Students In South India Research Articles

Prevalence of excessive internet use and its association with psychological distress among university students in South India.

Background:Excessive internet use, psychological distress, and its inter-relationship among university students can impact their academic progress, scholastic competence, career goals, and extracurricular interests. Thus, a need exists to evaluate the addictive internet use among university students.Objectives:This study was set up to examine the internet use behaviors, internet addiction (IA), and its association with psychological distress primarily depression among a large group of university students from South India.Methods:Totally 2776 university students aged 18–21 years; pursuing undergraduate studies from a recognized university in South India participated in the study. The patterns of internet use and socioeducational data were collected through the internet use behaviors and demographic data sheet, IA test (IAT) was utilized to assess IA and psychological distress primarily depressive symptoms were evaluated with Self-Report Questionnaire-20.Results:Among the total n = 2776, 29.9% (n = 831) of university students met criterion on IAT for mild IA, 16.4% (n = 455) for moderate addictive use, and 0.5% (n = 13) for severe IA. IA was higher among university students who were male, staying in rented accommodations, accessed internet several times a day, spent more than 3 h per day on the Internet and had psychological distress. Male gender, duration of use, time spent per day, frequency of internet use, and psychological distress (depressive symptoms) predicted IA.Conclusions:IA was present among a substantial proportion of university students which can inhibit their academic progress and impact their psychological health. Early identification of risk factors of IA can facilitate the effective prevention and timely initiation of treatment strategies for IA and psychological distress among university students.

A Study of Perceived Stress Levels in First Year Medical Students in South India

A Study of Perceived Stress Levels in First Year Medical Students in South India

Family, society and the individual: determinants of entrepreneurial attitudes among youth in Chennai, South India

High rates of youth unemployment across the world have captured the attention of many world organizations and other policy makers. One policy solution that has been proposed to curb these high rates is encouraging youth entrepreneurship. In this paper, we examine the formation of attitudes that are favorable to entrepreneurship using data from 185 business students in South India. We adopt an approach that tests the relative efficacy of two principal factors in the formation of entrepreneurial attitude, i.e., stocks of youth human/social capital and a series of personality traits. Results from a probit model suggest that the youth’s prior labor market experience, the social capital that youth have accumulated through volunteering, and the social connections that parents have made are all highly predictive of pro-entrepreneurial attitudes; personality traits exert less importance. Implications for these findings are discussed for the creation of strategies that can stimulate entrepreneurship among youth as one way to combat high rates of youth unemployment.

Effectiveness of Guided Imagery in Reducing Examination Anxiety among Secondary School Students in South India

Objective: To assess the effectiveness of guided imaginary techniques on examination anxiety among the school adolescent’s. Methods: The sample consisted of 60 students (30 were in control group and 30 were in experimental group) aged 14 to 16 years studying in class IX and X at matriculation schools in Madurai. The examination anxiety was measured using Test Anxiety Questionnaire. Results: Of the 30 control group students, 63% had unhealthy anxiety in pretest and in post test it was 70%, whereas in experimental group, among the 30 students, 57% had unhealthy anxiety in pretest but in post test it was 0%, there is no unhealthy anxiety. There was a significant difference seen between control group and experimental group after teaching the imagery techniques. (Mean score in control group – 34.93, in experimental group – 17.83, P < 0.000). Conclusion: The results indicate that guided imagery technique is effective in reducing the examination anxiety among school students. And it will help to reduce anxiety of students at all levels of examination to perform good in their academic especially in board examination. Further research may help in guide policy on education to improve the teaching methodology allowing the students to control the anxiety on exam.

A cross-sectional study of problem gambling and its correlates among college students in South India.

