Breakup Research Articles

The Economic Shock in Arab and African American Female Fiction: A Socio-Economic Reading of the Mother-Daughter Relationship

The study explores the economic difficulties encountered by Arab American and African American mothers, as well as the adverse conditions they endure due to their economic and social circumstances, which are manifested in four selected novels. This study seeks to clarify the reasons behind these difficulties and their impacts on family relations, particularly between mothers and daughters. The introduction of new economic regulations, unfamiliar to the mothers, constitutes a significant shock, profoundly affecting their understanding of their daughters' attitudes and choices. This shift in perception often results in conflicts that strain and, in some cases, sever the bonds between mothers and daughters, as well as between daughters and their broader family networks. To achieve the research purpose, the study uses Mark Fisher's concept of "capitalist realism" to analyze Suzan Darraj's The Inheritance of Exile (2007), Randa Jarrar's A Map of Home (2008), Toni Morrison's A Mercy (2008), and Alice Walker's Possessing the Secret of Joy (1992). The concept elucidates how the new economic regulations, which mothers have not previously encountered in their homelands, impact their exploitation by landlords and the patriarchal system. In conclusion, the study reveals that harsh economic conditions break connections between African American mothers and their daughters, while changes in economic institutions lead to misunderstandings between Arab American mothers and their daughters, resulting in family crises that negatively affect and lead to the breakdown of the mother-daughter relationship.

P0261 The hidden impact of surgery for inflammatory bowel disease: a qualitative exploration of sexual function and intimacy

Abstract Background Surgery for inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) often carries a hidden cost in terms of sexual function. Traditionally, when measuring outcomes, the focus has been on those easily measured, quantified, analysed and applied to health economics, such as mortality, morbidity and disease recurrence. Whilst research in this subject area is expanding, there are limited qualitative data specifically investigating patient experiences of sexual dysfunction post-surgery for IBD. This study aims to produce an in-depth exploration of patient perspectives of sexual dysfunction after surgery, and to assess the broader impact on relationships, intimacy and quality of life. Methods An exploratory qualitative study was performed following the ‘Standards for reporting qualitative research’ (SRQR) recommendations. Purposive sampling was employed to recruit a diverse group with differing ages, genders, ethnicities, sexual orientations, religions and relationship status. Participants were recruited from clinical settings, social media and national IBD charities. An interview guide was developed iteratively, with input from an expert patient, qualitative researchers, sexual function experts, gastroenterologists and colorectal surgeons. Semi-structured interviews were conducted via Microsoft Teams/Zoom and audio-recorded, transcribed and analysed. Thematic analysis was conducted using the Framework analysis method (open coding with an inductive approach). Results Qualitative interviews were conducted (n=10, 5 females, 5 males, median age 47, age range 24-69), including patients with Crohn’s disease (n=6) and ulcerative colitis (n=4). Participants were of varying sexualities: heterosexual (n=8), pansexual (n=1) and asexual (n=1). Surgeries included fistula surgery, stoma formation, proctectomy and ileo-anal pouch formation. Thematic analysis revealed physical dysfunction including loss of sensation, impaired pelvic muscle control, erectile and ejaculatory dysfunction, diminished orgasmic sensation and adjustments to sexual positions. Psychological impacts were prominent, including loss of desire, altered body image and a sense of shame/stigma. The impact on spontaneity, intimacy and the overall sexual experience was substantial. Crucially, this often led to relationship strain and breakdown, resulting in further isolation and frustration. Conclusion Patients who retain ‘normal’ sexual function after surgery can still experience psychological challenges that significantly impact their sexual desire, spontaneity, relationships, intimacy, and sexual experience. These interviews have revealed the often unspoken effects of surgery for inflammatory bowel disease, emphasising the need for healthcare professionals to address these issues in clinical practice.

Canadian Men's Intimate Partner Relationship Break-Ups During COVID-19: Implications for Mental Health Promotion.

