Department of Educational and Counselling Psychology

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The relationship between reading comprehension and cognitive factors among the students between govt. and non govt. School in Dhaka city
(University of Dhaka, 2018-01-01) Chowdhury, Tanzina
The objective of the present study was to investigate the relationship between the reading comprehension and cognitive factors among the students of government and non-government schools who were from class six to eight in Dhaka city. In order to achieve this end, the study was conducted on a sample of 300 secondary top and bottom school students aged 10 to 14 who were selected in a convenient way from two government and two non-government schools located in Dhaka city of Bangladesh. Bengali Version of WISC IV was administered to the students to assess reading comprehension and cognitive factors. The study was conducted following ethical guidelines prescribed by American Psychological Association (APA) and local norm. Obtained data was analyzed using descriptive statistics such as frequency distribution, mean and standard deviation. As the present study is correlation in its design, Pearson Product moment correlations and t test were calculated. Furthermore, to see the potential impact of cognitive factors on students’ reading comprehension, the obtained data were analyzed by using linear multiple regression. It was found that non-government students’ score were high rather than government students but the interesting finding was that female students’ score was better than male students’ in both types of schools. It was remarkable that though bottom students’ overall score was low from top students’ but in reading comprehension; their score was significantly high. The study also investigates the potential impact of cognitive factors (VCI, PRI, WMI, PSI) which were highly correlated with reading comprehension. The findings indicate, although minimal but there have alarming connection between reading comprehension and cognitive factors. This study would be helpful for school authorities, teachers, parents and early childhood educators to create successful readers since early grade and to organize effective programs which support target students’ to overcome their reading comprehension difficulties.
Nature and consequences of bullying at high schools in Dhaka city
(University of Dhaka, 2018-01-02) Mahmood, Sabrina
The present study was conducted to investigate the nature and consequences of bullying among children at high schools in Dhaka city. Two stage mixed method design was used to collect both qualitative and quantitative data to understand the phenomena. The first stage employed a phenomenological approach to explore the present scenario of bullying among high schools children in Dhaka city. 6 focus group discussions were conducted with 60 participants of parents, teachers and students from both English and Bangla medium high school. Participants were selected from one Bangla medium and one English medium high school through a convenient sampling strategy. The FGD data, analyzed using the qualitative software NVivo, revealed seven forms of bullying, common causes, probable consequences and prevention strategy on bullying were identified. A survey questionnaire was developed through literature review and findings of FGD of study .It demonstrated the phenomena of bullying by describing the nature, consequences and prevention. In 2nd stage a survey questionnaire was used to collect quantitative data on nature and consequences of bullying .Gender, medium and grade were included as study variable.200 high school students of both English and Bangla medium schools of Dhaka city were selected.The result shows that more than 50% reported being bullied by any form & more than 10% were bullied once a week, student of Bangla medium high school were bullied more (6.5%) than English medium (3.9%) high school in once a week and female were bullied more(63.5%) than male(30.5%) in once a week. It is found that student of class7 have been bullied more (2.5%) than other classes in once a week. Boys and girls were also treated in different ways .It is revealed that bullying through rumor (M=2.60, SD=1.33) was the most common form of bullying among other forms of bullying . Bullying by threatened is the most common (53.6%)in Bangla medium school while rumor in English medium school . The result shows that male were bullied physically(33%), while female were bullied by rumor, race and threatened respectively. Chi square analysis was used to gender, medium and grade variance in different forms of bullying .It is found significant gender differences in bullying by mean name (Chi square = 43.685,df=1,p<.05),physical (Chi square = 43.613,df=1, p<.05),race (Chi square = 28 .64,df=1,p<.05).The study also found significant gender differences in how many students bully(Chi square = 35.13,df=3,p<.05).30% female were being bullied by group of two students ,3.5 % are bullied by one student and .5 % are bullied by group of 5-10 students where 12% male are bullied by group of 2-3 students ,11.5 % are bullied by one student and 6.5 % male are bullied by group of 5-10 students. The research also found significant gender differences in consequences of bullying (Chi square = 87.87,df=4,p<.05). The study also found that female and bangla medium students were most bullied at school during class. In terms of consequences of bullying , most common consequences of bullying is fear (43.5%) for male where female were angry (35.5%) , fear is the most common in both Bangla (45.5%) and English medium school(31.5%) and suicidal thought most found in class 10. The study also showed that for prevention of bullying, about 30 - 40% cases teachers do not take any initiative for both gender. However for female students 42% reported they took some time while 21 % of reported often,none of the family contact with school in terms of gender, grade and medium of school .To explore the impact of bullying on attitude towards school i.e liking school. Bivariate correlations were calculated for 10 variables, which comprised of 9 bullying types, and one for liking school. Bullying through mean name, exclusion, rumor, threatened, cyber bullying had the highest positive correlation with liking for school (r > .3, p < .001), sexual bullying had the poorest positive correlation with liking for school. That means higher the liking for school lower the severity of bullying .So severity of bullying has negative impact on attitude towards school . Scenario of bullying in schools is worrying. The findings of this study will provide important insights for educators, teachers, practitioners, and families to develop specific school based intervention program to address this issue.
