CHANGE IN ATTITUDES OF INDIAN

POPULATION ABOUT
HOMOSEXUALITY

Name – SANGHMITRA ARYA

Roll No. – 20/3002
Subject – ASP
 INTRODUCTION
Homosexuality refers to sexual attraction or sexual behavior between individuals of the same sex. The homosexual
population often suffers negative stereotypes, prejudices, and discrimination that has stood ages; even Old
Testament condemns homosexuality and India being a nation of cultural conservatism is not different in these
practices. The prejudice and discrimination toward lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender (LGBT) community are
often termed as homophobia, which is prevalent across the society, including health-care settings.
 
Homosexuality has been condemned across many cultures and countries; however, the concept is changing, and
many countries have taken a more positive and acceptable stance recently. In 2009, the Delhi High Court revoked
Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code, which criminalized consensual acts of same-sex adults and held that it
violated the fundamental right of life and liberty and the right to equality as guaranteed in the Constitution.
However, this verdict was overturned by the Supreme Court of India in December 2013. Later, in a historic
judgment, the Supreme Court ruled that consensual adult gay sex is not a crime saying sexual orientation is natural,
and people have no control on it, and from September 6, 2018, gay sex stands decriminalized. Homosexuality got
legal approval and recognition. Even the established classificatory systems for mental illnesses-International
Classification of Diseases (ICD-10) and Diagnostic Statistical Manual 5 (DSM-5) have already declassified
homosexuality as a disorder.
 
2
 INTRODUCTION
While media from India and across the world hail this historic judgment, still some religious movements say
homosexuality is against nature though they agree its not a crime. The legal hurdles were crossed, but whether
homosexuality has society's approval remains to be seen.

The stance against homosexuality has been propagated by religious and spiritual organizations and it can have a
significant impact on the attitudes of people in the community. This negative attitude, when present among the
health-care professionals, can lead to unconscious bias in the treatment of LGBT patients despite having an
adequate medical education. Evidence has shown that the LGBT population has unique physical and mental health
care needs. Yet the associated stigma prevents them for accessing their health care needs.
 
Attitude is defined as the sum of feelings, prejudices, ideas, fears, or beliefs that an individual has about a specific
issue. Its expression is the opinion of acceptance or rejection by an individual about a particular condition. Attitude
may be also considered a set of beliefs, feelings, and tendencies that include three components: cognitive, affective,
and behavioral. Education and knowledge about a particular concept do influence the attitude of individuals toward
it and homosexuality is not an exception.
 
Since knowledge, attitude, and practices of the general population decides the successful incorporation of any rights
and laws pertaining to the marginalized population, undertaking studies like the following becomes essential.

3
A BRIEF OF AN ONLINE SURVEY OF EDUCATION,
KNOWLEDGE AND ATTITUDE TOWARD
HOMOSEXUALITY IN ADULTS
conducted by:
T Siva Ilango, S Karthikeyan, S Sumithra Devi, S Arumuganathan, S Usaid,
V Sethumadhavan
Department of Psychiatry, Karpaga Vinayaga Institute of Medical Sciences,
Maduranthakam, Tamil Nadu, India

 AIM-
People across cultures have negative stereotypes, prejudice, and discrimination toward homosexuality
for many years. The concept is changing, and recently in India, the Supreme Court has decriminalized
homosexuality and recognized it as natural, with people having no control over it. This study aims to
find out if there is any change in knowledge and attitude toward homosexuality in the Indian adult
population after the landmark judgment. 

