Measurement and Operationalization

Measurement and Operationalization

Introduction

The purpose of this research is to study the effect of two variables correlated to each other on the social condition of a society. Being a professional social worker it is compulsory to have such knowledge to work for the betterment of any society. The research included the effects of postpartum depression in adolescents on “Happiness”, “Sadness”, “Very sad” and “Hopelessness” of the girls of a society in between 15-25 years of age. The data of social behavior in this research is retrieved from PTSD and different aged women have been considered.

PTSD

The mental condition that is triggered by some horrifying event is called Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Its Symptoms may include nightmares, flashbacks and severe anxiety that can lead to death as well and some uncontrollable thoughts about the event are also included in this condition (John Wilson, 2012).

Many people who unfortunately go under traumatic events certainly face difficulty in adjusting and coping with the situation for a period of time. But they adjust with the time by taking care of themselves. Such horrible reactions after an event usually get better with the passage of time. In some cases, the symptoms can also get worse off or last for years or even months. Sometimes they can completely shake up their life. In such cases like this, one may have become post-traumatic stress patient.

Postpartum depression

Postpartum depression is a mood disorder, characterized by depression after giving birth to a child. In its severe cases, it may also cause postpartum psychosis, characterized by delusions and hallucinations. The exact causes though are known, it is however believed to be genetic. Detailed histories from the patient are the only diagnostic utility. Psychotherapy, interpersonal therapy, cognitive behavioral therapy and some anti-depressants are modalities used in treating postpartum depression. Recurrence is observed in such patients (Linda Sebastian, 1998).

Postpartum Depression in Adolescents

Much work has been done to study postpartum depression in adolescent mothers. In a research concerning the postpartum depression in adolescent mothers, parental stress, maternal competence, appearance (weight/shape) concerns, and depression were measured.. Regression analyses of the samples signifies that social seclusion, maternal proficiency, and appearance concerns predicted distinctive variance associated with the level of depression.( Birkeland R, Thompson JK, Phares V., 2005)

Operationalization by Characterizing mental disorder into Scales

The variable which is chosen in this research is PTSD in which the feeling of Happiness, sadness and hopelessness has been calculated. The data for the employment responds to the reaction of the society and is scaled as (Happiness-1, Sad-2 Very sad-3 and hopeless-4).

Nominal and Operational definition

The study selected was cross tabulated. This data collection technique describes girls with normal state bearing score 1. Girls with sad approach are scored 2, those with very sad approach are categorized 3, and the hopeless girls post traumatically, are categorized 4. Normal state indicates quick recovery from emotional stress following trauma. Sad state indicates that the girl has some bad experiences retained in mind but possess the ability to overcome the stress ...