BackgroundIn the Western world, a significant portion of college students have gambled. College gamblers have one of the highest rates of problem gambling. To date, there have been no studies on gambling participation or the rates of problem gambling in India.AimsThis study evaluated the prevalence of gambling participation and problem gambling in college students in India. It also evaluated demographic and psychosocial correlates of gambling in that population.MethodWe surveyed 5784 college students from 58 colleges in the district of Ernakulam, Kerala, India, using cluster random sampling. Students completed questionnaires that addressed gambling, substance use, psychological distress, suicidality and attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).ResultsA total of 5580 completed questionnaires were returned, and while only 1090 (19.5%) college students reported having ever gambled, 415 (7.4%) reported problem gambling. Lotteries were the most popular form of gambling. Problem gamblers in comparison with non-gamblers were significantly more likely to be male, have a part-time job, greater academic failures, higher substance use, higher psychological distress scores, higher suicidality and higher ADHD symptom scores. In comparison with non-problem gamblers, problem gamblers were significantly more likely to have greater academic failures, higher psychological distress scores, higher suicidality and higher ADHD symptom scores.ConclusionsThis study, the first to look at the prevalence of gambling in India, found relatively low rates of gambling participation in college students but high rates of problem gambling among those who did gamble. Correlates of gambling were generally similar to those noted in other countries. Since 38% of college students who had gambled had a gambling problem, there is a need for immediate public health measures to raise awareness about gambling, and to prevent and treat problem gambling in this population.Declaration of interestS.G. was (until October 2014) a member of the UK Responsible Gambling Strategy Board, and authored the Royal College of Psychiatrists’ Faculty report FR/AP/01 Gambling: The Hidden Addiction – Future Trends in Addictions (2014).Copyright and usage© The Royal College of Psychiatrists 2016. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Non-Commercial, No Derivatives (CC BY-NC-ND) licence.

Gender Based Reproductive And Sexual Health Among Urban Adolescent Students in South India.

Adolescence is a transitional stage in human life. Adolescents are neither adults nor children and their physical and psycho social needs are unique, hence they experience great deal of confusion in taking right decisions. Adolescence range between the ages of ten to nineteen years and is a stage of behavioral and attitude formation. Awareness and adequate guidance to adolescents in appropriate time helps them to adopt healthy behaviors. If they are not well guided, they are likely to experiment with risky behavior that could harm them and others. Aim: The study aimed to assess the Knowledge on reproductive and sexual health (RSH) and Gender perceptions in school going adolescents. Methodology: Adolescent students between age group of 13 - 18 years (N=150) were selected by random sampling. Single group pre - posttest design was used in the study. Structured questionnaire on identification data, gender attributes and sexual and reproductive health was introduced pre and post intervention. Findings: Pre assessment reveals thirteen percent of students with high gender equality scores and 52% with moderate and 25% with low gender equitable scores. Post assessment shows enhancement in higher gender equality scores to 78% and 22% with moderate scores. 56% of girls and 32% of boys have reported experience of some sort of violence and 12% of them denied of experiencing any sort of violence. Conclusion: Gender balanced approach in child care and education is the need of the hour. Parents, Teachers and health professionals need to understand the delicacy in dealing with adolescent needs and adopt Gendered attitude and educate them healthy behaviors with rationale for sexual and reproductive health.

Proportion of Refractive Error and Its Associated Factors among High School Students in South India

Background: School children are a high risk population for refractive errors (REs). Uncorrected REs can adversely affect the learning abilities and mental development of school children. Objectives: This cross sectional study was conducted to observe the proportion of cases diagnosed with REs, to determine factors associated with it, to find out the practices of students in preventing these risk factors and to assess the perception towards visual aids among students with REs in schools of an urban area. Methods: This study was done in Mangalore city in February 2013. 482 high school children were interviewed using a structured interview schedule. RE was ascertained based on records of previous diagnosis by Ophthalmologist. Data was analyzed by Chi-square test and binary logistic regression analysis. Results: The prevalence of already diagnosed cases of RE was 94(19.5%). Most of these cases had myopia 92(97.9%). Two cases were of hypermetropia. Mean age of onset of RE was 10.2±2.1 years. Only 19(20.2%) cases were first detected in schools in spite of functioning school health services at all the surveyed schools. RE cases were significantly more in private schools in comparison to government schools (P<0.001). Risk factors significantly associated with RE were history of RE among siblings (P<0.001), inadequate reading distance (P=0.011) and doing homework with inadequate illumination (P=0.021). One third of students with RE were irregular in eye examinations. Conclusion: Proportion of REs was high among school students. Education of students on healthy postural habits and good illumination while studying at home is essential to prevent REs in this population.

