New approaches to divorce with children: A problem of public health

Depressive symptoms among adults: Baseline findings of PURE Malaysia cohort study

Introduction

In Malaysia, the prevalence of depression has increased from 1.8 % to 2.3 % within a decade. Thus, this study was performed to identify depressive symptoms and its associated factors among Malaysian adults.

Methods

A cross-sectional study was conducted among the adult population aged 35-70 residing in rural and urban areas in Malaysia. Depressive symptoms were assessed using the short form Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, fourth edition (DSM-IV) Composite International Diagnostic Interview (CIDI) questionnaire. Logistic regression models were fitted to identify the associated factors related to depressive symptoms.

Results

About 3.7 % (95 % CI: 2.33-4.83) of the respondents reported having depressive symptoms. Younger adults aged 35-40 years old (AOR: 3.087; 95 % CI: 2.021-4.717), females (AOR: 2.318; 95 % CI: 1.669-3.219), widows and divorcees (AOR: 2.294; 95 % CI: 1.085-4.848), smokers (AOR: 1.843; 95 % CI: 1.334-2.545) and alcohol consumers (AOR: 1.843; 95 % CI: 1.264-2.688) showed a higher odds compared to their other counterparts. Underweight individuals (AOR: 1.899; 95 % CI: 1.177-3.065) and those diagnosed either with hypertension (AOR: 1.442; 95 % CI: 1.11-1.873), diabetes (AOR: 1.554; 95 % CI: 1.133-2.13), angina (AOR: 2.73; 95 % CI: 1.596-4.67), COPD (AOR: 4.187; 95 % CI: 1.528-11.472) or asthma (AOR: 1.906; 95 % CI: 1.309-2.774) were more likely to have depressive symptoms. Additionally, individuals with difficulty trusting people (AOR: 1.477; 95 % CI: 1.024-2.13) and those reported to experience either home or work-related stress (AOR: 2.584; 95 % CI: 2.003-3.331) were more prone to have depressive symptoms.

Conclusion

In this broad population-based study, about 3.7 % (95 % CI: 2.33-4.83) of respondents reported having depressive symptoms. Timely and well targeted collaborative intervention on the identified risk factors by the relevant authorities, would mitigate their effect on the quality of life and retard the progression into depression, especially among younger adults.

Revealing Differences in Brand Loyalty and Brand Engagement of Single or no Parented Young Adults

The present study reveals differences in brand engagement, brand loyalty and brand evangelism among single or no parented young adults. It was found that persons who were raised without one or both parents for at least three years show higher emotional connectivity to brands compared to their counterparts from a control group. A widely recognized structural equation modelling technique—partial least squares method—has been applied in order to test the research hypotheses. Two Baltic States, namely, Lithuania and Latvia, served as an empirical basis of the study. The results of the research are relevant not only to business related disciplines, such as marketing and management, but also to other social sciences fields presuming the existence of more psychology-related differences among single or no parented persons.

Parental Separation and Semen Quality in Young Men: A Population-Based Cohort Study

Purpose

Parental separation may be a stressful life event with the potential to influence hormonal regulation of offspring reproductive health and thereby affect semen quality in young men. We aimed to study the association between parental separation in pregnancy or in childhood and semen quality in young men and to study whether the timing of parental separation in childhood was important.

Patients and Methods

We conducted a follow-up study of 1058 young men born 1998–2000 from the Fetal Programming of Semen Quality (FEPOS) cohort nested within the Danish National Birth Cohort. Data on parental separation were obtained longitudinal by self-report. Parental separation in pregnancy was dichotomized, and parental separation in childhood was both dichotomized and categorized according to the timing of parental separation (from birth, from early childhood (0–5 years), and from late childhood (6–10 years)). Semen volume, concentration, total sperm count, motility, morphology, and testes volume were analysed using multivariable negative binomial regression models.