Assessing the need of professional counselors and their potential role in Bangladesh
(University of Dhaka, 2019-01-14) Rozario, Lipy Gloria
The objective of this study is assessing the need of professional counselors and their potential role in Bangladesh. To achieve this objective, mixed method has been applied, predominantly qualitative study. For qualitative study, documentation, observation, interviews, focus group discussion have been used involving persons considering their age, sex, institutional affiliations, and experiences in the field. The sample size of qualitative study consists of thirty respondents, aged 25 and above and among whom 9 male, 21 are female. For quantitative study, a survey instrument has been administered on 982 respondents, aged above 18, male 51.7%, female 48.9%, from Dhaka, Chittagong, and Rajshahi divisions in Bangladesh. The research findings demonstrate that the number of available mental health service centers including resource persons and counselors/psychotherapist, in particular, is very limited. There is a huge gap between the existing problem and the services being provided for their mitigation. The result also shows that mental health services are mostly concentrated in Dhaka, the Capital of Bangladesh; while other districts and rural areas are badly deprived of them. Further, lack of awareness about psychological problems, stigma and knowledge about services among general population also contribute in not seeking mental health services. As per the professionalism of the counselors, currently there are a very few professional counselors in existence. In addition, the concept about counselor’s educational background, their roles, competency, supervision, collaboration among mental health and medical professionals is rather vague both among the professionals as well as those that are in need of these services. It is clear from this research that Bangladesh has a long way to go in order to understand the need of professional counselors for psychological wellbeing of the people; and meeting the gap between the presently available mental health services as opposed to their adequate requirements is very essential to establish professional counseling in Bangladesh.
Psychosocial Factors associated with Health Related Quality of Life among University Students
(University of Dhaka, 2019-02-28) Islam, Md. Azharul
Introduction: Health-related quality of life (HRQoL) is individual‘s subjective perception of his or her health condition that covers physical, psychological and social domains. HRQoL has been increasingly used as an indicator of well-being and outcome measure across various studies including randomized control trials (RCTs). Although a large body of research has explored various factors associated with HRQoL for a range of health conditions, very few investigated that for the university populations. The university groups are critical in relation to health due to their distinct psychosocial and physical characteristics. Exploring modifiable factors associated with HRQoL of this group might open a useful avenue for potential health and wellness interventions. The current research was undertaken to explore HRQoL and its associated psychosocial factors among university students. Method: The study followed a cross-sectional survey design to meet its objectives. Participants were the graduate students of a leading public university of Bangladesh. A total of 588 graduate students from randomly selected five faculties (out of 11) responded to a questionnaire survey. HRQoL was measured using revised Indian (Bengali) adapted Short Form of Health version 2 (SF-12 v 2) questionnaire. Permission was obtained from QualityMetric Inc., the copyright holders of SF-12 v 2 (License agreement # QM030016). Psychological distress and self-esteem were captured using Bangla translated 12-items General Health Questionnaire (GHQ-12) and Rosenberg Self-esteem Scale (RSE), respectively. Information on demographic (e.g., sex, age, relationship status, living status), behavioural (e.g., smoking, physical activity, physical illness), and academic (e.g., faculty, CGPA) factors were recorded in aseparated sheet. Ethical approval was obtained from the concerned university ethics committee. Results: The SF-12 v 2 questionnaire generates eight subscales score and two summary scores. The highest score was found in ‗Physical Functioning‘ subscale out of the eight sub-domains. Females were better in ‗Social Functioning‘ (mean: 67.09 vs. 60.10), ‗Role Emotional‘ (mean: 58.76 vs. 54.08) subscales than males. Males were better in ‗Physical Component Summary (PCS)‘ (mean: 44.71 vs. 43.53) than females. ‗General Health‘ and ‗Mental Health‘ were better for those who had no romantic relationship. ‗Social Functioning‘ was better for those who are in a relationship. Break up in a romantic relationship is associated with poorer scores in all dimensions. Residential students pose higher ‗Mental Component Summary (MCS)‘ than their non-residential counterparts (mean: 44.77 vs. 43.09). As for academic orientation, Arts faculty students reported significantly higher MCS followed by Fine Arts, Sciences, and Business studies. Engaging in physical activity is associated with higher PCS (mean: 45.08 vs. 43.61). Likewise, the absence of physical illness was associated with higher PCS (mean: 44.64 vs. 42.93) and MCS (mean: 44.91 vs. 40.11). The smoking cigarette was also associated with poorer mental health (mean: 41.76 vs. 44.74). Both PCS and MCS were significantly and negatively associated with psychological distress but positively with self-esteem. Multivariate analyses revealed male gender, socio-economic status (SES), non-residential status, psychological distress, and self-esteem as significant predictors of PCS [R2=0.133, F (14, 573) =6.30, p<.0001] with self-esteem (β=0.215, p<.0001) and psychological distress (β=-0.131, p<.01) being the two most crucial predictors. Similarly, non-residential status, theabsence of physical illness, psychological distress and self-esteem all emerging as significant predictors for MCS with psychological distress (β=-0.288, p<.01) and self-esteem (β=0.215, p<.0001) being the two most crucial predictors. Discussion and conclusion: The current study highlighted some key areas that might be critical for the HRQoL of the university students of Bangladesh. Attention should be paid to social-emotional aspects of male students while physical well-being for the female students. Necessary psychological support such individual and/or group counselling for the students going through relationship break-up would be useful to cope with the arisen strain and vulnerability. Specific intervention addressing the mental well-being of non-residential as well as students belonging to sciences, fine arts and business faculties is warranted. Promoting physical activity by creating plenty of games and sports would yield as higher physical and mental health of the students. In addition, extracare should be paid to students suffering from any kind of diseases as it has direct consequences on HRQoL. Furthermore, the campaign against smoking should be strengthened across the campus. Finally, adequate mental health support in the form counselling and psychotherapy, mental health workshops, and seminars, for the students in need could improve students‘ overall health status.
