Psychopathology in Children with Thalassemia Major

The present work investigated the prevalence and spectrum of psychopathology in children with thalassemia. Childhood psychopathology measurement schedule (CPMS), adapted from Child Behavior Checklist was administered on children with thalassemia major receiving regular blood transfusion. Age and sex matched children with other chronic illness (bronchial asthma) served as controls. 46.7% of children with thalassemia had a CPMS score of > 10 as against 17.1% in the control group. Children with thalassemia had higher scores in factors of conduct problems, special symptoms and somatization. This study highlights the significantly higher psychopathology in children with thalassemia major and emphasizes the need for psychosocial support during treatment.     

Happiness from Ancient Indian Perspective: Hitopadeśa

People who seek happiness intentionally often do not get it. That is, as per the paradox of happiness, in order to be happy one should forget about it (Martin in J Happiness Stud 9(2):171–184, 2008) and try to make others happy. Given that, the purpose of present article is to suggest a six-stage people-centric (rather than self-centric) theoretical model of happiness (sukha), which is constructed using a framework based on one of the eminent ancient Indian texts—Hitopade?a. The ancient yet novel model describes a balanced path to happiness. The propounded model indicates “knowledge” (vidyā) as a foremost antecedent of happiness. The model propounded not only offers insights on achieving integrated well-being and happiness in a moral and philanthropic way, but also extends complex constructs and perspectives in the realm of happiness studies and psychology, which could subsequently promote further research. Furthermore, the proposed model seems to corroborate some of the modern well-being theories.     

Growing Up as a Creative Musician: The Role of Psychosocial Dispositions and Environment

This study tried to identify the psychosocial dispositions and environment conducive to the development of a creative musician. A sample of 14 established musicians (vocalists and instrumentalists) belonging to Hindustani music tradition was selected from three major cities of Uttar Pradesh and were interviewed in-depth. They were interviewed about their early childhood, training in music and growing up as a musician. A thematic analysis yielded three major psychosocial themes pertaining to nurturance of creativity—developmental dispositions, preferred settings for music practice (Riāz) and performance, and relationship with Guru. Many participants showed proclivity to be creative musician, but all needed to have intrinsic motivation, nurturing social environment, and proper setting for riāz. They also reported that learning under a worthy guru was important for their creativity to blossom. Implications of these findings for training of the music students in an institutional set up were discussed.     

Organizational citizenship behavior and organizational commitment in Nepal

The present study examines the structure of organizational citizenship behavior (OCB) and its relation to organizational commitment in Nepal. Four-hundred and fifty employees of five Nepalese organizations filled out standardized questionnaires. Exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses revealed two factors of OCB, altruism and compliance, replicating Western models of extra-role behavior. Structural equation analysis showed a positive relation between affective and normative commitment on the one hand and both citizenship factors on the other. Continuance commitment was negatively related to compliance and unrelated to altruism. The findings thus confirmed the structure and usefulness of the concepts in an under-researched geographical area. Findings of the research are discussed within the Nepalese sociocultural context.