Results

Parental separation in pregnancy was not associated with semen quality. The association between parental separation in childhood and semen quality differed with the timing of parental separation. Parental separation from birth was associated with higher semen volume of 25%, 95% CI (−5; 64); higher total sperm count of 62%, 95% CI (−6; 179); and higher proportion of morphologically normal spermatozoa of 59%, 95% CI (20; 111). Parental separation in early childhood was associated with lower semen volume of −14%, 95% CI (−24; −3); lower concentration of −15%, 95% CI (−28; 1); lower total sperm count of −17%, 95% CI (−32; 2) and lower testes volume of −11%, 95% CI (−18; −3).

Conclusion

The timing of parental separation was important, and parental separation from birth was associated with higher semen quality, and parental separation in early childhood was associated with lower semen quality.

Adolescents' mental health problems increase after parental divorce, not before, and persist until adulthood: a longitudinal TRAILS study

Parental divorce is one of the most stressful life events for youth and is often associated with (long-lasting) emotional and behavioral problems (EBP). However, not much is known about the timing of the emergence of these EBP in adolescents relative to the moment of parental divorce, and its longitudinal effects. We therefore assessed this timing of EBP in adolescents of divorce and its longitudinal effects. We used the first four waves of the TRacking Adolescent's Individual Lives Survey (TRAILS) cohort, which included 2230 10-12 years olds at baseline. EBP were measured through the Youth Self-Report (YSR), as internalizing and externalizing problems. We applied multilevel analysis to assess the effect of divorce on EBP. The levels of both internalizing and externalizing problems were significantly higher in the period after parental divorce (β = 0.03, and 0.03, respectively; p < 0.05), but not in the period before divorce, with a persistent and increasing effect over the follow-up periods compared to adolescents not experiencing divorce. Adolescents tend to develop more EBP in the period after parental divorce, not before. These effects are long-lasting and underline the need for better care for children with divorcing parents.

Traumatic Effects of the COVID-19 Outbreak in Middle School Students and Caregivers

OBJECTIVE

To investigate the traumatic effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on middle-school students and their parents.

METHODS

This epidemiological cross-sectional study was conducted with middle-school students in Denizli. A questionnaire consisting of the IES-R, CRIES-13 and a sociodemographic data form was delivered online. A total of 1059 participants who fully completed the questionnaire were included for analysis.

RESULTS

The IES-R total and subdimension scores and the CRIES-13 scores were found to be significantly higher in families with an income level of ≤2,500 TL. The CRIES-13 scores of children were found to be significantly higher in divorced families. No statistically significant difference was determined between the IES-R total and subdimension scores of the parents who were healthcare workers and the CRIES-13 scale scores of their children.

CONCLUSION

A statistically significant, positive, moderate relationship was found between the IES-R scale total and subdimension scores of parents and the CRIES-13 scale scores of children. A low socioeconomic level was seen to increase the prevalence of anxiety in adults and adolescents. The children of divorced families were found to be at higher risk of PTSD. Successful management of mental health symptoms in parents will reflect positively on the mental health status of their children.

Anxiety, depression and associated factors among recently divorced individuals

Background: In divorce research, studies using large samples, very recently divorced individuals and validated measures of depression and anxiety with available background populations for comparison are missing.Aims: This study aimed to investigate symptoms of depression and anxiety among recently divorced Danes and assess the explanatory power of relevant sociodemographic- and divorce-related variables on these symptoms.Methods: The study utilized an online cross-sectional design and a total of 1856 Danish citizens recruited through the Danish State Administration. Average scores for depression and anxiety were compared to the Danish background population and regression analyses were conducted to assess the explanatory power of sociodemographic- and divorce characteristics on symptoms of depression and anxiety.Results: Divorcees reported significantly higher levels of both depressive and anxiety symptoms than the background population with a large proportion of the sample scoring equal to or higher than generally recommended cut-off values for risk of suffering from a psychiatric diagnosable case of depression or anxiety. Both sociodemographic- and divorce characteristics were predictive of symptoms of depression and anxiety.Conclusion: The findings underline the relevance of public health intervention targeting symptoms of depression and anxiety among recently divorced individuals.