4
 METHODOLOGY
• Study design: This study was designed as an online cross-sectional survey.
• Study participants: Participants >18 years, with access to the Internet and can read English were included in the present study.
• Study duration: The responses were collected for 3 months, in 2019.
• Sampling technique: The snowball sampling technique was adopted as the questionnaire was circulated among different WhatsApp
groups initiated by one of the authors with the request to share the link with their acquaintance.
 Study instruments: Google forms (The questionnaire had a total of 57 questions.)
The authors created a Google Form for the present survey consisting of four sections. Section I provided information about the
principal investigator, the objectives of the study and a statement requesting consent to participate. Section II collected demographic
information obtained included age, gender, occupation, marital status, and income. Section III collected information on knowledge on
homosexuality incorporating the questions from The Sex Education and Knowledge about Homosexuality Questionnaire (SEKHQ), and
Section IV incorporated The Attitudes toward Homosexuals Questionnaire (AHQ). (Sections III and IV were elaborated to the
participants in depth)
 The Sex Education and Knowledge about Homosexuality Questionnaire
Participants were required to express their opinion on the validity of 32 statements as true, false, or don't know. The score on this scale
ranged from 0 to 32, where 32 represented the score with all correct answers. Wrong answers or answers with the response don't know
were scored 0. The instrument was found to have a Cronbach's alpha of 0.724.
 The Attitudes toward Homosexuals Questionnaire (AHQ)
It contains 20 statements regarding homosexuals, their lifestyle, and their social position and is scored by the participants on a 5-grade
Likert type scale ranging from 1 (”Strongly agree”) to 5 (”Strongly disagree”). Some items require an inverse scoring. The score range
on this scale was 20–100, with a higher score indicating a more negative attitude towards homosexuals. The instrument was found to
have a Cronbach's alpha of 0.810. 5
 DISCUSSION
Data collected was thoroughly analyzed and the results were put forth with the following important discussion and conclusion:
• Results: Six hundred and forty-three people over the age of 18 years participated in the study. The mean age of the study
participants was 29.12 years. The mean score on SEKHQ was 16.18 ± 4.71, with a median score of 16. The mean score on the
“Attitudes toward Homosexuals” questionnaire (AHQ) was 54.04 ± 8.43. On Pearson's correlation test, age of the
participants is positively correlated with SEKHQ score (r = 0.014; P = 0.71 at 95% confidence interval and AHQ score (r =
0.151; P ≤ 0.001 at 95% CI) while SEKHQ score is negatively correlated with AHQ score (r = −0.20; P ≤ 0.001 at 95% CI).
• The mean scores on SEKHQ and AHQ in this study suggest that the participants had better knowledge and more positive
attitudes.
• The individual responses recorded in SEKHQ showed that >80% of the people still believe that “In the past 25 years, there
has been an increase in homosexuality” and “Historically, almost every culture has evidenced widespread intolerance
towards homosexuals, viewing them as sick or as sinners.” Respondents showed more positive attitudes with respect to
employment opportunities and social equality. At the same time, significant negative attitudes were evident by considering
them as sick, use their orientation to obtain special privileges and by not willing to allow them to work with children.

6
 DISCUSSION
• Female participants had better knowledge and positive attitudes toward homosexuality than male counterparts, but
the difference was not statistically significant. Being single or committed, student and from medical background had
significantly more positive attitudes towards homosexuality. We believe all the above findings may possibly be
explained by the lesser homophobia among the younger generation.

• Our study showed that higher knowledge on SEKHQ scores did not reflect positive attitudinal change with increasing
age. This further substantiates the presumption that generation plays a major role in the attitudinal change where
older generations are more homophobic despite an increase in knowledge.

• In conclusion, this study highlights that the knowledge and attitudes towards homosexuality have become better over
the years, especially among the younger generation instilling hope and brighter prospects of future. The strategies of
attitude change used were the value expressive functions, the knowledge function. Furthermore, changing beliefs of
the people by decriminalization of homosexuality, helped in the process of better understanding of it, amongst the
people.

