Meditation Program Enhances Self-efficacy and Resilience of Home-based Caregivers of Older Adults with Alzheimer’s: A Five-year Follow-up Study in Two South Asian Cities

This article reports a five-year follow-up study in two South Asian cities on the impact of a long-term meditation program in enhancing self-efficacy and resilience of home-based caregivers of older adults with Alzheimer’s. Intervention group caregivers (pre-test N = 96; post-test N = 78) reported lower perceived caregiving burden, higher self-efficacy in obtaining respite, responding to disruptive patient behaviors and controlling upsetting thoughts, and greater resilience, post-test, in comparison to the control group (pre-test N = 89; post-test N = 67). Gender and relationship with the patient were two strong moderators determining program impact. Caregiver women, spouses, Hindus, middle class, with college and higher education, homemakers, who attended at least 75% of the meditation lessons and regularly practiced at home (i.e. once weekly for at least 75% of the weeks) reported lower post-test perceived caregiving burden, higher self-efficacy, and resilience. Results of the Tobit regression models confirmed the meditation-related moderators and indicated that home practice was the strongest predictor of post-test scores. Overall the meditation program is an effective intervention, however, would need to be refined for specific caregiver subgroups such as men, children and children-in-law and those working outside the home, to suit their realities.     

Spiritual education programme for primary caregiver parents to build resilience in children with acute anxiety symptoms: A multicity study

This article reports a multicity 1‐year long study on the effect of a customized spiritual education programme (SEP) on parenting and in turn its mediated effect on resilience building for children with acute anxiety symptoms. The treatment group comprised 3,689 primary caregiver parents who participated in the SEP and their children clinically diagnosed with acute anxiety symptoms, from 180 schools across 15 cities. Equal number of primary caregiver parents and children were assigned to the control group. Results showed that post‐test scores of treatment group primary caregiver parents were higher on the parenting style questionnaires, indicating an improved and authoritative parenting style. This positive effect of the SEP on parenting in turn had a mediating effect on resilience of their children, who scored higher on the outcome measures in the post‐treatment phase. Parenting and resilience outcome measures varied due to socio‐economic and SEP‐related variables. Children's perception of post‐treatment parenting influenced their resilience. Findings suggest that SEP could aid positive parenting and hence positive behavioural outcomes in children.     

Yoga education program for older women diagnosed with sarcopenia: A multicity 10-year follow-up experiment

ABSTRACT

This article reports a multicity yoga education program (YEP) experiment aimed at improving gait speed, muscular strength, and functional performance in Asian and African older women diagnosed with sarcopenia. Posttest gait speed and muscle strength scale scores were higher, and the six functional performance tests scores were above average for women who were from Asian cities; middle class; currently married; living with spouse, children, or kin; with good self-rated health; who regularly attended the YEP lessons and regularly self-practiced. Instructors’ self-practice record was the strongest predictor of higher posttest scores. The YEP is an effective long-term prevention for sarcopenic older women.     

A policy lapsation model

Lapsation of a life insurance policy is discontinuation of premium payment by the policy holder during the period of operation of the policy, due to any reason other than the death of the policy holder. The length of life of a lapsed policy can be defined as the period between the month when the last premium instalment was paid and the month the policy was issued. In India, the acceptance of a proposal for life insurance necessitates administrative processes which, together with the agent's commission and medical charges, cost the Life Insurance Corporation almost the whole of the first year's and a major part of the second year's premium. Early lapses, therefore, pose a major financial problem to the Corporation. In this study, the pattern of early policy lapses was empirically investigated with a view to formulating a model for the lapsation phenomenon. It has been realized that the phenomenon is not amenable to any simple statistical model due to an inherent stratification in the population of lapsed policies.     

Spiritual Programmes for Prisoners in India: Insights for Criminological Social Work Practice

This study is based on 198 prisoners in prisons of three Indian cities – Mumbai, Pune and Delhi, who had undergone spiritual programs conducted by the Art of Living and Brahmakumaris. The main objectives were to understand the prisoners’ perceived implication of the programs for themselves and the future use. Results showed that younger prisoners, the religious minorities, those who personally engaged with the programs by doing some self-practice and those who had at least matriculation level education, were more likely to see the spiritual programs as personally positive, i.e. as giving a sense of personal peace and also see its continuous use as a way of life for the future. They also did better on parameters of hope, well-being, coherence, happiness and peace. This has implications for criminological social work practice, where a case is made for spiritual interventions, geared towards increasing the chances of prisoners to turn their lives around.     

Students’ views on expanding contours of social work practice through spirituality

ABSTRACT

This article surveys the views of 15,067 social work students across 12 countries on social work practice and spirituality. Responses were elicited on precoded binary response categories as derived from literature. Results of the logistic regression analyses, as embedded in the original study design, showed that students from Australia, European countries, and the United States; women; postgraduate students; Christians; and those with higher self-reported spirituality scores saw mindfulness-based spiritually–sensitive interventions as the core mode of micro–level work with individuals and groups. Spirituality was seen as philosophically expanding the contours of practice by laying newer ways of assessment, intervention, and change.     

Book Review: Towards Financial Self-Reliance: A Handbook on Resource Mobilization for Civil Society Organisations in the South by Richard Holloway. Earthscan Publications,London, and Sterling,VA, 2001

VOLUNTAS: International Journal of Voluntary and Nonprofit Organizations -