moreover, it became obvious that motives to engage in risky behaviors were slightly different for Pakistani culture as compared to the existing model. All the previously explored motives reported in MRT (1. Audience Controlled, 2. Irresponsibility 3. Thrill seeking, 4. Hedonistic motivation 5. Calculated risk) were nicely emerged in the subsequent model while, few other motives also emerged in the present study which made a distinct category (Authority Defying Motives) reflecting that motivations to engage in risk-taking behaviors are somehow reliant on cultural context. All the factors showed good internal consistency ranging from α=.70-.82. To conclude, MRT is a valid and reliable measure for Pakistani population having strong psychometric properties, linguistic and cultural acceptability, which paves the ways for practitioners to better understand the motivations for engaging in high risk behaviors by using the available indigenous measure.

Be a Man, do not Cry like a Woman: Analyzing Gender Dynamics in Pakistan

Contrary to the view that gender is fluid, as concurred by several social scientists, in traditional Pakistani understanding, gender is seen in fixed binaries, i.e., either you are a man or a woman. The third category is known as the third gender in Pakistan. It is interesting to note that although gender is seen as fixed in Pakistani cultures, in informal discussions, varied shades of gender are highlighted by informants based on gender performativity. By drawing on the postmodern feminist theory of gender performativity, this paper does a discourse analysis of informant’s views about gender construction and dynamics in rural Sindh. Ethnographic fieldnotes have been used as primary data to analyze gender nuances implicit in Pakistani men's informal discourse. This paper argues that contrary to unchanging gender identities as endorsed by Pakistan society's patriarchal structure, men dismiss these fixed identities during an informal discussion. Instead, they shuffle gender identities by branding men and women as feminine men and masculine women, respectively, based on their gender performativity. We conclude that irrespective of physical outlook, the power lies in hegemonic forms of agency. Gender relationships and gender performance shape the sexual and gender identity of subjects.

Chronic pain management a fundamental human right: adaptation and examination of psychometric properties of pain anxiety symptoms scale among osteoporosis sample from Pakistan

PurposeChronic pain is a global community health and human rights issue. Proper health care is an important necessity for every human being and access for treatment is every human’s right. Likewise, it is significant that proper instruments should be administered to assess these clinical issues. It is equally necessary to reassess these tools accordingly to diverse cultures, especially subjective tools to check their validity and cultural specification. The purpose of this study is to adapt and examine the factorial structure of 20 items and three-factor structure, pain anxiety symptoms scale (McCracken and Dhingra, 2002). As literature evidence suggested of a three-factor structure (Cho, 2010).Design/methodology/approachPrimarily, the scale was translated into Urdu language using the forward-backward method. Afterward, a reliability assessment and a confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) for construct validity, on an osteoporosis patients’ sample (N = 250) was performed. Subsequently, an Obliman method exploratory factor analysis (EFA) was conducted on an osteoporosis sample (N = 500) for factor structuring followed by validity and reliability analysis.FindingsThe initial findings demonstrated a high internal consistency of the translated version of the scale (α = 0.85) and an acceptable test-retest reliability (r = 0.69). CFA displayed a high inter-correlation between scale and its subscales. However, CFA suggested a three-factor model. Consequently, EFA proposed a three-factor, 19 item scale, namely, behavioral; cognitive; and physical subscale, which demonstrated high alpha reliability (α.= 0.86). Other results indicated the scale to have a significant predictive and convergent validity for depression and positive and negative affect.Originality/valueThe present study is novel in its approach as the present study not only tried to adapt the original Pain Anxiety Symptom Scale to Pakistani culture but has also checked the factorial structure of the original scale. The results achieved in the process suggested a three-factor structure scale with 19 items in opposition to the original four structured, 20 items scale.