The death of spouse brings major changes in the life of the wife/husband that may affect their psychological well-being. To maintain their psychological well-being within an optimum level, elderly will seek sources of social support in their lives. This study aims to test the correlation between perceived social support and psychological well-being in elderly and to investigate gender differences in perceived social support and psychological well-being. This study comprised 112 elderly (78 widowers; 34 widows), members of the Healthy Elderly Community of the Indonesian Red Cross, Semarang City. Data were collected using the Perceived Social Support Scale (32 items; α = 0.97) and Psychological Well-being Scale (33 items; α = 0.92). Simple regression analysis was applied to test the correlation between two variables and student t-test was used to compare data from male and female groups. The results revealed a positive and significant correlation between perceived social support and psychological well-being in elderly (r = 0.739; p < 0.001). Perceived social support explained 54.6% of the psychological well-being. T-test revealed gender differences in perceived social support and psychological well-being in elderly. The widows perceived social support better than the widowers (t(35) = 3.594; p < 0.001), the widows also showed higher psychological well-being than the widowers (t(42) = 2.944; p = 0.004).

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The mother of children with autism is the most vulnerable person to have stress and depression. Therefore they need positive psychological well-being to optimize the caring of children. Family is the primary environment in supporting the mother's mental health. This study aimed to find out how family functions correlate with psychological well-being among the mother of a child with autism. A quantitative approach was applied, involving 142 mothers who had autistic children selected through purposive sampling techniques. The data was collected using Family Functioning and Psychological Well-being instruments. The data was then analyzed with regression analysis. The results show that family functioning and psychological well-being are correlated significantly. The more effective family function based on the perception of the mother, the higher the psychological well-being of the mother, and vice versa. Problem-solving, communication, affective response, and role are dimensions that influence psychological well-being, while behavior control and affection dimensions are not significant. The results of the study can provide input suggestions for the government, such as through family empowerment regarding the importance of supporting and optimizing the role of family members to stimulate the psychological well-being of mothers of children with an autism spectrum disorder. Keywords autism child family functioning mother psychological well-being

Melakukan konversi agama bukanlah hal mudah karena terkait dengan perubahan identitas, perubahan tata nilai, perilaku serta dapat berpengaruh pada kehidupan sosial yang menjalaninya. Penelitian ini bertujuan untuk memahami proses melakukan konversi agama dan pengaruh konversi agama terhadap kehidupan seseorang yang melakukannya. Subjek yang melakukan konversi agama dikhususkan dalam penelitian ini ialah seseorang yang berpindah agama dari non Islam masuk kedalam agama Islam atau yang sering disebut dengan mualaf. Metode penelitian yang digunakan ialah fenomenologis dengan teknik analisa Intrepetative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA). Teknik ini dipilih karena memiliki prosedur analisis data yang rinci dan sesuai untuk menjawab pertanyaan peneliti. Subjek yang terlibat dalam penelitian ini adalah tiga orang mualaf yang berdomisili di Kota Semarang. Penemuan ketiga subjek diperoleh menggunakan sampling purposive. Berdasarkan hasil riset ini peneliti menemukan tiga tema utama, (1) proses berpindah agama, (2) manifestasi menjalani kehidupan sebagai mualaf, (3) Upaya mengembangkan diri. Penelitian ini sampai pada kesimpulan bahwa tindakan konversi agama melibatkan beberapa proses; yaitu kognitif, sosial dan psikologis. Pengalaman konversi agama pada mualaf memberikan pengaruh pada keinginan meningkatkan kualitas keimanan, serta perubahan diri dalam sikap dan perilaku beragama dalam kehidupan. Hal ini dapat dilihat dari motivasi, pengalaman positif yang muncul dari menjalankan keyakinan, komitmen mualaf terhadap keputusannya.

Abstract. The aims of the research to stimulate short-term memory skills of children with autism through the therapy of brain gym performed using method of Quasi-Experimental, with one-group pretest-posttest design, on 10 children with autism in SLB 'N' Semarang. This research using module of brain gym with the audio-visual, and an evaluation sheet of Digit Span from Weschler . The study consisted of a pre-test, brain gym with 10 times treatment within 5 weeks, which is given by the method of IEP (Individualized Education Program), and the last is the post-test. Analysis of the data using the Wilcoxon test for pre-test and post-test two dependent samples. The result is significantly improved, with the score Z = -2.023 and a significance level of 0.043 <0.05. This means that brain gym which conducted regularly by children with autism have an effect to improving the ability of short-term memory. Keywords: autism, brain gym, short term memoryAbstrak. Penelitian ini bertujuan untuk merangsang kemampuan memori jangka pendek dari anak autis melalui terapi senam otak yang dilakukan dengan menggunakan metode Quasi-Eksperimental, dengan One-Group Pretest-Posttest Design, pada 10 anak autis di SLB 'N' Semarang. Penelitian ini menggunakan modul senam otak dengan audio visual, dan lembar evaluasi Digit Span dari Weschler. Penelitian ini terdiri dari pre-test, senam otak dengan pengobatan 10 kali dalam waktu 5 minggu, yang diberikan dengan metode (Program Pendidikan Individual) IEP, dan yang terakhir adalah post-test. Analisis data menggunakan uji Wilcoxon untuk pre-test dan post-test dua sampel dependen. Hasilnya meningkat secara signifikan, dengan skor Z = -2,023 dan tingkat signifikansi 0,043 <0,05. Ini berarti bahwa senam otak yang dilakukan secara rutin oleh anak-anak dengan autisme memiliki efek untuk meningkatkan kemampuan memori jangka pendek. Kata kunci: autis, memori jangka pendek, senam otakPolusi yang 1 melanda kota-kota besar di Indonesia telah banyak menimbulkan berbagai dampak negatif. Ragam penyakit mulai dari penyakit saluran pernapasan, kulit dan juga stres adalah dampak negatif dari polusi. Polusi juga dianggap sebagai penyebab menurunnya kecerdasan anak,