Foundation University Journal of Psychology

Pakistani Children’s Reasoning for Fairness Judgements; A Qualitative Study

Sumbal Nawaz — 2025-01-21

This study aims to contribute to the existing literature by adding a qualitative investigation into children’s reasonings for their fairness judgements. Fairness is an integral part of children’s moral development. This paper includes the qualitative part of the sequential explanatory design study aimed at children’s fairness understanding. We conducted open-ended interviews with 150 Pakistani children (3 to 6 years old) to explore their justifications for their fairness decisions. Our findings suggest that Pakistani children predominantly employed desired-based reasonings for their judgments. However, morality-based- and norm-based reasonings were also invoked by children to justify their acceptance or rejection of an attractive offer of toffees in a game-type scenario where they had to compare with three different relationships: sibling, friend, or stranger. We found that different relation dynamics did have an impact on the different justifications provided by children.

Taqwa, Spiritual Shame, and Divine Forgiveness in Islam

Sadaf Ameer — 2025-01-21

Background. The present study aimed to investigate the influence of taqwa on divine forgiveness moderated by spiritual shame in Pakistani adult Muslims.
Method. A convenient sample of 329 women and 206 men (N = 535) Pakistani adult Muslims (age range 19-75 years; M = 30.68 years, SD = 11.92 years) from Sargodha, Lahore, and Rawalpindi was recruited. We collected data using Urdu-translated versions of the Taqwa Scale (Nazam et al., 2022), the Divine Forgiveness Scale (Fincham & May, 2022), the offense-related shame subscale that was taken from the Offense-related Shame and Guilt Scale (Wright & Gudjonsson, 2007) in a cross-sectional survey design.
Results. Data were analyzed with SPSS and moderation analysis by PROCESS macro (Model 1) for SPSS. Findings revealed significant main and interaction effects of taqwa and spiritual shame on divine forgiveness. Analysis of the conditional effects revealed that spiritual shame strengthened the positive association between taqwa and divine forgiveness.
Conclusion. By revealing how spiritual shame can augment the relationship between taqwa and seeking divine absolution, the research provides valuable insights into one of the mechanisms of forgiveness in Islamic theology, emphasizing the role of self-reflection, repentance, and emotional states in establishing a relation with the divine.

Barriers Perceived by Pre-Engineering Students at FSc. Level and its Impact on Academic Satisfaction

Fatima Afsar — 2024-01-31

Adolescence is the most crucial developmental and emotional stage of life where educational decision-making takes center stage. This challenge is especially difficult for the students of pre-engineering. The highest attrition rate is prevalent in STEM due to a lack of interest and academic dissatisfaction among students which is in part due to a number of barriers perceived by them. Therefore, the major objectives for this research were to identify those perceived barriers, develop an indigenous valid and reliable measure for identifying perceived barriers in pursuing pre-engineering, quantify the most encountered barrier, and establish the impact of perceived barriers on academic satisfaction. The present research was accomplished in two phases. In Phase I, a 27-item Perceived Barriers in Pursuing Pre-Engineering Scale was developed by utilizing an empirical approach. Through principle component analysis of exploratory factor analysis (N = 324), 4 factors emerged, and another iteration gave 3 factors. However, a unidimensional scale was finalized following the consensus of Subject Matter Experts to maintain the theoretical integrity. In Phase II (N = 923), adequate psychometric properties of the measure were established. The most commonly reported barrier turned out to be pressure from the family on subject selection. A significantly negative relationship was found between perceived barriers and academic satisfaction. Male students reported higher scores on barriers and academic satisfaction than female students. This research has important implications for stakeholders seeking to rectify low enrollment rates in engineering.

The Impact of Spousal Bereavement on Older Adults Cognitive Functioning: The Moderating Role of Social Support

Zoya Waqas — 2025-01-21

Objective. This study examines how spousal bereavement and cognitive functioning of older adults are related and how social support plays a role in determining this relationship, thus perceived social support is taken as a moderator.

Method. Convenience sampling in Rawalpindi and Islamabad was used to collect data from older adults (N = 192, M = 68.23 years). A moderation analysis was conducted to investigate the effect of social support on the association between spousal bereavement and cognitive functioning.

Results. This study presented a negative significant relationship between cognitive functioning and spousal bereavement. Cognitive functioning and social support had a positive significant relationship whereas spousal bereavement and social support had a significant negative correlation. Moderation analysis results showed an insignificant moderation effect of social support on the relationship between spousal bereavement and cognitive functioning of older adults (b = -0.0063, t (128) = -1.33, and p = 0.851).

Implications. The study facilitates researchers to build upon current knowledge regarding spousal bereavement, cognitive functioning, and social support in older adults. It aids policymakers in designing interventions by focusing on integrated social support networks to better manage the negative effect of bereavement.

Anxiety, Depression and Coping Mechanisms in Caregivers of Psychiatric Patients

Noman Bashir — 2025-01-21

Background. Many caregivers that serve mentally sick patients suffer from depression and anxiety and can use maladaptive coping strategies that necessarily worsen their outcomes. To gain some understanding of these psychological issues caregivers of psychiatric patients were assessed.

Method. With a systematic random sampling technique 56 male and 111 female caregivers (N = 167) were drawn that completed Beck Depression Inventory-Second Edition (Beck et al., 1996), Beck Anxiety Inventory (Steer et al., 1993) and Brief COPE inventory (Carver et al., 1989) along with demographic variables.

Results. About half (50%) or 84 caregivers suffered from mild to severe depression, and less than half (~46%) or 76 had mild to severe anxiety. Most patients utilized Problem-Focused coping, followed by Emotion-Focused and Dysfunctional coping.

Conclusion. The study replicates prevalence of depression and anxiety in caregivers in Pakistan and other countries.

Keywords. Caregivers, anxiety, depression, coping strategies, problem-focused coping, emotion-focused coping, dysfunctional coping, psychiatric patients.