• Although the Supreme Court of India has decriminalized homosexuality, it would not by itself bring any change in the
attitudes of the society at large and the prejudices and stigmatization of this marginalized group persist. Further large
scale studies in the community setting are needed not just to evaluate but to educate and improve the attitudes of
people towards homosexuality.
7
 REFERENCES
• Álvarez H. Social perception of homosexuality.
• Banerjee A. Social Change & The Marginalized- the Case of the Queer Community. Social
Change & The Marginalized: The Case of the Queer Community” in N.K.Bhargava et al.
• Morrison MA, Morrison TG. Development and validation of a scale measuring modern
prejudice toward gay men and lesbian women.
• Meyer IH. Prejudice, social stress, and mental health in lesbian, gay, and bisexual populations:
Conceptual issues and research evidence.
• Kalra G, Gupta S, Bhugra D. Sexual variation in India: A view from the west.
• Smith DM, Mathews WC. Physicians' attitudes toward homosexuality and HIV: Survey of a
California Medical Society- revisited (PATHH-II)

8
A CASE STUDY OF CHILD MARRIAGE
IN INDIA

Name – DISHANT SAINI

Roll No. – 20/3005
Subject – ASP
 ABSTRACT
The present study analyzes the prevalence and some key drivers of child marriage at the district level in India, using
government data sources. The practice of child marriage persists across the country, with many northern states
having the highest percentage of women married before the legal age. Although there has been a significant decline in
child marriage for females throughout the country, especially for girls below the age of 15 years, child marriage
continues to affect almost a third of all girls in India. A significant percentage of Indian women continue to marry
between the ages of 15 and 17 years. In some districts, the trends show higher percentages of a younger cohort of
women (as opposed to an older cohort of women) who married before the age of 18 years. These districts need to be
monitored carefully to ascertain whether the turnaround in the declining trend is long term, or merely a short-term
deviation. Data from the District Level Household Survey (DLHS) from 2007- 2008 and Census 2011 show that many
indicators of social and economic development, including female status and levels of empowerment at the district
level, are significantly associated with child marriage prevalence in districts. This indicates a strong need for
improving the social and economic conditions in the immediate environment to bring about social change and put a
stop to customs and practices that are detrimental to the health and wellbeing of women and children and harmful to
society. Among individual characteristics, the level of education of females has the most profound impact on the age
they marry, irrespective of household wealth, locality and other characteristics. Further, in the districts studied here,
Other Backward Class (OBC) and Scheduled Caste (SC) women tend to have the lowest mean age at the time of
marriage, irrespective of their level of education, locality and economic background.
10
 METHODOLOGY
Since, the focus of the study is to find out the impact of child marriage on the socio-psychological and health issues of
married child. Total 100 married children are taken from Wardhanapet mandal of Warangal district- among 100
samples six case studies are presented and they are interviewed. The sample is drawn taking into consideration of
various aspects associated with types of families, literacy level, occupation, income level etc. The stratified random
sampling technique is used. The data for the study is collected mainly by structured interview schedule. The study
has been collected during October- December 2015. To strengthen the arguments, group interviews, case study have
been used. For the secondary source materials, relevant data and information have been collected from documents,
reports, and Government offices. Based on this method, the data has been analyzed by using statistical method. The
results and their discussion are subsequently presented after explaining the data sources.
Objectives
• To study the socio-economic levels of respondents in the study area.
• To examine the various issues related child marriages
• To focus individual respondents problems like, emotion, psychological conditions, physical and sexual conditions

11
 RESULT AND
DISCUSSION
The graph presents that average children for women by their level of education. Woman who is Illiterate having four
children, woman who has studied up to primary level having more than three children, woman who studied primary
and middle level there is a three children, woman who completed middle and secondary level would have more than
two children, while woman who studied graduation and above level would have more than one children an average
per woman.Thus it is clear from the analyses that the active age groups have average four children to an illiterate
woman, literacy is an important determinant factor of having children.
The joint family systems are slowly declining and 40269 Dr. Suresh Lal, Child marriage in India: Case studies in
Warangal district of Telangana state losing its importance.The educational status at the time of marriage. It presents
that 50 percent are not studying, while 25 percent have studied less than 8th standard, whereas 15 percent are
studying above 12th standard, and 10 percent are studying between 8th-12th standard and type of the school will
have a profound impact on the child. It will give them the brought up and make them to learn the culture. School will
give the child learning. A question asked with the respondents about the type of the school they studied. Occupation
particulars can be found.
Table-1 that 71 percent of the respondent’s occupation is agricultural labour while 20 percent are self employed
whereas nine percent respondent’s occupation is farming.Occupation pattern is