Body mass index status and accuracy of individual weight status perception among college going students in South India

Background: India faces the burgeoning twin problems of underweight and obesity. Accurate weight perception is vital to the institution and practice of weight management behaviour. The study aims at determining the BMI status of college students in South India and evaluating the accuracy of their weight status perception.Methods: A cross sectional observational study was carried out on a sample of 500 college students. Data regarding height, weight and body weight perception was obtained by structured questionnaire. Anthropometric measurements were recorded. The BMI calculated was used to categorize the BMI pattern of individuals according to WHO criteria for Asian Indians. This was correlated with self-perceived BMI to evaluate accuracy. All data were analysed by Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) software. Results: 21.2% of the samples were underweight, 23.4% were overweight and 9.6% were obese. There was a statistically significant correlation between the self-reported BMI and actual BMI as assessed by Pearson correlation (r= .884, p&lt;.001, two-tailed). 62% accurately perceived weight status. Agreement of perceived and measured BMI was found to be moderate among underweight and overweight groups. Agreement between perceived and measured normal BMI was found to be fair as determined by Kappa characteristic.Conclusions: Our study validates the current view that underweight and overweight continue to thrive concomitantly in urban Indian centers among youngsters of college-going age group. Perception of body weight is more accurate among underweight and overweight groups as compared to normal students, though overall accuracy was 62%.

Depression among adolescent students in South India: How serious is the issue?

Byline: Divya. Trivedi, Neha. Dhakappa, Parul. Ghildiyal, Shravya. Deekonda, Sumitha. Subramaniam, J. Iyer, M. Kotiyan Sir, An adolescent student experiences several biological, cognitive, social, and psychological changes. These developments, coupled with peer pressure, parental pressure, and the students' own expectations of themselves, make this a very volatile and turbulent phase. As teenaged undergraduate medical students ourselves, we felt that we could reach out to high-school students in a way that adults may not be able to as they would relate better to us and be more forthcoming in their responses. Hence, we conducted this study in an attempt to understand the issues that could lead to depression among adolescent students. We distributed 392 copies of the Beck's depression inventory [sup][1] and a semi-structured questionnaire to the students of classes seven, eight, and nine from three unaided schools. The questionnaire contained questions pertaining to the social factors that could lead to depression. The Chi-square test and SPSS version 17.0 were used for analysis. We found that 88 (22.45%) students were depressed. There were 27 (6.9%) students with borderline depression, 35 (8.9%) with moderate depression, 16 (4.1%) with severe depression, 10 (2.6%) with extreme depression, and mood disturbances among 71 (18.1%). Depression was detected among a significant number ( P = 0.012) of older adolescents (ages 14 and 15 years), and girls were significantly more depressed ( P = 0.016). Students who were comfortable with friends and those who received moral support from their families were significantly less depressed ( P = 0.022 and P = 0.014, respectively). Moderately and severely depressed students displayed abnormal eating habits ( P = 0.014) and those whose families did not spend enough time with them were more susceptible to get depressed ( P Prior studies aimed at assessing the prevalence of depression among adolescent students found relatively lesser numbers of students depressed.[sup][2],[3] Our study found that 22.45% of the students were depressed, and girls were significantly more depressed. The 2007 India Global School-based Student Health Survey found that high levels of reported parental involvement were significantly associated with a decreased likelihood of poor mental health.[sup][4] Negative life events and parent-adolescent attachment relationship quality were associated with mental health problems in adolescents. …

Study on the proportion and determinants of polycystic ovarian syndrome among health sciences students in South India