Developing Measurement and Intervention Tools for Anxiety of Primary School Children
(University of Dhaka, 2019-03-31) Haque, Mahjabeen
Some degree of anxiety helps to deal with challenges in life but intense and excessive anxiety (i.e. anxiety disorder) interferes with normal life functioning and threatens individual well-being. Anxiety disorders in children and adolescents have become a concern globally and also in Bangladesh where its high prevalence rate poses a threat to the country’s future growth and development. Though effective actions are needed to deal with childhood anxiety, there is a dearth of culturally appropriate anxiety measures and intervention programs to tackle the problem. To address the needs, three studies were carried out in the present PhD project with the aim of adapting anxiety measures and developing an intervention program suitable for the children and youths of Bangladesh. In the first study, three anxiety measures, namely Child and Adolescent Worry Scale, Spence Children’s Anxiety Scale and Spence Children’s Anxiety Scale-Parent Version were adapted and validated in Bangla. The adapted scales had excellent internal consistency, test-retest reliability, content validity, criterion validity and construct validity. In the second study, a four-week intervention protocol was designed combining CBT and bibliotherapy where five story books were written based on cognitive behavior therapy (CBT) to address various anxiety disorders including separation anxiety, selective mutism, specific phobia, social phobia and generalized anxiety. The stories taught children various techniques of dealing with anxiety, such as relaxation, psychoeducation, role-playing, imagery, cognitive restucturing, distancing, talking back to anxieties, container exercises, graded exposure and positive self-talk. To conduct intervention sessions, self-help activity book and modules (manuals and materials) were also prepared. Subject matter experts, children and parents evaluated the intervention program to be appropriate for handling anxiety.In the third study, the effectiveness of the intervention program was investigated in primary school children in school settings. The three adapted anxiety measures were used before and after the intervention within the framework of a quasi-experimental mixed design. Results indicate that the intervention significantly reduced anxiety in children; anxiety level dropped from the pretest to the post-test phase in the experimental condition but not in the control condition. The qualitative assessment of the program by the children and their parents further supported the findings. The newly developed intervention program is theoretically sound (i.e. based on established theories on psychopathology), culturally sensitive (i.e. appropriate to use in Bangladesh), efficient (i.e. requires few sessions and can be used in group settings with low cost), and effective in reducing anxiety in children. The adapted scales can be used to assess anxiety in children in various settings. Altogether, the outcomes of the present PhD project are expected to contribute to improve the mental health and quality of life of children and young people in Bangladesh.
Adaptation of the behavior assessment system for children- 2, behavior and emotional screening system for use in Bangladesh
(University of Dhaka, 2019-10-07) Seddiqa, Ayesha
Behavioral and emotional issues in preschool children have become a concern globally and also in Bangladesh where its high prevalence rate poses a threat to the country‟s future growth and development. Early identification of the behavioral and emotional issues is the best way to make early intervention for the preschool children which will reduce the rate of behavioral and emotional difficulty during early childhood. To address the needs, the present MPhil project was carried out with the aim of adapting behavioral screening system for children-2, behavioral and emotional screening system (KemphausR. W., & Reynolds C. R. 2007) for the preschool children of Bangladesh. The study was carried out to adapt and validate the Teacher Rating Scale and Parent Rating Scale for the preschool children. 200 teachers working with early childhood and 200 parents of young children, age range from 3-5 years was included as the participants. Cronbach‟s Alpha coefficients were an indication of reliability which was calculated separately for Teacher Rating Scale (.974) and Parent Rating Scale (.833). The test‐retest Teachers form (0.874) and the test-retest reliability coefficient for parents form (.892) also shows satisfactory level of the scale over time. Results showed that, there is a significant positive correlation between the BASC-2, BESS preschool teachers rating scale and the SDQ scale (r = 0.888*, N = 50, p< 0.01). It also showed that there is a significant positive correlation between the BASC-2, BESS preschool parent rating scale and the SDQ scale (r = 0.647*, N = 50, p< 0.01). This finding ensured the construct validity of the bangle adapted version.