12
making people from self reliance. It is also determined that level of income, further it presents that nearly 80
percent sample married girls are working in agriculture only and it provides seasonal employment. Therefore,

Hello!
married girls not leading families towards empowerment. We have collected the data of their income position
and presented in the Table-1. It shows that out of 90 sample respondents more than 90 percent married girls
are not earning even Rs11000/- per annum. Most of them are getting less than Rs 900/-per month. This
pathetic situation is clearly visible in economic conditions of the married girls living in the rural areas of
Warangal district. Seven respondents are earning between Rs 11,000/ to Rs 15,000/ per annum.Three percent
sample respondents are earnings more than Rs 15,000/ per annum. As a result, they have become debt prone
people and struggling hard to fulfill their minimum needs. Thus the living conditions of the poor respondents
in the rural areas of Warangal district is in a deplorable conditions. It was asked among the respondents
about the kind of role and decision making they make in the family affairs. From the results obtained it can
be said that out of 100 married girls respondents 80 percent of the respondents have no role in the decision
making in the family affairs, whereas 15 percent have partial role and only 5 percent have full role in their
family affairs. 95 percent respondents who had got child marriage were not involved in decision making
process of their family affairs. Married girls who have no participation in decision making in the family
affairs. Less likely having power on a resources and opportunities in the study area of Warangal district.

13
 CONCLUSION
Marriage of girls less than 18 years is a fundamental violation of their human rights including their sexual and
reproductive health. It is also a threat to the prosperity and stability of countries. As per the study it was found that
poverty is one of the major factors underpinning child marriage. The traditional desire to protect girls from out-of-
wedlock pregnancies is also a fear factor. The influence of media is changing the attitudes of girls and boys leading to
hasty decisions leading to elopement and marriages. Further it was revealed that girls married under 18 years faced
an elevated risk of complications in pregnancy and childbirth and contracting sexually transmitted infections (STIs),
including HIV and experience social and educational disadvantages. It was also observed that child marriage is
physically and emotionally harmful- it violates their rights to personal freedom and growth. For girls, early marriage
has profound physical, intellectual, psychological and emotional consequences. For girls in addition, it will almost
certainly mean early pregnancy, which causes higher rates of maternal mortality, and is likely to lead to lifetime of
domestic and sexual subservience. There is a need to redesign the policies and programmes related to prevention of
marriage of girls under 18 and ensure that all adolescents’ sexual, marital, and reproductive transitions are safe,
informed, and voluntary; and to support girls who are already married.

14
 REFERENCES
• Amin, A. 2014. Preventing Violence Against Adolescent Girls: What Works? WHO Dept. of Reproductive
Health and Research, Presented at 3rd International Day of the Girl Child-Empowering Girls: Breaking the
Cycle of Violence. Geneva: WHO.
• Bott, S., A. R. Morrison, and M. Ellsberg. 2005. Preventing and Responding to Gender-Based Violence in
Middle and Low-Income Countries: A Global Review and Analysis. Washington, DC: World Bank.
• Campbell, J. C. 2002. Health Consequences of Intimate Partner Violence.The Lancet 359 (9314): 1331–1336.
Gemignani, R. and Q. Wodon 2015.
• Child Marriage and Faith Affiliation in Sub-Saharan Africa: Stylized Facts and Heterogeneity. The Review
of Faith & International Affairs, 13 (3): 14–47.
• Karam, A. 2015. Faith-inspired Initiatives to Tackle the Social Determinants of Child Marriage. The Review
of Faith & International Affairs, 13 (3): 59–68. Klugman, J., L. Hanmer, S. Twigg, T. Hasan, and J.
McClearySills. 2014.
• Voice and Agency: Empowering Women and Girls for Shared Prosperity. Washington, DC: The World Bank.
Lal B. Suresh & Kavitha. G, 2016. Economics of Child Marriage: Issues and Challenges, Tanishq Publication
House, New Delhi.