COVID-19 impacted many men's intimate partner relationships, with distressed and disrupted partnerships consistently featured in commentaries with linkages to mental health challenges. The current study draws from interviews with 23 Canadian-based men, 19-50 years old, who experienced a break-up during COVID-19. Addressing the research question, "What are the connections between masculinities, men's mental health, and intimate partner relationship break-ups during COVID-19?", three thematic findings were derived: (1) Virtually Together and Growing Apart, (2) Mentally Trapped, and Failing Fast and Slow, and (3) Introspections and Moving On. Virtually Together and Growing Apart describes two contexts wherein men were either challenged by being physically apart from their partner or increasingly estranged while cohabitating with their partner during COVID-19. Mentally Trapped, and Failing Fast and Slow speaks to the stresses of being socially isolated and anxieties about the future with those tensions flowing to and from men's relationships. Featured were fast-tracked endings in terms of many participants knowing early-on the partnership was over, amid drawn out finishes wherein men's relationships gradually ended with the easement of COVID-19 restrictions. Introspections and Moving On varied in that many men were intent on processing and deconstructing all that happened in (and to end) their relationship. Men's learnings were leveraged through accessing professional and peer supports to promote self-growth and purposefully build healthier intimate partnerships. The study findings affirm the need for gender-responsive mental health promotion programs to equip men with relationship skills, while also underscoring the necessity for services dedicated to addressing post-COVID-19 injuries.

Workaholism as a Trigger for Marital Conflict: Psychological and Legal Perspectives

Workaholism is a phenomenon that is increasingly prevalent in modern society. While working is a positive activity, excessive focus on work can trigger an imbalance between professional and personal life. In the context of marriage, this imbalance can lead to conflicts, relationship breakdowns, and even divorce. A concrete example of the impact of workaholism on family life can be found in the Bantul Religious Court Decision No. 840/Pdt.G/2022/PA.Btl. In this case, workaholism was cited by the plaintiff as the reason for filing for divorce in court. This study employs a library research method with descriptive-analytical analysis of the court ruling as the object of research. The purpose is to explore the psychological and legal impacts of workaholism from a psychological perspective using the work-family conflict theory and the theory of spouses of workaholics. Additionally, the maslahah mursalah approach is used to assess whether workaholism as a social phenomenon brings benefits or harms. The findings of this study reveal that workaholism can trigger disputes between married couples, leading to divorce. From the perspective of maslahah mursalah, workaholism provides benefits, such as fulfilling the family’s economic needs and achieving career goals. Moreover, there is also harm, such as being a trigger for conflicts within the household.

The Break-up Experience of Romantic Relationship and Post-traumatic Growth Among Vicenarian Adults

This paper explains the breakup experiences of romantic relationships, coping strategies, and post-traumatic growth (PTG) among vicenarian adults. It employed a qualitative-based research design using a phenomenological method. Snowball and purposive sampling methods were used to select seven participants with a background of romantic relationship breakup experience within two years. Semi-structured interviews were conducted to collect participant data, and data were analyzed using a thematic analysis procedure. This study found that romantic relationships included understanding of love, utmost happiness in love, and need in love. In contrast, breakups indicated decision-making, emotional impact, and self-blame. Besides, the result also reported that the coping methods involved emotional engagement and acceptance state (duration taken to overcome the emotions). After a romantic relationship breakup, self-growth was found more in personal strength, close relationships, new possibilities, spiritual development, and greater appreciation of life as PTG implications. The findings concluded that breakup-experienced participants coped through the grief process and enhanced their self-growth. This study helped to create awareness among society to view their grief as a growth-oriented process.