Impact of parent-based intervention program to support early development of children in Dhaka city
(University of Dhaka, 2020-12-02) Kawser, Umme
The present study was carried out to investigate the impact and usefulness of the Learning Through Play (LTP) Calendar, a parent training program, in enhancing parental sense of child caring and support in Bangladesh. There were two parts of the study. First, conveniently recruited 90 children (Girls = 45) aged between 0 and 6 years were assessed using LTP Calendar quadrants and oval formats (child development record forms) to identify the factors that adversely affect childhood development. It was found that postnatal illnesses, psychiatric conditions in family, and the quality of interactions between children and their caregivers were significant for the development of the children. The second part of the study investigated whether a parenting education program based on the LTP Calendar would enhance the positive parenting of caregivers. For this, a LTP Calendar parenting workshop was developed where 30 parents of typically developed children and 30 parents of children with special needs participated. A mixed quasi experimental design was used to carry out the study. It was found that the workshop significantly increased parenting knowledge, improved attitude towards parenting and parenting skills of all the participants. Results further indicated that the change in parenting knowledge and attitude was significantly higher among the parents of children with special needs than the parents of typically developed children. Altogether, the findings suggest that LTP Calendar can be a potentially useful tool to improve parental sense of caring and support and parenting skills of Bangladeshi parents.
Effectiveness of applied behavior analysis on behavior modification of children with autism
(University of Dhaka, 2020-12-06) Habib, Khadiza Binta
There are many different ways to teach children with Autism Spectrum Disorder. Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) is one educational tool that has shown to be effective in showing progress with children of Autism Spectrum. The present study investigated to see whether there is any effect of ABA therapy on behavior modification of children with autism. A total of forty ASD children and their mothers were included in the study.Twenty were assigned in experimental group and the rest were assigned to the control group. Antecedent Behavior Consequences (ABC) has been used for assessing target Behavior (Eye Contact). Eye Contact Avoidance Scale (ECAS) has been used to measure eye contact avoiding behavior before and after intervention. Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) therapy has been used for intervention program. Data has been analyzed by independent sample t-test. Result indicated that there is an effect of ABA therapy on behavior modification of children with autism. Children of experimental (intervention group) showed significant improvement in making eye contact than the children of control group (no intervention).
Crisis preparedness and management training in Bangladesh through cross-cultural techniques
(University of Dhaka, 2021-02-28) Byron, Joanne
Bangladesh has experienced a variety of natural (i.e., flood, cyclone) and manmade (terrorism) disasters. To date, the consequences of these disasters have not been widely recognized and responded to within the mental health realm. The goal of this research was to investigate crisis response techniques used in the reduction of mental health disorders in the aftermath of a traumatic event. Further, crisis intervention programs, such as PREPaRE and NOVA with an emphasis on cross-cultural techniques were examined for use in the development of a crisis response program specific for the country of Bangladesh. The study details the development of the Crisis Preparedness and Management for Mental Health (CPM-MH) program and the evaluation of four CPM-MH workshop trainings conducted in Dhaka, Bangladesh between 2017 and 2018. Pre-tests and post-tests, and program evaluations were analyzed for 95 participants of Bengali decent with English as a second language having attended Crisis Preparedness and Management for Mental Health five-day workshops. A Bangla speaking cofacilitator was used for summary of material and training assistance. Results indicated a significant decrease in anxiety when required to conduct a crisis intervention and a significant increase in knowledge of the variables impacting crisis response. Further, results yielded a significant increase for a positive attitude in crisis preparedness and management activities, and a significant increase in knowledge and characteristics of a crisis event. Qualitative data analysis of the three open-ended questions on program evaluations indicated common themes from participants related to knowledge of the presenter, strength Running head: CRISIS PREPAREDNESS AND MANAGEMENT 8 of the training process, crisis-training techniques, introduction to new concepts, relevancy of crisis training for the community, training conducted in both English and Bangla, and additional days to the current training. After successful participants completion of the training program, the implementation of the CPMMH training program contributed to building local and national capacity for crisis responders to deliver effective psychological intervention for crisis stabilization to survivors of disasters. There is a critical need for the continual activation of psychosocial support and increased manpower for community-based volunteers as well as a standardized protocol and mechanisms for crisis response at a country and city level.