15
AN INDIAN CASE STUDY OF RELATIONS
BETWEEN HISTORICALLY DISADVANTAGED
COMMUNITIES

Name – HARSHI KUMAR

Roll No. – 20/3007
Subject – ASP
 ABSTRACT
Research on the contact hypothesis has highlighted the role of contact in improving intergroup
relations. Most of this research has addressed the problem of transforming the prejudices of
historically advantaged communities, thereby eroding wider patterns of discrimination and
inequality. In the present research, drawing on evidence from a cross-sectional survey conducted in
New Delhi, we explored an alternative process through which contact may promote social change,
namely by fostering political solidarity and empowerment amongst the disadvantaged. The results
indicated that Muslim students’ experiences of contact with other disadvantaged communities were
associated with their willingness to participate in joint collective action to reduce shared
inequalities. This relationship was mediated by perceptions of collective efficacy and shared
historical grievances and, perhaps ironically, moderated by positive experiences of contact with the
Hindu majority. Implications for recent debates about the relationship between contact and social
change are discussed.

17
 RESEARCH HYPOTHESIS AND
METHODOLOGY
HYPOTHESIS
The contact between disadvantaged communities is positively related to participants’ willingness to participate
in collective action, increasing the likelihood they will endorse proposals to act together to challenge inequality.
we also hypothesized that this relationship would be mediated:
 by perceptions of shared grievances at unjust treatment and
 by a sense of collective efficacy.
PARTICIPANTS
Four hundred and forty nine Muslim students (210 females, Mage = 21.80 and SD = 2.66) were recruited on a
voluntary basis to participate in a survey on intergroup relations in India. After giving their consent to
participate, participants completed a pen-paper questionnaire containing the measure
MEASURES
Variables were measured on 7-point scales where higher values indicated stronger ingroup identification, more
contact, higher levels of perceived group efficacy, shared grievances, and stronger collective action tendencies,
(for contact items: 1, never; 7, very often; for other items: 1, strongly disagree; 5, strongly agree).

18
 RESEARCH CONTEXT
The research was conducted at Jamia Millia Islamia University, New Delhi, and focused on relations
between Muslim students and other students from historically disadvantaged backgrounds. The
university has a progressive history of anti-colonialism and its foundation was partly inspired by the
pro-independence movement as part of an attempt to create an education system able to question pro-
British values and ideology. The university’s population is approximately 50% Muslim, _% Hindu,
with the rest of the student population comprising a broad spectrum of other social groups. The
diversity of the student population at Jamia creates opportunities for intergroup contact across a wide
range of ethnic, religious and caste divisions. Most central to the present research, this includes
opportunities for interactions and exchanges between Muslim students and students belonging to
other historically disadvantaged communities in India, including Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes
and so-called ‘Other Backward Classes’ (OBC). It would be a gross simplification, of course, to claim
that such groups share equivalent social and economic standing in Indian society, existing in
‘horizontal’ relations with one another.
19
 DISCUSSION
Research on the contact hypothesis has prioritized the problem of reducing dominant group prejudice in the hope
that this will combat wider forms of inequality and discrimination (Pettigrew & Tropp, 2011). The present study,
by contrast, investigated the role of contact in promoting political solidarity amongst members of communities
who share a history of disadvantage. Specifically, we examined the relationship between Indian Muslims’ self-
reported contact with members of other historically groups and their willingness to support joint collection action
to promote social change.
The present research also clarified the social psychological processes that may underpin the relationship between
contact and political solidarity.
• First, we found this relationship was partially mediated by a collective sense of grievance about the unjust
treatment of disadvantaged groups in India. Contact seemed to encourage participants to recognize more fully
common forms of injustice.
• Second, we found that this relationship was partially mediated by a sense of collective efficacy, the belief that the
status quo might be transformed via collective resistance. Contact seemed to empower participants to believe
that they could challenge the status quo.
Both of these processes have been widely investigated in the literature on collective action and are a mainstay of
theoretical models in the field (e.g. see Drury & Reicher, 2009; Van Zomeren, Spears, Fischer & Leach, 2004; Van
Zommeren, Postmes & Spears, 2008). 20
Their relationship to intergroup contact, however, has potentially important implications. Notably, it expands and enriches the model
of social change that informs the contact hypothesis, moving the field from a prejudice reduction to a collection action perspective. It is
worth noting here that the forms of contact that are optimal for promoting collective action are likely to differ from those that are