Family dissolution and children's social well-being at school: a historic cohort study

Background

Family dissolution has become more common and one third of the child population in most Western countries now experience family dissolution. Studies show that children from dissolved families have lower levels of social well-being than children from intact families, but only few studies have examined the impact on social well-being specifically in the school setting. We investigated the association between family dissolution and children’s social well-being at school, including the possible influence of the child’s age at the time of the family dissolution.

Methods

We defined a historic cohort study of 219,226 children and adolescents aged 9–16 years and combined demographic registry data of family structure with questionnaire data on social well-being based on the Danish National Well-being Questionnaire completed in 2015. The definition of social well-being was constructed on the children’s perception of sense of belonging in the school setting, in the class and the school community, as well as perceptions on safety, loneliness and bullying. We examined low social well-being according to family dissolution and used multiple logistic regression analyses to adjust for parental educational level, ethnicity and siblings and further stratified for gender and age.

Results

A total of 5% of the children had a low social well-being at school. Among the 31% who lived in dissolved families, we found more children with a low level of social well-being at school (adjusted OR 1.41, 95% CI 1.36;1.47) than those in intact families; especially among those who at the time of family dissolution were in the preschool age (1.55, 95% CI 1.47;1.64).

Conclusion

Children from dissolved families had higher odds for low social well-being at school compared with children from intact families, especially those who experienced family dissolution in the preschool age. The school may be an important setting for identifying and providing help and support in children experiencing family dissolution.

TCS is to Blame: The Impact of Divorce on Physical and Mental Health

Background:

Divorce rate reaches up to 50–70%. Indisputably divorce recently became one of the most epidemic factors negatively influencing humans' health whereas its impact on the involved couples and their children is serious and sometimes fatal. The article presents the results of a research study to analyze the most critical grounds for divorce leading to negative health-related consequences.

Method:

This research adopts a cross-sectional study design with a quantitative approach based on the data from 195 surveyed respondents. A structured questionnaire covering multiple constructs was used to collect and analyze the data.

Results:

This study found that the most critical causes of the marriage failure are the lack of trust, commitment and communication, sensuality and sexuality (TCS) as they lead to declining of the marginal utility (DMU). These factors not only lead to divorce, but also increase the probability of facing different diseases such as depression, aggression, increasing levels of neuroendocrine, epinephrine and norepinephrine as well as conflict ACTH levels. The regression model shows that communication (C) was the most significant outcome in relation to the MU = 0.45 and P < 0.0) followed by trust and commitment (TC) (β = 0.34 and P < 0.0) and then by S (β = 0.23 and P < 0.0).

Conclusions:

The marginal utility (MU) is directly and positively affected by TCS. The study suggests that lack of MU, lack of intimacy, sensual, and sexual components can lead to frustration, annoyance, anxiety and relationship failure.

Annual Research Review: Interparental conflict and youth psychopathology: an evidence review and practice focused update

The quality of the interparental relationship is recognized as an important influence on child and adolescent psychopathology. Historically, clinically oriented research on this topic has focused on the impacts of parental divorce and domestic violence as primary interparental relationship influences on child outcomes, to the relative neglect of dimensional or qualitative features of the couple/interparental relationship for youth (child and adolescent) psychopathology. Recent research has highlighted that children are affected by attributes of interparental conflict, specifically how parents express and manage conflicts in their relationship, across a continuum of expressed severity and negativity - ranging from silence to violence. Furthermore, new evidence highlights that children's emotional, behavioral, social, academic outcomes, and future interpersonal relationships are adversely affected by conflict between parents/carers whether adults are living together or not (i.e. married or separated), or where children are or are not genetically related to their rearing parents (e.g. adoption). We review evidence and present an integrated theoretical model, highlighting how children are affected by interparental conflict and what this evidence base means for effective intervention and prevention program development, as well as the development of possible cost-benefit models. Additionally, we review policy implications of this research and highlight some very recent examples of UK-based policy focusing on addressing the interparental relationship and its impact on youth psychopathology.