BEHAVIORAL MANIFESTATION AND PSYCHO-SOCIAL PREDICTORS OF JUVENILE OFFENDERS
(University of Dhaka, 2021-08-26) Chowdhury, Mohammad Salim
The occurrence of juvenile offence is an enormous concern in Bangladesh. It has been observed that juvenile offences have increased and studies found that status offenses increased through juveniles. The legal and judiciary reform in Bangladesh regarding juvenile offenders evident to ensure the minimum standard of care staying in Child Development Centers (CDCs). With the exploring of behavioral manifestations of the juvenile offenders, the symptoms of mental health difficulties have been ascertained for healing process with effective treatment and care. However, each community might have unique assessed concerning its predicting factors as these factors differ from individual to individual, family to family and community to community. So the research goal of the study is to explore the behavioral manifestations and to predict psycho-social factors of juvenile offenders. A total 523 of juveniles have been taken as participants where 197 were offenders group selected from CDCs and 326 were randomly selected from mainstream educational institutions as comparison group. About 88.30% of male and 11.70% of female are found among the offenders group where 52.10% of male and 47.90% of female are drawn from comparison group. To accomplish the aim of the study, descriptive and exploratory research design were chosen. The adaptive Bangala version of the four out of five sub-scales of Beck Youth Inventories (BYI-II) i.e. depression, anxiety, anger, and self-concepts were applied. A checklist to identify the behavioral outcome and functional support scale was used and a semi-structured questionnaire was developed to predict the psychosocial factors. Face to face interview method was administered by following the ethical principles. It reveals that social and emotional impairment scores i.e. depression (t = 7.25; P< 0.001), anger (t= 6.96; P< 0.01) and anxiety (t = 4.26; P< 0.001) are found significantly high among the juvenile offenders. The score of the self concepts of the two groups were not found statistically significant. However, it has been indentified that moderate to extremely high level of depression, anger and anxiety and self-concepts have been found among the juvenile offenders those are staying at CDCs. Moreover, as exhibited behaviors by juvenile offenders were internalized related to emotion or feelings where observing to peers, extreme level of explicit behaviors were expressed. To predict the psychosocial factors, level of educational attainment (OR 0.83; p 0.001) school dropout (OR 1.03; p 0.01) and socio-economic status (OR 0.94; p 0.001) are found more as risk of engaging into offensive behaviors by juveniles as socio-economic factors. Middle class juveniles are prevailing to arrest and staying at juvenile justice system which is evident from the recent developed middle class theory of juvenile offences. Furthermore, family violence (OR 2.31; p 0.001), physical abuse by the family members (OR 4.22; p 0.001), parental antisocial behaviors (OR 9.20; p 0.001) and parental mental illness (OR 4.49; p 0.001) are found predictor to juvenile offenders. Experiences of substance abused (OR 11.91; p 0.001) are seen predictors to be juvenile offenders. The role of concerned authority is to provide specialized mental health care of the juvenile offenders by trained and expert professionals as treatment process of development, correction and rehabilitation through ensuring the minimum standard of care. Strengthening attachment bond with educational institutions; prompting middle class family structure; protecting from family violence and preventing the adverse childhood condition within the family level are recommended to prevent the issue of juvenile offenders. There is needed to take necessary steps to depress the juveniles from substance abuse by proper implementation of the existing laws and awareness among parents and education institutions.
Therapeutic Guideline for Identification and Exploration of Childhood Parental Messages
(University of Dhaka, 2021-08-29) Huque, Tasnuva
Adapting creative therapy: Activities with children and adolescents
(©University of Dhaka, 2022-01-25) Akter, Mir Ayesha
Creative therapy positively affects ones behavior, cognition, thinking and mood. In creative therapy, children realize that they are being accepted non-judgmentally. They also learn to attract others attention to their strengths. All the tools used in creative therapy are mainly developed by the users of English language and appropriate for foreign culture. In our culture creative therapy tools have not yet been adapted. The main objective of this research is to adapt creative therapy activities for Bangladesh context to be used with children and adolescents based on Creative Therapy: Activities with children and adolescents (Hobday, A. &Ollier, K. 1998). Creative therapy based activities were selected for intervention for children and adolescents. Total procedure was divided into 2 phases. In phase 1, intervention activities were translated into Bangla and a first trial was conducted with children aged 4 to 15 years. In phase 2, effectiveness of creative therapy was testified thoroughly on 100 children, aged between 7 to 15 yrs. At first, in phase 1, the researcher selected 15 activities and took necessary steps for translating them into Bangla. A panel of experts consisted of 5 members considered 12 activities appropriate for the target population. The panel compared words, phrases in English and Bangla and made some modifications. The selected activities were explained to 17 conveniently selected children. Ambiguity regarding words, sentences were modified and changed. Then in phase 2, 100 children were assessed using 3 sub scales (anxiety, anger & depression) of Beck Youth Inventory. Among them 55 were selected for intervention on the basis of their high score in the subscales. Parents of 45 children gave consent for applying intervention. Finally 30 children received all 9 session of the intervention. During the 9 sessions intervention 15 discontinued. Among them 10 showed high level of anxiety. Another 10 of them had high level of anger and rest 10 of them showed high level of depression. These children were divided into 3 categories. Each category received 5 activities dedicated for either anxiety or anger or depression. The researcher herself administered the intervention activities to each child individually. Thus, the researcher herself conducted a total of 270 session’s altogether. Finally the levels of anxiety, anger and depression were measured again after intervention using Beck Youth Inventory sub scale. Result showed that the creative therapy based activity intervention administered on the children and adolescents significantly decreased the levels of anxiety, anger and depression. Therefore the findings supports the effectiveness of using creative therapy based intervention to treat children and adolescents suffering from emotional and psychological issues. Therefore, Psychologists working with children and adolescents can use these activities in their mental health services.