Family Structure as a Result of Marital, Reproductive, and Self-Preservation Behavior of the Population in Russia

This article analyzes data from the All-Russian population censuses of 2002, 2010, and 2020. The author compares the proportion of families with children under the age of 18 that lack one parent (either father or mother) to the proportion of single spouses among all married individuals. In many cases, the absence of one parent is not due to relationship breakdowns, but rather the temporary migration of one spouse for work. It should not be assumed that such families are without a parent altogether. The author concludes that census data may exaggerate the number of families without one parent, thereby creating the illusion of a growing trend, especially in Moscow. However, even when adjusted for this overstatement, one in five families – both nationwide and in the capital – still lacks one parent. This situation is most common in families with a single child. In Russian society, childlessness is considered a deviation from the social norm. Although this norm has become less rigid in recent years, almost all families still have at least one child, even in cases of marital discord. Subsequently, many of these families eventually break up. However, once a child is born, further births typically occur only in the absence of serious marital conflict. Having a second child significantly reduces the likelihood of family breakdown, but the birth of a third or subsequent child has little additional effect on this risk. The instability of marriages and the social acceptability of divorce in Russian society contribute to lower fertility rates. The majority of families have only one or two children, a family structure that does not ensure full generational replacement and is therefore demographically unfavorable. To halt depopulation, Russia’s demographic policy should not only encourage childbirth within existing families but also promote legal marriage and the creation of new families, while also addressing the high divorce rate.

Self-Concept Clarity and Romantic Breakup Distress in Argentina and the United States

This study implemented a culturally sensitive approach to understanding self-concept clarity and relationship breakup distress reported by emerging adults in Argentina and the USA. Due to cultural tendencies involving individuality and interpersonal connections, we expected that country would moderate the association between self-concept clarity and breakup distress, with Argentinians showing a stronger inverse association between self-concept clarity and breakup distress compared to North Americans. In a sample of 270 emerging adults (160 from Argentina, 110 from the USA), we first evaluated measurement invariance then used a structural model to test breakup distress regressed on self-concept clarity. The major analyses controlled for six relationship breakup-related potential confounds. Contrary to expectations, results indicated that North Americans demonstrated a stronger negative relationship between self-concept clarity and breakup distress compared to Argentinians. Our findings highlight the importance of further cross-cultural research in understanding the complexities of self-concept clarity in diverse cultural contexts.

Jarring Encounters: Discomfort, Disruption, and Dominant Narratives of Suicide.

In researching experiences and understandings of suicide bereavement across diverse communities in Scotland, we expected to hear difficult, distressing, and painful narratives. However, one of the 31 in-depth qualitative interviews that we conducted was particularly and unexpectedly jarring. In this narrative, Freya explained how her ex-partner took his life after she escaped from his domestic abuse. This narrative produces a deep sense of discomfort in the interviewer, as her expectations about suicide bereavement are disrupted. Taking this discomfort as a starting point, we explore what this jarring encounter tells us about dominant and absent narratives of suicide. We interrogate how this narrative of suicide within the context of domestic violence perpetration bumps up against dominant narratives of a "male suicide crisis" and "relationship breakdown," through which men are positioned solely as "victims." Drawing on perspectives from feminist, affective, and reflexive qualitative research, critical suicide studies, and an abductive approach to analysis, we explore how attending to uncomfortable feelings that are generated within the research encounter can enable us to develop more complex, nuanced, and messy understandings of suicide.

Features of the Nervous System of Adolescents Prone to Gambling Addiction

Key words: Internet game addiction, game of chance, gambling, loss of control, personality trait, five-factor model of personality, nervous system balance, neuroticism In the modern world, the types of addictions not only increase, but also become more available due to new technologies and means of communication. These addictions cause various physical and mental problems, disrupt normal life, and affect behavior. Nowadays gaming addiction includes different age groups: from teenagers to the elderly. One of the important issues in the whole world as well as in Armenia is the prevention of the spread of gambling addiction among teenagers and adolescents. So, the problem of the tendency to gambling addiction among adolescents is relevant, as it often causes family conflicts, relationship breakdown, impoverishment and even suicide. For adolescents, gambling can be perceived as an opportunity to discharge, express their aggression, and raise their voices. Additionally, some gambling may seem like a way to make easy money. Gambling addiction and the nervous system have been studied separately in many works, but there are a few studies on the specifics of their interrelationship. Studying the specific features of the nervous system of adolescents with gambling addiction is important for the prevention of gambling addiction. Awareness among parents and teachers is especially important in developing addiction prevention strategies, which can reduce the tendency of adolescents to become addicted.