Hello!
optimal for promoting prejudice reduction. The latter typically involves promoting recognition of group differences and inequalities,
‘negative’ intergroup emotions such as anger and frustration, and forms of action that tend to create social conflict; the former
typically involves deemphasizing group differences, promoting ‘positive’ intergroup emotions such as empathy and forgiveness, and
above all, nurturing harmonious relations between groups.
 Limitations and future directions.
As ever, when evaluating the results presented in this paper, one must bear in mind the inherent limitations of our research design.
First, our data have been derived from a cross-section survey of a sample of Muslim students based in south Delhi. As such, we can
make strong claims neither about issues of causality nor about issues of generalizability.
Second, the sheer complexity of relations of status, region, and caste in India means that our findings are at best a very general
indicator of the potential role of intergroup contact in promoting solidarity amongst the disadvantaged. It may well be the case, for
example, that in other Indian contexts pre-existing that religious, economic or cultural tensions override any mobilizing effects of
contact. Moreover, to date, there has been very little psychological work on intergroup contact of any kind in India, making it
particular important to exercise caution about the generalizability the findings presented in this paper. Notwithstanding these
limitations, the present study has instigated a conceptual shift in how researchers study and explain the dynamics of intergroup
contact. In our view, this shift opens up a range of important new questions, bringing into closer dialogue two traditions of research –
on prejudice reduction and collective action - that have traditionally developed in isolation from one another.

21
 REFERENC
ES
� https://core.ac.uk/download/pdf/79609123.pdf

22
ASSESSING BEHAVIOR AND ATTITUDE OF
SCHOOL STUDENTS TOWARDS
ENVIRONMENTAL ISSUES

NAME – SIDDHARTH SINGH

ROLL NO. – 20/3023
SUBJECT - ASP
 ABSTRACT
The research work aimed to assess the level of environmental awareness and the existing
environmental friendly activities among the students of High Schools. The population for the study
was the students of schools in Delhi covering IX and X class. This study is primarily based on field
survey, wherein students responded to predefined questionnaire covering environment aspects.
The survey was conducted during May 2019. A total of 160 students were randomly selected and
students responded voluntarily. Questionnaire was compiled to assess student’s environmental
behaviour, attitude, information sources and demographic information. It has been observed that
students highly support the environmental attitude and have sound behaviours towards their
actions effecting the environment. The study highlighted that many young minds adapted an
environmentally friendly attitude and the green attitude is clearly visible in their actions.

24
 MATERIALS AND
METHODS
• Environmental attitude is directly linked with the level of knowledge regarding environmental issues possessed by an
individual, and behaviour is if he/ she modify his/ her daily life activities in view of the knowledge attained. The research work
aimed to assess the level of environmental awareness and the existing environmental friendly activities among the students of High
Schools.
• The population for the study was the students of schools in Delhi covering IX and X class.
• Literature reveals that most of the researchers have used questionnaires as a tool to collect data on assessing environment
education levels.
• This study is primarily based on field survey, wherein students responded to predefined questionnaire covering environment
aspects.
• A total of 160 students were randomly selected and students responded voluntarily Questionnaire was compiled to assess
student’s environmental behaviour, attitude, information sources and demographic information.
• To assess the environment attitude the questionnaire was made on 5 point likert scale which ranged from 1 (strongly agree) to 5
(strongly disagree). Remaining questions were given the option of yes or no. The responses were then computed in excel format.
Further since environmental information is very crucial in helping young people acquire knowledge about their environment,
students were also asked about the main source of information about environmental issues and given options: Television/
School/Newspaper/Magazines/Radio/Family and Others. Information acquired through the different or various sources will go
a long way in raising their awareness and helping them change their negative attitude or behaviour to be positive.

