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Ragging has claimed hundreds of innocent lives and has ruined the careers of thousands of students. A total of 717 cases of ragging were reported in the English print media alone across the country from January 2007 to September 2013. However, the media reports tend to focus on extreme cases and do not reveal the true extent of ragging. Moreover, in the absence of empirical data, it is difficult to understand the processes involved in, and the ramifications of, ragging. This study examines the prevalence and types of ragging practices in educational institutions. The study covered 10,632 students from 37 educational institutions spread across 12 states in India. Findings show that almost 40 per cent students admitted to having experienced some kind of ragging. College-wise analysis of the results showed marked variations in the prevalence of ragging among colleges, thus pointing to the role of institutional factors in the occurrence of ragging. Variations in responses are also seen based on the kind of course pursued, gender, and place of residence of student, thus indicating that these are critical factors in influencing the prevalence, severity and kinds of ragging practices.

History shows that education cannot be its own vehicle. It has to depend on the hinterland formed by its users--students, teachers and parents. Critical evaluation throughout history, however, has shown that it is these very users who are least consulted in the structuring of education. In this article, the authors describe an experiential programme designed for educationalists that enhances their understanding of and ability to tackle thorny issues that arise in life skills teaching. Inspired by a pivotal report on the state of the country's education practice that showed that content and delivery of education ignored social realities, the programme signals a radical and brave departure for Indian pedagogy.

Objective: To study the socio-demographic factors, clinical characteristics, and long-term outcome of dissociative disorders in inpatient children and adolescents. Methods: Chart data of forty-four subjects (8-15 years) with a diagnosis of dissociative disorder admitted to a specialist Child and Adolescent Psychiatry (CAP) unit between September 2001 and August 2002 were reviewed. Results: Eighty-nine percent of the subjects were above 10 years of age, and 61% were females. Difficult or anxious temperament was found in half of the subjects. Precipitating stressors were present in a majority (82%) and half of the subjects had an acute onset of symptoms. Mean duration of illness was 3.6 weeks. The most common symptom was pseudoseizure. Sixty-eight percent of patients had a co-morbid psychiatric diagnosis, the commonest being a depressive disorder. Remission in symptoms was seen in about 80% of subjects at the time of discharge. Two-thirds of the twenty-four subjects available for follow-up had resumed academics and had good global functioning. Conclusions: Inpatient children and adolescents with dissociative disorders had an acute onset, with obvious precipitating stressors and had a favourable short- and medium-term outcome. Majority of the subjects had psychiatric co-morbidity. Early diagnosis and presence of precipitating factors determined a favourable outcome. (Contains 1 table.)