Introduction:Polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS) constitutes most cases of endocrine disorder among females.Objectives:This study was done to assess the proportion of university students with PCOS and to study its risk factors.Materials and Methods:Data were collected from students of a private medical, dental, and nursing college using a self-administered questionnaire. Height and weight of all participants were recorded by standard procedures.Results:The mean age of students was 20.4 ΁ 1.5 years. Of the 480 participants, 39 (8.1%) were already diagnosed with PCOS. Out of the remaining 441 participants, 40 (9.1%) were at high risk, and 401 (90.9%) were at low risk for PCOS. Greater proportion of PCOS cases was seen in the age group 23-25 years (P = 0.026), among those with family history of PCOS (P = 0.002), among those who were permanent residents of urban areas (P = 0.048), and among those who were overweight or obese (P = 0.004). About 90% of PCOS cases and those at high risk for PCOS, each had difficulty in controlling excess weight or were experiencing difficulty in maintaining ideal weight. About 36 (92.3%) of PCOS cases and all those at high risk had emotional problems such as feeling moody or experiencing fatigability over the previous 2 weeks.Conclusion:PCOS is a common disorder among young women in this settings and this warrants periodic screening activities. A multidisciplinary approach is required to bring about lifestyle modification and help those with emotional problems due to this endocrine disorder.

Association of problematic mobile phone use with psychological distress and self-esteem among college students in South India: a cross-sectional study

Background: Mobile phones have penetrated into the lives of common man to the extent of becoming one of the basic necessities for surviving in this modern world. Apart from the health effects of radiation from handsets, concerns have been raised over the behavioural effect of using mobile phones, especially among younger generation. Problematic mobile phones use (PMU) may be considered an addiction-like behaviour related to an individual’s mobile phone use. Methods: A study was conducted among 1108 college students in the age group of 18-25 years to find the prevalence of PMU using a uni-dimensional problematic mobile phone use scale (PMUS) developed by the authors. The prevalence of PMU among the college students was 26.8% and it was related with psychological distress and other predictor variables using statistical analysis. Results: Psychological distress was present among 5.8% and lower self-esteem using was present among 13.2% of the participants. The mean score of GHQ among problematic mobile phone users was 10.14 (±4.87) whereas the score among Normal users was 7.85 (±3.42). A significant cross-sectional association was found in between problematic mobile phone use and psychological distress, lower self-esteem, gender, smartphone use, multiple chatting applications, committed relationship status, relationship with mother and frequency of mobile phone use. Conclusions: Health education is required for increasing awareness about PMU among the college students. Further research should be undertaken and factors related to PMU may be considered for intervention.

Comparison of the body composition parameters in the adolescent medical and paramedical students in South India

Comparison of the body composition parameters in the adolescent medical and paramedical students in South India

An anthropometric study of Cephalic Index in south Indian students

An anthropometric study of Cephalic Index in south Indian students

Awareness and Attitudes Toward Emergency Contraceptives Among College Students in South India.

In India every year, a large number of pregnancies are unplanned resulting in unsafe abortion. This has tremendous implications both on health and survival of women. Usage of emergency contraceptive pills (ECPs) could be a solution provided the usage is as per guidelines and social issues do not cause objections. This study was done to assess the awareness and attitudes regarding ECPs. Data were collected using self-administered questionnaire from the university students. Out of 449 students, 384(85.5%) had heard about ECPs. The commonest source of information was television 299(77.9%). Only 128(33.3%) students knew that ECPs do not help in prevention of STDs. 209(54.4%) participants knew the correct time frame for taking ECPs. 109(28.4%) were unaware of its side effects. Only 149(33.2%) had received reproductive health education (RHE) in the past. The awareness level of students about ECPs was moderate among 231(60.2%) participants. Awareness was significantly more among males (p=0.013), students with science background (p=0.001) and those who had RHE previously (p=0.043). 219(57%) had average level of perception toward ECPs. 254(66.2%) participants favored prescription before procuring ECPs from drug stores. 261(68%) participants favored information about ECPs to be given in educational institutions, and a majority, 186(48.4%), said they would recommend ECPs to their friends. Average-to-good perception about ECPs was seen in significantly greater proportion of females (p=0.034). RHE is must at educational institutions so as to promote awareness and to remove misconceptions about ECPs among youth. This would help users in preventing unintended pregnancies and unsafe abortions.