Components and predictors of psychological wellbeing in young adults
(©University of Dhaka, 2022-07-03) Mahmud, Andalib
Psychological wellbeing (PWB), which refers to the overall healthy functioning of a person, is a crucial asset. It is a combination of effective functioning and feeling good of one's surroundings. To achieve and maintain PWB is very important for any stages of life, especially for young adult (YA). YA go through multiple significant transitions in life. They also receive lesser amount of intervention to maintain their emotional and psychological health. Stresses from a wide range of sources affect their PWB. This study wanted to discover various aspects of PWB in the life of the YAs. The main aim of the current study was to discover the components and predictors of YAs' PWB and develop an effective intervention program to enhance their PWB. The study was carried out in three different stages. A mixed-method design was implemented to conduct the study. The 42 items Ryff's Psychological Wellbeing Scale (PWBS) was chosen in the first stage for its optimal usability to measure PWB. It needed to be adapted for the Bangladeshi population before conducting the study using this tool. So, in the first stage the adaptation took place. The English and Bangla PWBS had a significant positive correlation (r = 0.6, p < 0.05), indicating high parallel form reliability. The expert agreement over the content of the Bangla PWBS (BPWBS) as well as the outcome of the factor analytic procedure, ensure the content and construct validity of the instrument. Then the BPWBS was administered to a 301-representative sample of YA in the second stage. The goal of the second stage was to identify the factors related with PWB. Purposive sampling technique was used in this stage. Comparative analysis of those survey data was used to identify potential predictors of PWB. Demographic predictors such as gender, age, birth order, socioeconomic status, marital status, physical illness, and mental illness had no significant (p > 0.05) difference in means. Thus, the conclusion was these demographic variables are not a reliable source to predict someone's PWB. Finally, the current study aimed to create an effective intervention program to improve YAs' PWB in the final stage. To achieve the goal, a pre and post-test study was designed and carried out. The measurement results show that there is a significant difference between pre-test and post-test scores in the autonomy (p = 0.04), personal growth (p = 0.03), positive relationship (p = 0.00), and self-acceptance (p =0.00) subscales. So, we can conclude that, psychological interventions have a significant impact on improving wellbeing on those specific measures. These findings reinforce the six-factor model of psychological well-being by Ryff (1989) in the design of PWB program for YAs.
Identifying Risk Factors and Role of Counselling on Psychological Well-being of Mothers with Postpartum Depression
(©University of Dhaka, 2022-07-04) Baroi, Anne Anthonia
This study aims to identify the cause of postpartum depression and see the effect of counseling on mothers suffering from postpartum depression (PPD). A total of 91 women were assessed during the first seven months of their babies. The validated Bangla version of Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS) was used to measure PPD. To identify the cause of the PPD, some information was collected online. It has found that 46.2% of the mother was suffering from postpartum depression. Marital status, depression, unplanned pregnancy, mental stress during pregnancy, and physical complications significantly correlate with postpartum depression. Individual counselling session were provided to mothers with PPD. Counselling session was provided for five consecutive weeks, and feedbacks were taken after that. The session was designed by the researcher based on Transactional Analysis, Person-Centered Therapy, and relaxation techniques. The effect of counselling was measured with the comparison of pretest and posttest of postpartum depression and general health questionnaire score. These two scales assessed the maternal and overall health of the mother. After providing the session, it has found that the mean difference of PPD was 5.211 and GHQ became 4.053 which showed significant improvement. The result of the study showed that the role of counselling is essential for the psychological well-being of the mother.
Adaptation of child focused cognitive behavior therapy as an intervention program
(©University of Dhaka, 2023-04-30) Afrin, Sadia
Child-focused cognitive behavioral therapy (CF-CBT) is a treatment approach which is based on evidence. The purpose of this therapy is to help children, adolescents, and their parents (or other caregivers) overcome child-related difficulties. These difficulties include anxiety, anger, maladaptive behavior, negative irrational thinking process etc. As far as Bangladesh is concerned, more often than not, western values influence cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) since it was primarily developed and practiced in the West. Cultural understanding and contextualizing have always led to a better therapy outcome. Many a researcher have suggested that CBT need modification and adaptation to non-western clients‘ cultural and social backgrounds. In Bangladesh, there is a scarcity of organized and systematic intervention programs in Bangla. In that case, applying and developing interventions for Bangladeshi culture to serve the affected children is of vital importance. It is the necessity of the time to adapt the intervention culturally. The main objectives of the present study were to adapt the Child Focused Cognitive Behavior Therapy as an intervention for children and assess the effectiveness of adapted Child Focused Cognitive Behavior Therapy as an intervention. To attain these two objectives, the research has been divided in two sections (section 1 & 2). Section 1 was constructed for general objective 1 and five specific objectives were administered to fulfill the general objective 1. General objective 2 was administered in section 2 with 3 specific objectives. Again, the researcher has divided section-1 in two phases (Phase 1 & 2). To accomplish the phase 1, a number of child focused activities were selected, translated and reviewed. 20 regular random children were taught some Dhaka University Institutional Repository Adaptation of child focused CBT techniques. These children also practiced the activities in several sessions. With their feedback and psychologists‘ constructive opinion by credibility questionnaires, bangla activities were reviewed and re-constructed which was the researcher‘s draf-2. In phase 2, purposively selected 10 children were skilled with draft-2. After their comments and review, draft-3 was developed. In the section 2, draft-3 was applied on 49 children, who the researcher has termed as Case Group, with extremely elevated or moderately elevated anxiety and anger. There were 3 control groups. Control Group-1 did not receive any intervention; they also did not come to the hospital for their own treatment purpose. Control group-2 and 3 were already assessed by other psychologists. There were extremely elevated or moderately elevated anxiety and anger in these children and they received intervention by general instruction and creative therapy respectively. 49 children from Case group, 28 children from control group 2 and 30 children from control group 3, all attended 14 sessions in 14 weeks. The time duration was 1 hour 30 minutes for each of the sessions. So, the total number of the sessions were 1498 (107 participants multiplied by 14 sessions). By comparing the mean score by t value, the researcher saw that among all the groups, the mean score of anxiety and anger level in the Case Group is the lowest than 3 control groups. Also, the credibility questionnaire percentage among the children, parents and psychologists proved that the child focused CBT Bangla activities, which were developed by the researcher, were more effective in reducing anger and anxiety among the children. So, the researcher finally deduced that these CBT Bangla activities could be used in a larger scale throughout the nation.