25
 RESULTS AND
DISCUSSION
• The total 160 students, 54% were female students and 46 % male.
• Average age of the respondents was 16 years and they belonged from the urban areas of Delhi.
• It was found that 45 % of the students strongly agreed that EE be taught as a separate subject
whereas 17% were neutral.
• The same set believed that environment education should be a mandatory subject, however
they also strongly agreed that studying EE will bring additional load to the curricula. But they
were ready to learn about the environment, through the environment and for the environment.
Further 60% of them indicated that Government of India should impose high penalty fine that
disobey environment rules.
• During the survey, it was also noticed that the students were more sensitive to environmental
problems in their own living areas that those in other areas. Change in behaviour for positive
environmental actions can’t be achieved overnight nor it can be a onetime exercise, it is a
constant process.

26
To assess the behaviour of the students the descriptive questions were asked:

Abstract
• If you see someone throwing/burning garbage on road, open areas etc. will you dare to stop that
man,
• If you see garbage on road, open areas etc. will you pick up the garbage and throw it in dustbin,
• Will you pay/donate to clean up the environment,
• Will you participate in awareness programme for environment conservation,
• When you go to a national park, zoo, tiger reserves, do you carry waste bag,
• Will you promote carpooling,
• Will you opt for public transport,
• Do you use CNG cars and
• Do you carry jute/cloth bags while shopping.
• 98% replied with YES option for the questions. They were aware of ill health effects of plastics,
air pollution, water pollution and public sanitation. It is also inferred from the table 3 that 66.8
% highlighted that the effective method to create environment awareness is through social
media whereas the main source of environment information was received through school
(60.6%)

27
 REFERENCES
• Educational Quest: An Int. J. of Education and Applied Social Science: Vol. 11, No.
1, pp. 25-29, April 2020 DOI: 10.30954/2230-7311.1.2020.4

28
AN INDIAN CASE STUDY OF NEWS MEDIA
REPORTS OF SUICIDES AND ATTEMPTED
SUICIDES DURING COVID-19 LOCKDOWN IN
INDIA

Name – Navya Shori

Roll No. – 20/3034
Subject – ASP
 ABSTRACT
In the present COVID-19 pandemic, suicides and attempted suicides are a major public health
concern. Suicide and attempted suicides may rise as a result of the COVID pandemic. Suicides and
attempted suicides have been documented in single case studies during the present COVID
pandemic, but there is no systematic data on suicide and attempted suicide yet. ​The National
Crime Record Bureau (NCRB) compiles information from police records to compile official data
on suicides in India. However, due to under-reporting of instances, NCRB data has been shown to
considerably underestimate suicide rates, and this data is normally made accessible after a large
delay of between 12 and 24 months. Furthermore, NCRB does not preserve any records of
attempted suicides and instead distributes summary annual statistics rather than weekly or
monthly data to analyze patterns.

30
 RESEARCH HYPOTHESIS AND A PROPOSED
THEORETICAL MODEL
HYPOTHESIS: An attempt to understand how the COVID related lockdown may have impacted suicides and
attempted suicides reporting in Indian news publications.
As the lockdown started, newspapers reporting suicides was observed, linking them to the COVID pandemic
and the lockdown. Attention was paid to whether media reporting of suicides and attempted suicides in India
changed during these 40 days of lockdown from 24 March 2020 to 3 May 2020. Therefore, planned a
systematic search of English language online news media for reports of suicide and attempted suicide during
the lockdown and compared them to news reports of suicides and attempted suicides for the same dates in
2019 to understand how the COVID related lockdown may have impacted suicides and attempted suicides
reporting in Indian news publications.
This study employed a systematic search of online news media reports of suicidal behaviour during India's
COVID-19 shutdown (versions of newspapers, magazines, and other digital publications) and compared it to
equivalent dates in 2019. Data was acquired using a consistent search technique from 56 online news media
sources between March 24 and May 3, 2019 and 2020, using the terms suicide, attempted suicide, hangs self,
and kills self. Using chi-squared tests (2) we examined demographic factors and suicide techniques utilized
between the two years for suicide and attempts.
31
 RESEARCH CONTEXT
Observation of media reporting suicides as the lockdown began was initiated,
attributing them to the COVID pandemic and the lockdown. The aim was to know if
media coverage of suicides and attempted suicides in India changed throughout the
40-day lockdown, which lasted from March 24 to May 3, 2020. In order to
understand how the COVID-related lockdown may have impacted suicides and
attempted suicides reporting in Indian news publications, a systematic search of
English language online news media (referred to as news reports in the paper) was
planned for reports of suicide and attempted suicide during the lockdown and
compared them to news reports of suicides and attempted suicides for same dates in
2019.