The Intergenerational Legacy of Indian Residential Schools

From the late nineteenth century until the end of the twentieth century, the Canadian government collaborated with Christian churches to operate a network of boarding schools for Indigenous children to culturally and economically assimilate them. These children were taken from their families and placed into residential schools, where they were to be assimilated into the Eurocentric culture of the dominant society. Using a unique restricted-access database that asked Indigenous respondents about their family history with residential schools, in addition to questions on socioeconomic outcomes, I study the intergenerational effects of these schools. Despite previous research showing that residential schools increased human capital accumulation among attendees, I find that residential schools are associated with lower educational attainment among subsequent generations. I present evidence consistent with the notion that both cultural detachment and a breakdown in family relationships contributed to a reversal of the standard relationship between parents’ and children's human capital. Encouragingly, I find suggestive evidence that greater access to cultural centers might buffer the harmful legacy of this historical trauma.

The association between childhood adversity and hippocampal volumes is moderated by romantic relationship experiences.

Reduced hippocampal volumes are a feature of many mental disorders. Childhood maltreatment is a known risk factor for the development of psychopathology and has consistently been linked to hippocampal volume reductions in adults, but not in children and adolescents. We propose that maltreatment-related difficulties in coping with developmental tasks in adolescence and young adulthood might underlie the delayed emergence of hippocampal volume reductions in maltreated individuals. In a study with 196 healthy young adults (mean age [years]: 24.0±3.2, 50% female, 20.6% living with a partner (missings: n = 2)), we investigated the interaction between childhood maltreatment (Childhood Trauma Screener) and the breakup of a steady romantic relationship (List of Threatening Experiences Questionnaire) on hippocampal magnetic resonance imaging grey matter volumes. The experience of a romantic relationship breakup moderated the association between childhood maltreatment and bilateral hippocampal volumes, revealing more negative associations with hippocampal volumes in participants with at least one breakup compared to those with no breakup experience (right hippocampus: β = - 0.05 ±0.02, p = 0.031, p (FDR) =0.031; left hippocampus: β = -0.06 ±0.02, p = 0.005, p (FDR) =0.009). Moreover, our findings provide some evidence that childhood maltreatment is related to smaller bilateral hippocampal volumes only in those adults who suffered from a relationship breakup (right hippocampus: β = -0.23 ±0.10, p = 0.018, p (FDR) =0.018; left hippocampus: β = -0.24 ±0.10, p = 0.016, p (FDR) =0.018;). Our study highlights the interaction of adult social bonds with early adversity on vulnerability to psychopathology.

Open relationships – challenges and dilemmas

Introduction and objective: Consensual non-monogamy (CNM) refers to various relationship types in which at least one partner, with the other’s consent, forms sexual and/or emotional connections with other people. In open relationships, partners are allowed to engage sexually with others, but emotional intimacy is reserved for the primary relationship, which takes precedence. The aim of this article is to gather the most up-to-date information on open relationships.Material and methods: A review of studies available on the PubMed platform (https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/) was conducted, including articles with free full-text access that used the keywords: “open relationship”, “CNM” and "Consensual non-monogamy."Brief Description of the State of Knowledge: CNM includes open relationships, polyamory, polyfidelity, and swinging. Interest in open relationships has increased in recent years, with more people expressing curiosity about them than those actively participating. Men, individuals with high cognitive empathy, those less prone to jealousy, and those capable of experiencing compersion—the joy from a partner’s involvement with others—are particularly interested in open relationships. Summary: Research suggests potential benefits of CNM, including greater relationship and sexual satisfaction compared to monogamous arrangements. However, open relationships can also pose challenges such as social stigma, the potential breakdown of the primary relationship, or complications in parenting for those involved. Despite growing interest, CNM and phenomena like compersion remain under-researched, providing an open field for further investigation into their dynamics and impact on individual and relational well-being.