Ethical practice in counselling: Developing ethical standard for Bangladesh
(©University of Dhaka, 2023-04-30) Enayet, Safina Binte
In Bangladesh, psychological counselling is a newly growing profession. Less population know about the necessity of practicing ethical behaviors and following ethical norms by the counsellors in psychological counselling. To ensure an authentic counselling service, maintaining ethical practice is mandatory for the professionals. As part of the process, ethical standards are needed to establish and follow in the context of Bangladesh. In this research, A Code of Ethics was developed which was justified by the expert panel. Four main categories; respect, competence, responsibility, and integrity were decided as ethical principles. Different applied field professionals’ opinions about the Code of Ethics and current ethical practice perspectives were gathered from the focus group discussion. From the Focus group discussion (FGD) it was revealed that licensing or professional registration process is needed to ensure counsellors’ ethical practice. Besides that, the expert panel put emphasis on competence of the counsellor in ethical practice. In the second part, an ethics and practice questionnaire was developed to measure the ethical practice of the counsellors. Moreover, the Client's Evaluation of Counselor Behavior (CECB-S) questionnaire was also used to identify the relationship between counsellors' competency and ethical practice. An online survey was used to collect data from the clients (N= 130) who have taken psychological counselling from the counsellor. Clients were asked to rate the counsellor’s ethical behaviors and competency in the counselling practice. From the Pearson correlation analysis, it was found that there is a very less positive correlation between counsellors’ competency and ethical practice in Bangladesh, and not significant. The Code of Ethics has developed as a basic guideline for counselling psychologists’, educational psychologists’, clinical psychologists’ as well as researchers. Further update and research are necessary to improve this Code.
BANGLA ADAPTATION OF EXPECTATIONS ABOUT COUNSELING-BRIEF FORM
(©University of Dhaka, 2023-09-07) Hasan, Md. Rakibul
The Expectation About Counseling-Brief (EAC-B) form is becoming increasingly important in counseling expectation studies across the world. A variety of factor analysis and validation investigations have been conducted in many cultures since the inception of the EAC-B (H. E. A. Tinsley, 1982). Because of a growing need for mental health research, the goal of this study was to translate the instrument into Bangla and validate it in Bangladeshi culture. The study included 326 participants (85 clients and 241 non-clients; 217 females and 109 males). Exploratory factor analysis (EFA) with principal axis factoring revealed a three-factor solution of the EAC-B with 34 items. Consistent with the previous research, the three factors were labeled, Client Involvement, Facilitative Conditions, and Counselor Expertise and these factors together explained 60.93% of the total variance. In comparison to non-clients, clients had lower expectations about counseling in ‘Counselor Expertise’ and greater expectations in the other two factors. In comparison to females, males had lower expectations for ‘Client Involvement’ and higher expectations for the other two factors. EFA was also performed using the EAC-B’s 17 scales, yielding a two-factor structure: Client Role and Counselor Role. Both the 34-item and 53-item EAC-B, as well as their factors, had high internal consistency (Cronbach’s α = .97 for the 53-item EAC-B, Cronbach’s α = .96 for the 34-item EAC-B and .89–.96 for its factors), as well as strong convergent, discriminant, and know-group validity. As a result, both the 34-item and 53-item Bangla versions of the EAC-B appear to be valid and reliable, and may be utilized in future research on counseling expectations in the country.
