Partha Das

India faces persistent challenges of poor child health and multidimensional poverty, which together create a cycle of intergenerational poverty and poor he

Geriatric depression is one of the most common mental disorders globally. The relationship between social participation and having depressive disorders can be considered as reciprocal. The main aim of this present study was systemizing the evidences on the influence of social non-participation on depression among older adults. Systematic review specifically Meta-analysis was performed to show the adverse impact of social non-participation on depression among the older adults. Maintaining all the inclusion and exclusion criteria required for this systematic review, empirical studies conducted within the last decade only investigating the association between social non-participation and depression were retrieved and summarized. Database searches were performed in Scopus, PubMed, Medline, Google scholar, Web of Science, SocINDEX, PsycINFO and ProQuest platforms. A total number of 10 studies were added to conduct meta-analysis. Majority of the studies (6) examined that the older people who did not participate socially had more likelihood of getting depressed. The average effect size across all studies using random effects model was found as OR-2.07 [95% CI: 1.49–2.65] which suggested that the older people having no social participation were 2.07 times more likely of becoming depressed than those participated in social events. As with increasing ages, different health issue arises and social isolation increases; effective social gerontological interventions are required for achieving better mental health of older people. Future research should include long-term follow up and repeated measures to longitudinally investigate the effect of social participation on geriatric depression.

Background Alcohol consumption is a significant social and health problem among tribal male adolescents. The Dooars region of West Bengal has the highest concentration of the tribal population. This study aimed to examine the role of various factors in the early initiation of alcohol consumption among tribal male adolescents. Methods This study relied on primary data and included 600 tribal adolescents. To fulfil the objective, the Cox regression hazard model was employed. Additionally, hazard rates were calculated to identify the changing hazard rates over a specific age. The Kaplan–Meier failure graph was also used to illustrate the occurrence of alcohol consumption events among different groups of tribal adolescents. Findings The risk of alcohol consumption was higher among tribal adolescents who dropped out of the educational system (HR: 2.94), did not participate in outdoor games (HR: 3.10), worked for pay (HR: 3.23), smoked (HR: 12.55), drank traditional liquor (HR: 3.61), and had siblings (HR: 4.27) or peers (HR: 3.60) who used substances or fathers who consumed alcohol (HR: 3.80). Unsupervised time with peers (HR: 3.61) and stress (HR: 3.61) also increased the risk of alcohol consumption. In contrast, self-esteem was found to be protective (HR: 0.93). Conclusions The government has introduced various interventions and schemes to reduce alcohol consumption, but more targeted actions are needed at the household and individual levels. In the tea gardens of the Dooars region, NGOs and the government should promote education, organize extracurricular activities for adolescents’ holistic development, and raise awareness in tribal communities about the harmful effects of alcohol consumption.