Comparative study of cephalic index in North Indian and South Indian students

Abstract Background and aims: Cephalic Index is an important parameter for deciding the race and sex of an individual. The present study was undertaken to calculate the Cephalic Index in North Indian and South Indian medical students and to compare Cephalic Index among them. Materials and methods : Ninety nine North Indian and 177 South Indian students were taken for the present study. Maximum head breadth and maximum head length were measured with spreading calipers and Cephalic Index was determined. Result: The mean Cephalic Index in study group was 76.65. In North Indian students, mean Cephalic Index was 74.44. In South Indian students, mean Cephalic Index was 77.71. Dolicocephalic type of head shape predominated among North Indian students, whereas mesocephalic type was predominant in South Indian students. Conclusion: Significant gender difference and geographical variation was observed in the present study. The result of the present study will be of atmost importance in Foreosic Medicine, Anthropology and in Genetics.

Perceptions and practices of self-medication in healthcare and nonhealthcare university students in South India.

The aim was to study and compare knowledge, attitude and practices regarding self-medication in healthcare and nonhealthcare university students. Suitably constructed, structured and pretested questionnaires were distributed to 350 students in each group; data were documented in SPSS software version 20.0 and analyzed using χ2-test and multivariate logistic regression analysis. Completed questionnaires only were analyzed, which were 314 and 310 in healthcare and nonhealthcare groups, respectively. The majority of students practiced self-medication (84.4% vs. 68.1%; p<0.001) with the most common indications being fever (46.4% vs. 37.9%; p<0.001) and cough and common cold (30.9% vs. 37%; p=0.004). Most commonly self-medicated drugs were antipyretics (67.9% vs. 52.6%; p=0.03) and multivitamins (28.7% vs. 16.8%; p<0.001). A few of them experienced adverse drug reactions due to self-medication (6.8% vs. 1.9%; p<0.001). Independent risk factors for self-medication were younger age group (OR=2.93, CI 95% 1.09-7.85), storage of medicines at home (OR=2.49, CI 95% 1.21-5.12), healthcare students (OR=2.54, CI 95% 1.72-3.74), higher knowledge scores (OR=1.65, CI 95% 1.08-2.52), those consuming homeopathic preparations (OR=9.19, CI 95% 1.24-68.11), multivitamins (OR=6.7, CI 95% 2.88-15.6) or health supplements (OR=6, CI 95% 2.15-16.74), participants who strongly agreed that self-medication is a part of self-care (OR=3.97, CI 95% 1.56-10.09), and those self-medicating with an old prescription for same illness (OR=0.04, CI 95% 0.01-0.15) or over advice from home (OR=0.11, CI 95% 0.04-0.3). Though self-medication is common in university students, there is a dearth in their knowledge regarding the same. This highlights the need for increasing awareness among students regarding hazards of self-medication.

Childhood Experiences of Physical, Emotional and Sexual Abuse among College Students in South India

To document the prevalence of physical, emotional and sexual abuse during childhood among college students. The study was conducted among college students of Puducherry, South India. Stratified random sampling was done to select colleges. Data were gathered using the adapted 'Ministry of Women and Child Development Questionnaire on Child Abuse for Young adults'. A total of 936 college students completed the questionnaire. Mean ± SD age of the participants was 19.2 ± 1.1 years. Half (48%) of the participants reported being mocked because of their physical appearance. In all, 56% (524/936) of the participants reported that they were beaten during their childhood, of which 13.4% (70/524) required medical treatment. Around 10% reported someone exposing his/her private parts to them, while in 6.4% of the cases, the perpetrator forced the study participants to expose their private parts. Emotional, physical and sexual abuse is common in childhood and demands prompt interventions at the familial, community and political levels.

