Department of Professional Psychology (BULC)

EXPLORING THE MENTAL HEALTH OF LAW ENFORCEMENT PERSONNEL OF PUNJAB IN A POLITICALLY POLARIZED SOCIETY

2026-05-13T11:19:43Z

EXPLORING THE MENTAL HEALTH OF LAW ENFORCEMENT PERSONNEL OF PUNJAB IN A POLITICALLY POLARIZED SOCIETY 03-171221-011 ZIA UL MUSTAFA ASAD The Punjab Police is an institution of pillar and its staff is charged with the responsibility of keeping law and order however, the staff have often been faced with serious obstacles in the line of duty. Their work is very complex and challenging as they are expected to make serious decisions under great pressure. Starting with maintaining the safety of citizens to handling the complicated political and social duties, the officers of Punjab Police have to have to deal with many occupational stressors, which may have a detrimental effect on their mental health. It is a qualitative study of the mental health of such officers in the framework of the highly polarized politically charged society. Through the in-depth interviews with the staff of different ranks, this paper will investigate the impact of the interplay between the demands of the job and the political polarization on the mental health, the work performance and the overall life quality of the personnel. The qualitative approach used in the methodology was based on the thematic analysis in order to reflect the lived experiences of the participants. The results showed the existence of two main Superordinate Themes, namely Job-related Stressors and Political Tensions. Concerning job-related stressors, the data identifies a systemic and deep-seated framework of an overwhelming workload, long-duty and tiredness in officers. Limited resources such as insufficient manpower and equipment are all these made worse by the fact that they cause officers to work under consistent pressure of being on the go. More importantly, the study reveals the culture of non-sharing as quite pervasive and the fear of stigma as ingrained. Posts of the officers tend to bury their emotional conflict in order not to be viewed as weak or inefficient, which may hint at the organizational culture as the impediment to mental health care and early intervention as well. The paper also reveals the extreme psychological toll of Political Tensions. Under the current conditions of a high degree of political polarization, the officers claim that their professional discretion is often undermined by direct political pressure and external interference. The information indicates that the officers are required to be on high alert at all times since each action, even routine arrests and investigations, comes under severe political analysis. This climate brings about a major ethical dilemma and officers find themselves in a moral dilemma where they have to strike a balance between the law and politics. Such a conflict causes severe moral and mental stress, since the key principle of the profession, non-partiality is always at risk, and it causes de-motivation and psychological distress. To sum up, the study has shown that the psychological well-being of the Punjab Police employees is being compromised by both the combined stress of inefficient working conditions and the politicization of the judicial system. The results of the study indicate that although clinical intervention can help promote the well-being of the force, it should be supplemented by the fundamental policy changes. Among the suggestions, there are the ability to provide the police force with more autonomy in its operations to minimize ethical dilemmas and the establishment of support systems that are confidential and organization-level to eliminate the stigma of mental health. Through solving these multifaceted interconnections, policy makers could come up with policies that would not only improve the mental health and the job performance of the officers, but to help them serve the people better and retain the trust of the people.

Collective Experiences of Climate Crises: Eco-anxiety in Pakistan's 2025 Flood Victims

2026-05-13T11:15:14Z

Collective Experiences of Climate Crises: Eco-anxiety in Pakistan's 2025 Flood Victims 03-171221-012 SAHAB KAZMI Global climate change has multiple adverse effects including floods that not only cause mass destruction but leave lasting psychological imprints on the affected communities. One of the recent catastrophes being 2025 floods in Pakistan which affected millions, forcing them to evacuate, multiple deaths being reported including children. While research has largely focused on economic losses and health problems due to floods but there is not ample research on eco-anxiety and psychological domain framing lived experiences of people. This study explored personal experiences of people especially in terms of eco-anxiety, coping strategies, cultural responses and how after-effects of floods leave enduring psychological legacies. Field visits were carried out in the Manga Mandi town of Punjab, in-depth interviews were conducted on a total of 5 participants 3 males and 2 females respectively that had to displace their homes and were primary earners of their home, based on convenient sampling technique. A qualitative research design was employed followed by a thematic IPA analysis. Based on reiterative reflections, following themes were found that showcase the essence of lived experiences of flood survivors. The themes were (1) mental and emotional impact (2) physiological implications (3) economic and livelihood challenges (4) exposure and risk (5) social and community support (6) coping and resilience (7) spiritual and cultural meaning-making. Findings of this research help to bridge the gap in existing literature in psychological domain and help the government to come up with psychological support policies and disaster responsive strategies to be employed in emergency situations.

Conversational Artificial Intelligence Dependency, Self Disclosure to Others, Social Connectedness among University Students

2026-05-13T11:10:41Z

Conversational Artificial Intelligence Dependency, Self Disclosure to Others, Social Connectedness among University Students 03-171221-009 YUMNA SHAHZAD The growing utilization of conversational artificial intelligence (CAI) among university students has plenty of concerns about its consequences on psychological and societal effects. The present study has looked at association between conversational AI dependency, self disclosure to others and social connectedness among Pakistani university students. Data from 300 students studying at public and private universities in Lahore between the ages of 17 and 28 years was obtained using cross sectional quantitative design. Standardized assessments measuring social connectedness, self discloure to others, and conversational AI reliance were filled out by respondents. 50% of students found themselves utilizing conversational AI numerous times a day, according to descriptive statistics. Conversational AI reliance has been proved to be negatively connected with social connectedness (r=-.297, p<.01) and strongly associated with self disclosure (r=.416, p<.01), in line with results of correlation analysis. Conversational AI reliance has been demonstrated to be important predictor of both social connectedness (B= 0.416, p<.001). As the indirect effect was not major or significant, the analysis of mediation suggested that self disclosure failed to mediate the relationship between conversational AI reliance and social connectedness. In summary, the outcomes tells that conversational AI use fails to enhance social connectedness but it does enhances likelihood of students to open up to others. The research also stresses how social settings and stressful circumstances disclosure affect the mental wellness of university students.

SOCIAL INTELLIGENCE, LONELINESS, SLEEP DISTURBANCE, AND PSYCHOLOGICAL WELL-BEING AMONG UNDERGRADUATE DAY SCHOLAR STUDENTS

2026-05-13T11:17:02Z

SOCIAL INTELLIGENCE, LONELINESS, SLEEP DISTURBANCE, AND PSYCHOLOGICAL WELL-BEING AMONG UNDERGRADUATE DAY SCHOLAR STUDENTS 03-171221-003 FATIMA JAMSHAID