Psychiatric Social Work Practice in Mental Health

“And now science has presented us with a hope called stem cell research, which may provide our scientists with many answers that have for so long been beyond our grasp. I don't see how we can turn our backs on this. There are so many diseases that can be cured or at least helped. We've lost so much time already. I can't bear to lose any more.”

This study is about people in their formative years. It is about their beliefs and practices. It is about their personality and how it relates to their beliefs. It involves empirical investigation of 1800 college going men (882) and women (918) with an average age of about 20 years. The subjects are predominantly Hindu (85%), with 12% Christian and 3% Muslim student attending colleges in Visakhapatnam urban area. Data were collected from them using the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) and the two specially developed questionnaires that survey religiosity and paranormal beliefs and experiences. Paranormal beliefs and experiences surveyed included sacred as well as secular beliefs, experiences, and practices. While several studies in the West attempted to explore the relationships between personality, paranormal beliefs and religious practices and experiences, there are hardly any investigations in non-Judeo-Christian cultures. The present study can help by throwing light on the cross-cultural relevance of these findings