Coral larvae increase nitrogen assimilation to stabilize algal symbiosis and combat bleaching under increased temperature.

Rising sea surface temperatures are increasingly causing breakdown in the nutritional relationship between corals and algal endosymbionts (Symbiodiniaceae), threatening the basis of coral reef ecosystems and highlighting the critical role of coral reproduction in reef maintenance. The effects of thermal stress on metabolic exchange (i.e., transfer of fixed carbon photosynthates from symbiont to host) during sensitive early life stages, however, remains understudied. We exposed symbiotic Montipora capitata coral larvae in Hawai'i to high temperature (+2.5°C for 3 days), assessed rates of photosynthesis and respiration, and used stable isotope tracing (4 mM 13C sodium bicarbonate; 4.5 h) to quantify metabolite exchange. While larvae did not show any signs of bleaching and did not experience declines in survival and settlement, metabolic depression was significant under high temperature, indicated by a 19% reduction in respiration rates, but with no change in photosynthesis. Larvae exposed to high temperature showed evidence for maintained translocation of a major photosynthate, glucose, from the symbiont, but there was reduced metabolism of glucose through central carbon metabolism (i.e., glycolysis). The larval host invested in nitrogen cycling by increasing ammonium assimilation, urea metabolism, and sequestration of nitrogen into dipeptides, a mechanism that may support the maintenance of glucose translocation under thermal stress. Host nitrogen assimilation via dipeptide synthesis appears to be used for nitrogen limitation to the Symbiodiniaceae, and we hypothesize that nitrogen limitation contributes to retention of fixed carbon by favoring photosynthate translocation to the host. Collectively, our findings indicate that although these larvae are susceptible to metabolic stress under high temperature, diverting energy to nitrogen assimilation to maintain symbiont population density, photosynthesis, and carbon translocation may allow larvae to avoid bleaching and highlights potential life stage specific metabolic responses to stress.

A Comparative Critical Analysis of the Financial Remedies for Cohabiting Couples upon Relationship Breakdown in Scotland and Germany

A Comparative Critical Analysis of the Financial Remedies for Cohabiting Couples upon Relationship Breakdown in Scotland and Germany

Youth Intimate Partner Femicide: Identification of Factors Specific to Femicide Against Adolescent and Young Adult Victims

Abstract Objectives Intimate partner femicide (IPF) is a public health issue with far-reaching and extreme consequences. As previous research mainly has treated IPF as an adult phenomenon, young victims of such violence have been rendered invisible. Consequently, youth IPF is not well understood and little is known about factors specific to IPF against adolescent and young adult females. Purpose The aim of this study is to examine factors related to youth IPF (≤ 25 years) and to compare cases of youth IPF with cases of adult IPF (≥ 26 years) regarding these factors. Victim and perpetrator characteristics are explored, as well as factors related to the relationship and circumstances of the crimes. Methods This epidemiological study is based on a national dataset that involves all homicides in Sweden between 1990 and 2017. Incidents of male-perpetrated femicide in which the perpetrator and victim were or had been in an intimate relationship were analyzed. Descriptive and multivariate analyses with odds ratios (OR) were conducted in order to make group comparisons between young (n = 62) and adult (n = 320) IPF. Results Our study reveals interesting differences between youth and adult IPF, in which youth IPF is more likely to be motivated by relationship break-up, involve strangulation of the victim and drug use. Conclusions Our study sheds light on the factors and circumstances that play an important role in youth IPF, and could be fruitful to target in future prevention and intervention efforts that aim to combat severe violence against adolescent and young adult females.

Leaving Against Medical Advice From Children's Hospitals.