Background: Literature has emphasized the role of biopsychosocial factors in internalizing disorders; however, the role of developmental competencies of a child have not been explored much in this context. The current study aimed to understand the differences in developmental competencies, temperament, parenting practices and psychosocial adversities between children with and without internalizing disorders. Method: The sample consisted of 200 children and adolescents aged seven to 18 years, with equal number of those with and without an internalizing disorder; and one of their parents. Psychopathology, temperament, interpersonal competence, emotion regulation, executive function, self-concept, adaptive behaviour, parenting practices, life events, family environment and abnormal psychosocial situations were measured using standardized tools. Findings: Discriminant analysis revealed that temperamental domains of sociability and rhythmicity, developmental competencies of adaptive behaviour and self-concept, parenting practices involving father's involvement and overall positive parenting differentiated the clinical and control groups better. Among psychosocial adversities, family environment domains of cohesion and organization, and subjective stress from life events and abnormal psychosocial situations were the most important discriminators. Conclusion: The current study reveals that specific individual factors involving temperament and developmental competencies and environmental factors involving parenting practices and psychosocial adversities are significantly associated with internalizing disorders. This has implications for the mental health care of children and adolescents with internalizing disorders. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The development of juvenile transfer laws, against the backdrop of significant public outrage against a perceived increase in juvenile crime, has generated multiple debates, mostly centred on issues of child-inclusive justice versus crime mitigation and public safety agendas. The resulting legal developments have sought to instrumentalise punitive justice approaches, that facilitate the criminalisation of a sub-group of children (based on age and severity of crime), by articulating a limited and exclusionary conception of vulnerability. To bridge this gap, this article comprehensively evaluates the core assumptions of the juvenile transfer laws in India, through transdisciplinary considerations that integrate legal, rights-based and mental health perspectives, thereby making the analysis relevant to other legal jurisdictions with provisions for juvenile transfer. Alternative approaches to transfer, that adopt a rehabilitative and capacity-based justice orientation to culpability are discussed, to suggest crime prevention approaches cognizant of adolescent psychosocial vulnerabilities, and the need for mitigation of criminality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Children with Disruptive Behaviour Disorder (DBD) often have an impaired ability to relate to others appropriately due to poor social skills and behaviours that others find offensive. This impairment may be due to a combination of how core symptoms compel children with DBD to respond to others, and how others respond reciprocally to disruptive behaviour. This leads to strenuous child parent relationships, increasing family stress and further affects the child’s behaviour. The current study focused on assessing the behaviour problems of children with DBD, and secondly, evaluated the effectiveness of play therapy on child variables: anger, aggression and social competence, and parent variables: family stress and coping. A quasi experimental design was used. 42 children with DBD and their parents were selected, using convenience sampling. Both groups underwent pre assessments using a semi structured interview for children and parents, DBDRS, AACL, VAS, FAS & SDQ. After pre assessments, the experimental group received play therapy with Parent Management Training (PMT-Usual treatment) and the control group received PMT, in 8-15 sessions, two sessions per week, for 45 minutes to 1 hour duration. Post assessment was conducted using the same instruments for both groups, 1 week after the last session. Additional assessment of play observation on the experimental group was conducted during play therapy sessions. The data was analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistics. Play therapy has a significant beneficial impact on anger, aggression, social competence, family stress and coping in children with DBD & their families. In conclusion, the study demonstrates that behaviour therapy contributed to issues relating to parent management techniques, whereas the use of play helped the parents at a specific level to connect to their child in joyous, process-based activities, where there is no pressure of correct outcomes, thus enabling the child to experience a more loved and validated sense of personhood

Support, Advocacy, and Mental health interventions for children in Vulnerable circumstances And Distress (SAMVAD) is a National Initiative and Integrated Resource for Child Protection, Mental Health, and Psychosocial Care, established by the Ministry of Women and Child Development, Government of India; this initiative is located in the Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, NIMHANS. With the aim of enhancing child and adolescent psychosocial well-being, through the promotion of transdisciplinary and integrated approaches to mental health and protection, SAMVAD was established to extend its support and activities to all the states in the country. It comprises a multidisciplinary team of childcare professionals, with expertise in training and capacity building, program and policy research pertaining to child mental health, protection, education, and law. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Research on the aetiology of internalising disorders has focussed on biological and environmental factors, however, the role of developmental competencies that a child acquires has not been explored much. The current report aimed to understand the association among the developmental competencies, temperament, parenting practices and psychosocial adversities in internalising disorders. The sample consisted of 30 children and adolescents with internalising disorders belonging to the age group of six to 18, and one of their parents. All the participants were assessed for functional impairment, temperament, interpersonal competence, emotion regulation, executive function, self-concept, adaptive behaviour, parenting practices, life events and family environment using standardised tools. The findings revealed that positive parenting shares a negative relationship with functional impairment(ρ=−0.62; p <.001). On comparison with non-clinical samples in previous studies, interpersonal competence and self-concept were found to be at lower levels in the current sample. In conclusion, the current study indicates that children with internalising disorders differ from control groups in specific developmental competences. These findings have specific implications for intervention and research in the area of internalising disorders in children and adolescents. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]