Correlation of academic scores with blood group among first MBBS medical students

Background: The theory that there is a possible correlation between blood types and personality characteristics, other diseases, neurological disorders have been floating for a long time. Aim: The aim of our study was to explore a possible correlation between blood groups and scholastic performance in a large sample of medical students in south India. Materials: The study was conducted at Sri Muthukumaran Medical College and Research Institute, Chikkarayapuram, Chennai, India during October 2011- October 2014 Participants: Our study included 450 first year MBBS Medical students of the age group 18 to 19 years. Methods: Blood groups were collected and for assessment of scholastic performance we used +2 (twelfth standard) marks and overall internal assessment marks of the first MBBS students. Analysis of data was done using SPSS software (version 15). Conclusion: Our study revealed a considerable difference in academic scores between the blood groups O and A. Conversely, when the analysis was done individually for male and female students, there was significant correlation between academic scores. This implies gender was probably a confounding factor responsible for the initial difference in academic scores. So, the conclusion of our study was that there was no definite correlation between blood groups and academic scores.

Knowledge, attitude, and awareness of childhood cancer among undergraduate medical students in South India.

Background:In India roughly 60000 childhood cancer cases are diagnosed annually with only nearly 100 pediatric oncologists. So it's pertinent that the physicians and pediatricians are adequately equipped to recognize and refer them appropriately. Hence this study was conducted to assess the knowledge, attitude and awareness of childhood cancer among undergraduate medical students in South India.Materials and Methods:The study was conducted among 240 undergraduate students from all over South India in a undergraduate pediatric clinical training. A 24 point questionnaire was given to assess their understanding of pediatric malignancies and their interest towards pediatric oncology. Statistical analysis was done with SPSS 18.V software.Results:50% were interested in pursuing pediatrics as their career but 80% of them were not interested in pursuing pediatric oncology as their career. 55% of the students have not encountered any pediatric oncology patients in the ward. 40% did not have any lecture classes on pediatric oncology. 65.5% felt that their knowledge of childhood cancer did not make them competent to suspect and refer appropriately during their practice. 84% supported that there is a need to improve pediatric oncology teaching in their medical curriculum.Conclusions:The study unambiguously states that the future physicians lack confidence in identifying and managing childhood malignancies and pediatric oncology is far down in their career options. There is a need to reform the undergraduate medical students by increasing their exposure to pediatric oncology to improve their competence levels and interest in pursuing it as a career also.

How do medical students learn? a study from two medical colleges in south India - A cross sectional study

Introduction: Learning is defined as an individual's preferred method for approaching learning and gaining knowledge. As a teacher, it is important to understand the different learning styles of the students in acquiring the information, and hence one can make the necessary changes that best match the learning style of the students. Assessment of learning styles can be done in various ways but Visual Auditory Reading Kinesthetic (VARK) questionnaire is the most accepted one among them. The present study was undertaken to determine the learning preferences of first year medical students in South India. The study was also aimed at determining whether males and females have similar pattern of learning styles. Materials and Methods: This study was jointly conducted in Mamata Medical College, Khammam, Telangana and Sapthagiri Institute of Medical Science and Research Center, Bangalore, Karnataka. VARK-questionnaire Version 7.8 was used after obtaining permission. The VARK–questionnaire along with information about age and sex was distributed among 200 first year students of both colleges on the same day and response rate was 80%( Males49% and Females 51%) Results: VARK questionnaire results revealed that none of our respondents preferred unimodal method. 3% were bimodal, 32% were trimodal and 63% were quad modal. There was no statistical difference between the individual scores between male and female respondents. Implication: The implication of this study is applicable to teachers to understand his/her student’s pattern of learning. Although none of the students learn only by one method, all the multimodal learners will have a predominance of a particular learning style either it be visual/auditory/read/kinesthetic.