Leaving the hospital against medical advice (AMA) reflects a breakdown in the family-clinician relationship and creates ethical dilemmas in inpatient pediatric care. There are no national data on frequency or characteristics of leaving AMA from US children's hospitals. We performed a retrospective cohort study of hospital discharges for children under 18 years old from January 1, 2018 to December 31, 2022 in 43 children's hospitals in the Pediatric Health Information System (PHIS) database. The primary outcome was leaving AMA. Exposures were demographic, geographic, and clinical characteristics. We used multivariable mixed effects logistic regression models to assess independent factors associated with leaving AMA and all-cause 14-day hospital readmission. Among 3 672 243 included inpatient encounters, 2972 (0.08%) ended in leaving AMA. Compared with non-Hispanic white patients, non-Hispanic Black patients had higher odds of leaving AMA (adjusted odds ratio [aOR] 1.31 [95% confidence interval (CI) 1.19-1.44]), whereas Hispanic patients (aOR 0.66 [95% CI 0.59-0.75]) had lower odds of leaving AMA. Hospitalizations for patients with noncommercial insurance were more likely to end in leaving AMA. Leaving AMA was associated with increased odds of 14-day inpatient readmission (aOR 1.41 [95% CI 1.24-1.61]) compared with patients who did not leave AMA. There was substantial interhospital variability in standardized rates of leaving AMA (range 0.18-2.14 discharges per 1000 inpatient encounters). Approximately 1 in 1235 inpatient encounters ended in leaving AMA. Non-Hispanic Black patients had increased odds of leaving AMA. Leaving AMA was associated with increased odds of 14-day readmission.

A qualitative study of psychological stress and coping among persons using crack cocaine

BackgroundResearch has identified a strong link between stress and drug use behaviours. Also, it has been established that the prolonged use of crack cocaine stimulates emotional, cognitive, neurological and social changes. This paper explores the psychological stressors that occur from crack cocaine use and the coping mechanisms used to mitigate them. This will provide an understanding of the intricate relationship between substance use and psychological well-being.MethodologyThe study is qualitative and uses a descriptive phenomenological approach. The coping circumplex model is the theoretical model that underpins the study. Data was collected through 26 face-to-face in-depth semi-structured interviews with people who use crack cocaine. Data were analysed using thematic analysis. Participants consisted of 15 males and 11 females between the ages of 24–57 years, guaranteeing multiplicity within the study sample.ResultsCravings, financial burdens, relationship breakdown and emotional /cognitive stimulation were revealed as psychological stressors. Maladaptive coping which includes self-harm, isolation, not speaking about/not dealing with emotions and using substances were adopted by study participants. Also, positive coping such as seeking help and keeping busy were adopted by study participants. Social and environmental factors such as stigma, easy accessibility of crack and flashbacks served as barriers to positive coping. Positive coping was linked to the availability and easy accessibility to social support and strong family bonds, underlining the importance of accessible support systems in managing the challenges linked with crack cocaine use.ConclusionThe challenges faced by study participants in coping with the psychological stressors linked to their crack cocaine use highlight the importance of adopting personalised and comprehensive strategies to tackle the intricate dynamics between psychological stress, coping and crack cocaine use.

“What Is Normal?”: A Qualitative Exploration of Health Practitioners’ Reports of Treating Patients Presenting with Unpleasant Sexual Experiences

Sexual health, including sexual pleasure, is fundamental to holistic health and well-being, and is considered an area of priority health in Australia. Despite the importance of sexual functioning, women experience significant gaps in sexual well-being compared to men and often do not seek medical care or treatment. Health practitioners are central to the identification and treatment of sexual dysfunction, including fostering sexual well-being for patients. Despite this, minimal research has explored health practitioners’ experiences in treating reports of unpleasant sex. This study aimed to explore health practitioners’ experiences, responses, and confidence in treating patients presenting for unpleasant sexual experiences. An online, mixed-methods survey was completed by 96 participants. Thematic analysis identified 11 core themes. These themes included five patient centred themes (health risks, diverse sex acts, painful vaginal intercourse, relationship breakdown and violence, unwanted sex) and six health practitioner centred themes (communication and counselling, what is normal, ongoing care and follow up, emotional response, limited practical training, and highly prevalent). Participants described a complex sexual health landscape, with social contexts impacting women’s sexual experiences and engagement in treatment. Additionally, health practitioners reported the need for a biopsychosocial approach to understanding and responding to unpleasant sexual experiences for patients, while simultaneously reporting limited education in this area. Findings reflect the need for health practitioners to be cognisant of matters related to sexual function, consent, coercion, client engagement, and treatment pathways, identifying a need for greater education and holistic approaches to sexual healthcare across medical settings.

