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Since the end of the civil war in 2009, Sri Lankan refugees in India have begun to return home slowly. This article examines the reintegration experiences of first-generation returnees vis-à-vis second-generation returnees who were either born in India or were small children at the time of migration and thus have limited memory of their lives in Sri Lanka before migration. Particular attention is given to challenges encountered, coping mechanisms adapted to overcome these challenges and returnees' perceptions of their own return decision in hindsight. Using 13 in-depth case studies in the Northern Province of Sri Lanka, we found that while the reintegration of first-generation returnees has been relatively uneventful, second-generation returnees, particularly those with Indian higher educational qualifications, faced a cluster of challenges upon their return involving financial, social, and bureaucratic aspects. Their coping mechanisms include accepting jobs beneath their qualifications, remigration to India, and maintaining strong bonds with fellow returnees and friends still in India. While challenges faced upon returning to Sri Lanka have led some returnees, particularly the young, to doubt their decision to return, others are content with their decision as they feel they have better rights in Sri Lanka. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the wake of declaration of Covid-19 as a pandemic by the World Health Organization, the Prime Minister of India announced a nationwide lockdown to curb its spread. Subsequently, some groups of people found themselves away from their family or friends, and were unable to return to them. The aim of the research was to explore the lives of young adults who were living alone and working, during the lockdown in India. Focus was on their daily living, their relationships and their mental health. Twelve participants residing in various cities of India were included via the Internet. Focus group discussions were used to attain the objectives of the study. The data that emerged from the discussions, was analysed using thematic analysis. All participants had experienced different kinds of disruptions in their life due to the lockdown. This effect was mediated by their financial situation, their general comfort and preference for living alone, media, opportunities for non-virtual interactions and other kinds of recreation, quality of relationships and more. Though there were similarities in their coping methods, their perspective on the lockdown, the meaning they attributed to their current situation and their vision for their future was unique. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: The outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic has left the student community in distress. They have had to vacate their hostels and go home, which has restyled their enjoyable campus life into virtual online classes. The technical glitches and uncertainty of the future kept them in the doldrum. Our study explored the subgroups of socio-demographic variables (gender, educational qualifications, history of mental health condition, current experience of mental health condition, and current accommodation) and Social Connectedness as predictors of coping strategies during the pandemic in university students of Delhi-NCR. Method and Materials: A cross-sectional research design was implemented. Through purposive sampling, 248 students were recruited. The sample consisted of males and females aged 18-34 years (Mean=21, SD=2.86). Data was collected using Google forms consisting of the Sociodemographic Form, The Brief Cope and Social Connectedness Scale. Online informed consent was taken from the participants. Results: Regression results suggested that the current experience of mental health conditions predicted active emotional and avoidant emotional coping strategies. Social Connectedness positively predicted avoidant emotional coping strategy and negatively predicting problem focus strategies in the COVID-19 pandemic. Significant differences were found in active emotional and avoidant emotional coping strategies between students having a past and current history of mental health conditions (anxiety/depression) vs. those who were in sound mental health. Students with past experience of mental health issue were reported to be significantly more socially connected than who did not have any mental health issue. Conclusions: The potential effects of Social Connectedness, a history of the mental health condition on coping strategies during COVID-19, were found to be necessary. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Adult sexual assault (ASA) is often associated with negative mental health consequences. The psychological needs of ASA survivors are overlooked while the legal and social needs focused on. Methodology: It is a cross-sectional study. The ASA survivors who came for medical evaluation were included in the study after obtaining consent. Fifty ASA survivors were interviewed for the study. Psychopathology, perceived social support, and coping mechanisms were assessed during interview using especially designed semi-structured pro forma. Results: The mean age of participants was 25.6 ± 7.2 years. Forty-one of 50 survivors suffered from major depressive disorder or posttraumatic stress disorder or both with 33 expressing suicidal ideas. Maximum social support was perceived from family and least from significant others such as health-care workers, police, and judiciary. Problem solving and expressive action are associated with better perceived social support by family as well as friends. Conclusion: Depression and suicidal ideas among majority the survivors of ASA highlight the mental devastation the sexual assault causes to a woman. Although family is primary social support to them, health-care workers and law enforcement officials are not perceived as supportive toward the survivors. Routine mental health assistance and empathetic approach by all parties involved in the management of survivors are needed in these cases. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Coping mechanisms adopted by the farming community has recently become a subject of increasing importance in climate change research with an objective to reduce the vulnerability of climate sensitive people. The present study was designed to identify and assess the coping mechanisms adopted by the livestock dependents to mitigate the impact of drought on their livestock rearing and livelihood security. A total 240 livestock dependents from three drought prone districts of Bihar were interviewed and an exclusively Drought adaptation Index was developed for this study. The study revealed that 49 adaptation strategies were adopted by the livestock dependents which were further distributed into seven broad categories. Most significant coping mechanisms were feeding of extra crop residues, providing frequent extra clean and fresh feed and water, storage of wheat/rice straw, change in cropping pattern, feeding and milking during cool hours, kept animal in shadow, extra bathing of cattle, feeding of extra concentrate, selling of animals and reducing herd size. The study also established that adoption of coping mechanism was increased significantly with the increase in degree of drought proneness and herd size was the most significant contributor to the higher level of adoption of coping mechanisms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]