Exposure to parental separation in childhood and later parenting quality as an adult: evidence from a 30-year longitudinal study

Socio-Cultural Constraints in Protecting Child Rights in a Society in Transition: A Review and Synthesis from Oman

In line with international best practice, the Arabian Gulf countries have ratified the Convention on the Right of the Child (CRC), which has some clauses on child abuse and neglect. The present discourse, made from within an Arabian Gulf society, specifically Oman, reviews the socio-cultural differences of the region and explores the potential regional challenges for effectively implementing the CRC mandated child protection legislation. The international best practices evolved for individualistic, "guilt-based" societies, which may need to be modified to suit the "shame-based" collective societies in the Arabian Gulf where the individual autonomy is overridden by that of the family and society. This may mean that the entire spectrum of child abuse may need to be studied in-depth, starting from what constitutes child abuse and neglect, the methods adopted for identifying cases, setting preventive measures in place, applying penal and corrective action on the perpetrators, and helping the victims recover. It is posited that while modifying the laws may be straightforward, implementation of certain clauses may initially come into conflict with deeply engrained socio-cultural conventions on these societies which have different parenting styles and child-rearing practices. The country in focus is Oman. Pointing out the sparsity of research on the topic in the region, the study suggests additional research to understand how to reconcile these sociocultural constraints with the international best practices of protecting child rights.

Rural birth/upbringing and childhood adversities are associated with psychotic experiences in university students in China

BACKGROUND

Urbanicity has been reported to associate with an increased risk of psychotic experiences (PEs) in developed countries but less is known about the situation in developing countries. The present study aimed to investigate the effects of birth/upbringing place and other environmental factors on PEs in Chinese university students.

METHODS

A computer-assisted cross-sectional survey was conducted on 4620 second-year undergraduates, using a stratified cluster sampling. Birth places and residential mobility before 16 years old were recorded. PEs were measured using the subscales of psychoticism and paranoid ideation in the Symptom Checklist-90-R (SCL-90-R). Six questions extracted from the childhood section of the World Mental Health Composite International Diagnostic Interview (WMH-CIDI) were used to assess childhood trauma.

RESULTS

Generalized ordered logit model of multiple regression analysis revealed that participants with rural birth/upbringing (e.g. rural upbringing, on graded factor score of psychoticism and paranoid ideation [GFSPPI], 0 versus 1 & 2, odds ratio [OR] 1.409, 95% CI 1.219-1.628, p < 0.00001; 0 & 1 versus 2, OR 1.584, 95% CI 1.179-2.128, p < 0.00001) and those who reported childhood trauma (e.g. on GFSPPI, 0 versus 1 & 2, OR 1.737, 95% CI 1.498-2.014, p < 0.00001; 0 & 1 versus 2, OR 1.618, 95% CI 1.224-2.140, p < 0.00001) were apt to present more severe PEs. While upbringing places and childhood trauma affected both the presence and the severity of PEs, gender affected the presence or absence of PEs only (e.g. females, on GFSPPI, 0 versus 1 & 2, OR 1.887, 95% CI 1.631-2.183, p < 0.00001; 0 & 1 versus 2, OR 0.927, 95% CI 0.702-1.223, p = 0.593). Besides, the number of risk factors was associated with the severity of PEs in the cumulative odds logistic regression analysis (e.g. 3 risk factors versus 0 risk factor, on GFSPPI, OR 4.126, 95% CI 3.075-5.537, p < 0.00001).

CONCLUSIONS

Female, rural birth/upbringing and childhood trauma are risk factors of PEs in university students in China. The discrepancy in the findings between developed countries and China has important implications for urbanicity as a risk factor for PEs.

Associations of early childhood adversities with mental disorders, psychological functioning, and suitability for psychotherapy in adulthood

Childhood adversities frequently precede adulthood depression and anxiety. Yet, how they impact needed treatment duration, type or focus in these common disorders, is unclear. For developing more individualized and precise interventions, we investigated whether specific early adversities associate with patients' distinct psychiatric problems, psychological vulnerabilities, and suitability for psychotherapy. A total of 221 depressed and anxious adult outpatients (excluding psychotic, severe personality, bipolar, and substance abuse disorders) referred from community, student, occupational, and private healthcare services filled the Childhood Family Atmosphere Questionnaire (CFAQ). They also filled self-reports on interpersonal behavior and problems, perceived competence, dispositional optimism, sense of coherence, defenses, and psychiatric history. Clinicians assessed the patients' symptomatology, personality, object relations, cognitive performance, and psychotherapy suitability. Regression analyses were conducted. Childhood adversities predicted both worse current psychological functioning (e.g., interpersonal problems), and better clinician-rated capacities for benefiting from psychotherapy (e.g. self-reflection, capacity for interaction). Parental problems had the most numerous negative associations to psychological functioning. Best capacities for psychotherapy were predicted by recollected family unhappiness. Associations with psychiatric criteria were, however, largely non-significant. In conclusion, for psychosocial treatment planning, patients' early adversities may indicate both vulnerability and resources. As childhood adversities are frequent among treatment-seekers, further studies examining how early adversities predict psychotherapy outcome are needed.

Anxiety and defensiveness as predictors of maternal child-centrism

Maternal child-centrism is widely regarded in Western societies as the ideal of being a good mother. However, it has recently been criticized for the toll it takes on mothers. This study examines the widespread maternal practice of child-centrism. It is the first, to our knowledge, to examine predictors of the tendency towards child-centrism. Nowadays, with the social unwritten imperative to prioritize children's needs regardless of maternal standpoint, this study aims to focus and shed light on mothers and to explore which maternal characteristics predict maternal child-centrism. Self-reported questionnaires were completed by 320 Jewish-Israeli mothers, dealing with maternal child-centrism, maternal characteristics (i.e. attachment style, anxiety, defensiveness, and negative and positive affect), and socio-demographic context. The results of the Hierarchical Regression analysis revealed that stress-related maternal characteristics of anxiety and defensiveness predicted maternal child-centrism. These findings may imply that child-centrism serves as a mechanism for overcoming distress faced by mothers struggling with current Western societal norms. Its relationship to the feminist conceptualization of the Myth of Motherhood is discussed.

Parental stress and depressive symptoms increase the risk of separation among parents with children less than 11 years of age in Sweden

AIMS

Parental separations have become more frequent in recent decades. In Western countries, about 25% of children experience parental separation. There is a need to explore the risk factors for separation to give children an optimal childhood. The objective of the present study was to examine parental stress and depressive symptoms during early parenthood and their association with parental separation.

METHODS

Four hundred and seven couples completed questionnaires on depressive symptoms for 3 months and parental stress for 18 months after childbirth. Total parental stress and five sub-areas were investigated. To study the separation rate, parents' addresses were recorded 9 to 11 years after childbirth.

RESULTS

Twenty-nine percent of the parents were separated 9 to 11 years after childbirth. Separation was associated with depressive symptoms at 3 months (mothers p = .002, fathers p = .025) and total parental stress at 18 months after childbirth (mothers p = .010, fathers p = .005). The sub-areas of parental stress, Spouse relationship problems (mothers p = <.001, fathers p = .001) and fathers' Social isolation ( p = .005), were associated with separation. In multivariable regression analyses of the parents' separation rate 9 to 11 years after childbirth, the only significant predictor was mothers' Spouse relationship problems ( p < .001).

CONCLUSIONS

The knowledge that parental stress and depressive symptoms are risk factors for separation may simplify professional support for parents in early parenting. Courses for new and expectant parents can use this knowledge to increase parents' awareness.