Postseparation Financial Abuse Perpetrated Through Government Systems: A Survey of Australian Mothers' Experiences of Child Support.

Financial abuse is a form of violence that can extend well beyond intimate partner relationship breakdown. A survey of 540 Australian separated parents examined how financial abuse was perpetrated, with a focus on child support and other government systems. Women reported that their ex-partners minimized and withheld child support payments to inflict direct financial harm, while interactions between the family court, taxation, and benefit payment systems were taken advantage of to threaten or control them. Findings revealed how the mandatory and complex Australian child support system provided perpetrators with a useful means of perpetrating financial abuse across households.

Re-Os geochronology and geochemical evolution of late Cambrian to Middle Ordovician Alum and Tøyen shales, Sweden

The limited number of accurate and precise radiometric ages through the ∼100 Myr span of the Cambrian and Ordovician impedes reliable age determinations for stage boundaries in these periods. Here, we fill significant gaps in the early Paleozoic chronostratigraphy by providing precise Re-Os time-pins. Sample selection is linked to a firm biostratigraphic framework built on the appearance and distribution of trilobites, graptolites, and conodonts. A Furongian (upper Cambrian) Alum Shale section (Andrarum-3 drill core, Scania, Sweden) at the onset of the Steptoean Positive Carbon Isotopic Excursion (SPICE) yields highly non-isochronous Re-Os isotopic data from a section with wildly fluctuating δ13Corg; however, selected data from a narrow sediment band with steady carbon isotope stratigraphy provides an imprecise Re-Os age of 497 ± 28 Ma (2σ; Model 3; n = 3), with an initial 187Os/188Os ratio (Osi) of 0.74 ± 0.05. Organic-rich Alum Shale (Tomten-1 drill core, Västergötland, Sweden) from ∼120 cm below the Cambrian-Ordovician boundary yields a Model 1 age of 488.6 ± 5.1 Ma (2σ; MSWD = 1.5; n = 25) and an Osi of 0.82 ± 0.04 for Stage 10, uppermost Cambrian. Biostratigraphic data indicate the dated Alum Shale is from an interval slightly below the Top Of Cambrian Excursion (TOCE) and slightly above the First Appearance Datum (FAD) of the agnostoid Lotagnostus americanus. Organic-rich Tøyen Shale (Lerhamn drill core, Scania, Sweden) yields a precise Model 1 Re-Os age of 469.7 ± 1.4 Ma (2σ; MSWD = 1.0; n = 10) and Osi of 0.802 ± 0.002 for the maximum age of the Floian–Dapingian stage boundary (Lower–Middle Ordovician boundary). The Os isotopic composition of seawater from the latest Ediacaran through the Cambrian to Early-Middle Ordovician hovers around 0.8 but falls to 0.54 by early Silurian. This significant decrease in seawater 187Os/188Os is consistent with reduced chemical weathering and cooler seawater temperatures through the Middle–Late Ordovician. Overall, Redox Sensitive Element (RSE; Re, Os, Mo, U) abundances correlate positively with Total Organic Carbon (TOC), suggesting efficient removal of these elements from an anoxic water column by organic matter. However, these relationships break down for high TOC (>10%) shales depositing under euxinic conditions. The RSE-TOC relationship breakdown supports enhanced metal drawdown from the water column with local pyrite accumulation. Geochemical data suggest the deposition of Alum and Tøyen shales under hydrographically restricted settings with increased primary productivity along the Baltica's margin during the latest Cambrian to Early-Middle Ordovician.