Evaluation of psychological services provided by educational institutions and hospitals
(©University of Dhaka, 2023-09-19) Efat, Sayeda Amina
The objective of the study was to evaluate the psychological services of educational institutions and hospitals by comparing client’s feedback on counsellors’ behaviour and counselling sessions. Two hundred clients (120 from universities and 80 from hospitals) were purposively selected from six hospitals and five educational institutions. They were asked to complete the Client's Evaluation of Counselor Behavior Short Form (CECB-S) and the Session Evaluation Questionnaire (SEQ) as measures of the service quality they had taken from their respective organizations. Data were analyzed using independent sample t-test and two-way Analysis of Variances (ANOVA). Results indicated that mean client evaluation (CE) score by the clients of educational institutions was significantly higher than the clients of hospital setting (t=10.112, p<.001) but the mean session evaluation (SE) scores did not vary between the two service settings (t=- 1.077, p>.05). The SE scores also did not differ significantly between the clients of public and private universities (t=-.049, p>.001) or between government and private hospitals (t=.569, p>.001). The interaction between age and gender (p >0.05) or gender and number of sessions (p >0.05) was not statistically significant for both CE and SE. However, CE score increased with number of sessions (p<.000). Clients taking services from universities evaluated their counsellors’ behaviours favourably than clients taking services from hospitals, but their rating on individual sessions did not vary. Further studies should explore possible reasons for these differences by addressing counsellors’ personal qualities, experiences, skills, and therapeutic mode.
Impact of learning communication skills and practicing selfcare on burnout management
(©University of Dhaka, 2023-11-16) Rahman, Nuzhat –E-
Job burnout is a burning concept nowadays that has been incorporated into everyone‘s lives remarkably. Chronic job stresses have caused many professionals and workers to fall into job burnout in the past few decades. In wide-range, job burnout is an extensive reaction of persistent emotional and interpersonal stressors on the job. The purposes of this study were to assess the need for a burnout management program in hospital settings, to develop an intervention program namely ―Communication Skills and Selfcare Enhancement Program‖ for burnout manage ment, and to evaluate the effectiveness of the intervention program by quantitative and qualitative assessment. With this vision, three studies were carried out in the present M.Phil project. The first study was an FGD to assess the need for a burnout management program. The FGD found a valid need for a burnout management program and identified many sources of burnout, which include lack of good communication skills, un-empathic and un-appreciating environment and lack of knowledge on selfcare. The second study was to develop an intervention program namely ―Communication Skills and Selfcare Enhancement Program‖. It was developed based on FGD findings and the reference of conventional burnout management programs. The intervention program consists of four phases - 1) stress management, 2) communication skills, 3) empathetic communication and behavior and 4) stroking (recognition). Four separate modules have been developed for each workshop from beginning to end with an appropriate time duration that includes brief content. After completion of the module, a pilot execution was conducted before the field study and according to the feedback and suggestions of the pilot test, small changes were made. Thus, the modules were finalized for the field test. The third study was to evaluate the effectiveness of the intervention program by quantitative and qualitative assessment. The intervention was administered once a week for an hour in four consecutive weeks. It was conducted on two groups (experimental and control) following pretest post test design. A total number of 63 employees were included from two hospitals of Dhaka city where 30 of them received the intervention program and 33 of them did not receive any intervention. The result implied that the intervention significantly reduced the level of burnout. The burnout level dropped from the pretest to the post test phase in the experimental condition and a little hike at the follow-up phase, but not in the control condition. The qualitative assessment which was done by the in-depth interview at the second follow-up of the program further supported the findings. Altogether the outcomes of the present study revealed that the organizations can use this type of program under the guidance of professional psychologists to manage their employee burnout, as they are responsible to look after and maintain the mental health of their employees. This study is a baseline that has opened the further scope of different studies in this field. It has been expected to contribute to improving the mental health and the quality of life of the working people in Bangladesh.
Effectiveness of transactional analysis therapy on depression and marital adjustment of couples
(©University of Dhaka, 2023-11-16) Sumi, Amena Begum
The present study examined the effectiveness of transactional analysis therapy on reducing depression and improving marital adjustment of couples. The hypothesis was receiving transactional analysis therapy would reduce depression and increase marital adjustment among married couples. The independent variable was transactional analysis therapy and the dependent variables were depression and marital adjustment scores. The sample included 20 Bangladeshi married couples, who were selected through opportunistic basis from a psychiatric clinic of Dhaka city. Depression Scale and Locke Wallace -marital adjustment questionnaire were used to measure depression level and marital adjustment level of the participants. A repeated measure design was followed without control group. The pretest-posttest measured before and after 11 counseling sessions and the 12 th number session was follow up session. The follow up session measured after one month of termination period in counselling. The results have shown that there was a statistically significant difference (F = 282.65, p< 0.00) in marital adjustment score of participants over the three time periods and pair wise comparisons indicate that there was significant difference between pretest and post-test and also between pretest and follow- up test at the 0.05 level. Results also have shown that, there was statistically significant difference (F = 359.26, p< 0.00) in depression score of participants over the three time periods and pair wise comparisons also indicate that there was significant difference between pretest and post-test and also between pretest and follow- up test at the 0.05 level. This implied a significant positive impact of transactional analysis therapy on depression and marital adjustment.