32
 METHODOLOGY
From the start of the lockdown on March 24, 2020, a daily Google News search was conducted to find pertinent
news on suicide or attempted suicide deaths. This search yielded a total of 209 relevant articles from 65 online
English language publishers. According to the Indian Readership Survey 2019, the publications included online
versions of some of the country's most widely read daily newspapers, including Times of India, Hindustan Times,
The Hindu, The Indian Express, The New Indian Express, The Tribune, and The Telegraph, each with a
minimum monthly average readership of 1.5 million. The Magazines like Outlook India and India Today
commonly highlighted stories of suicide or attempted suicide after conducting a Google News search. A list of 65
newspapers using Google News was found, each reporting at least one incidence of suicide or attempted suicide
between March 24 and May 3, 2020.
A uniform search strategy was applied using the following keywords: suicide, attempted suicide, hangs self and
kills self for the lockdown dates of 24 March 2020 to 3 May 2020 and using the name of the publication in the
search terms sequentially.
To distinguish between cases reported as a result of the COVID-19 crisis, the researchers divided news reports in
2020 into three categories: 'COVID-19 related' (if the reports mentioned fear of having COVID, fear of
lockdown, or being quarantined as a cause for suicide or attempted suicide), 'other COVID-19 issues' (due to the
lack of alcohol during lockdown), police humiliation/brutality, and social discrimination), and 'other COVID-19
issues' 33
 RESULT
During COVID lockdown, there were 369 reports of suicides and attempted suicides in the internet
news media, compared to 220 incidents in 2019, a 67.7% rise in online news media reports of
suicidal behaviour. Suicides recorded during lockdown in 2018 were substantially older (30 versus
50 years, p 0.05), men (71.2 percent vs 58.7%, p 0.01), married (77.7% vs 49 percent, p 0.01), and
employed (82.9 percent vs 59.5 percent, p 0.01). Suicides by hanging (64.4 percent versus 42
percent) were significantly higher during the lockdown, while poisoning (8.5 percent vs 21.5
percent) and jumping in front of a train (2 percent vs 9.4 percent) (p 0.05) were much lower.
Comparison of COVID and non-COVID groups showed that online news media reports of COVID
cases of suicide and attempted suicide were significantly more likely to be men (84.7% vs 60.4%; p 
< 0.01), older (31–50 years 52.9% vs 25.8%; p < 0.01) employed (91.5% vs 64.3%; p < 0.01), had
poor mental (40.1% vs 20.8%; p < 0.01) and poor physical health (24.8% vs 7.9%;11.8, p < 0.01).

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 CONCLUSION
During the COVID-19 lockdown, there was a rise in online news media stories of
suicides and attempts, which might suggest increased journalist awareness of
suicide or more dramatic media reporting, or it could be a proxy sign of a true
community increase in suicidal behaviour. It's difficult to link changes in
demographic profile and reporting methods solely to changes in journalistic
behaviour, and this should be investigated further. As a result, we urge the Indian
government to share national suicide statistics as soon as possible in order to assist
in the development of a comprehensive suicide prevention policy to address
COVID-19 suicidal behaviour.

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 REFERENC
ES
•Analysis of news media reports of suicides and attempted suicides during th
e COVID-19 lockdown in India | International Journal of Mental Health Syst
ems | Full Text (biomedcentral.com)

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