Research with populations exposed to violence and wars have grown in recent years; however, such efforts have tilted more toward trauma-focused psychiatric epidemiology. The present study attempted to investigate the nature of existential concerns, assumptive world, and alienation among Kashmiri youth exposed to collective violence. Participants, from 15 to 24 years old, were first verbally screened for exposure to collective violence and then interviewed in detail. Thematic analysis showed death anxiety, future anxiety, and limits on freedom as the major existential concerns among the participants. Similarly, their assumptive world included benevolence/nonbenevolence of people and world, self-worth, and optimism-pessimism about Kashmir and its situation. The major themes pertaining to their feelings of alienation were meaninglessness, social estrangement, political alienation, and national-identity alienation. Themes identified regarding exposure to collective violence were victimization, witnessing of violence, and direct-indirect exposure to violence. Overall, the results are in line with the prior findings reported in the literature pertaining to the Kashmiri context. However, some new dimensions peculiar to target population also emerged, and findings demonstrate a need for the theoretical model on exposure to collective violence. Public Significance StatementThis study advances the idea to investigate exposure to violence beyond trauma and found certain results-such as future anxiety, negative assumptions about people and world, and political and national-identity alienation-in the target population not originally suggested by theoretical models informing the selected variables.

Beneficence is a significant and premier ethical issue that can also be termed as the main goal of any research. It is usually combined with nonmaleficence. Beneficence and nonmaleficence have been included as Principal A under General Principles of American Psychological Association (APA) and imply that any research that is carried out should benefit the participants and should not harm them in any way. Due care needs to be taken in this direction to ensure safety and wellbeing of the participants. Beneficence and nonmaleficence also include safeguarding of the welfare and rights of the participants. The researchers need to be aware about personal (including the physical and mental health of the researcher), financial, social, organisational and political factors that can interfere with ensuring the welfare and safety of the participants. Any research is to be carried out with main goal of benefit to the participants as well as the society in general. However, recently, there has been a shift in this, as many a times research is carried out not for the overall benefit of the participants or the society but for reasons like academic progress and financial benefits. This can lead to research that does not fully contribute the existing fund of knowledge and violates the foremost ethical issue of beneficence and nonmaleficence. A researcher can also come across a number of challenges and dilemmas while practicing beneficence.  Some of the challenges and dilemmas that will be covered in this paper deal with autonomy vs beneficence, minimal risk and research with high or moderate risk but high benefits, that can lead to conflict in the researcher about the study. The risk and benefit ratio also needs to be calculated while carrying out any research and the research needs to be designed in such a way as to ensure maximum benefit and minimum risk. Balancing beneficence and nonmaleficence in a research is also a significant challenge faced by any researcher that will be covered in this paper.

Understanding and dealing with social issues is definitely not an easy task. A social evil like 'Sati' was eradicated over a period of time and as a result of dedicated contributions of many and at the same time due to strict legal consequences. Thus, dealing with social issues and bringing about a social change requires intervention at many levels and by different means. There are various social issues that need to be dealt with. Some of these issues are well discussed, especially in media and to also certain extent in communities, amongst social scientists and even students. However, there are other issues that are equally relevant but do not get the adequate attention, whether its media, society or social scientists. It is thus important to first identify the social issues and then derive measures to deal with them. Social psychologists can play an important role in this regard by not only being more observant and sensitive but also by employing suitable research methodology to study these issues and design intervention strategies. Interventions can be carried out at various levels including individual, familial, community, societal, organizational, state and even at national and international levels. The present article will focus on, first of all, identifying various social issues. Further, it will also discuss about the relevance of research in order to understand these issues and its attributes. It will also focus on the significance of imbibing a sense of understanding and awareness about the social issues amongst the students of social psychology so as to develop in them a sense of concern and also identification with these issues. Thus, the article focuses on the role of both, the social psychologists of today and the social psychologists of future (students of social psychology), in order to bridge the gap between social psychology and social issues.