Domains Of Family Life Research Articles

Violence in Young Adults: Perpetration of Bullying and Life Satisfaction

Objectives: To explore the potential associations between adults’ experiences of bullying and self-reported life satisfaction. Methodology: The data were collected by an online self-report survey using the Google Form by contacting college/university teachers and circulating the form among students using E-mails and social media. The Multidimensional Bullying and Cyberbullying Scale was used to assess the bullying experiences of the students in the last 3 months. The Brief Multidimensional Students’ Life Satisfaction Scale was used to measure self-reported life satisfaction. Results: Out of a total of 854 (males = 21.6 ± 3.55 years) students, a little more than half (53.9%) were not involved in any bullying, 16.4% were cyber victims, 3% were victims of classic bullying, and 10.9% were victims of both types of bullying. Pure perpetration was rare (<1%) and 14.9% of the participants reported victimizing others as well as being victims of bullying. The bully-victims, relative to other groups, were the most likely to express dissatisfaction in the domains of family life (χ 2 = 29.00, P = 0.0001), friendships (χ 2 = 52.11, P = 0.0001), living environment (χ 2 = 23.75, P = 0.003), and overall rating (χ 2 = 41.26, P = 0.0001). Multivariate stepwise regression analysis indicated that 4.2% of the variance was explained by the number of bullying victimization incidents and the number of perpetration incidents (F = 19.90, P = 0.0001). Conclusions: Educational institutions must take robust measures to raise awareness of bullying and implement effective strategies to protect the most vulnerable groups. Social-emotional educational programs that teach conflict resolution, social skills, and safe practices for navigating the remote platform need urgent attention.

2023 Family Life Survey of National Family Center Users

The purpose of this study was to describe the family life and relationships of national family center users in 2023. A sample of 1,086 adults was recruited from 48 family centers across South Korea. Participants, both online and offline, reported on various aspects of family life, including satisfaction, gender equality, workhome- life balance, family leisure, and internet usage for family and household purposes. Additionally, family relationships were explored in terms of dynamics with a spouse, children, and adult children. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics and t -tests. In the family life domain, center users reported a high level of satisfaction, with women exhibiting greater awareness of gender equality and higher engagement in household chores than men. Furthermore, although a moderate balance among work, home, and life was reported, time emerged as a significant challenge for family leisure. Regarding technology, center users frequently utilized the internet for family communication, leisure, shopping, and household management. In the family relationships domain, men were more satisfied with spousal relationships than women. Center users reported high satisfaction with parentchild relationships. Parents of school-aged children perceived economic burdens, while those with adult children frequently provided psychological and instrumental support. These findings suggest the need for program modification and the development of new initiatives within national family centers to better support the diverse needs of families in terms of life satisfaction and relationship dynamics.

A study of disability and socio-economic impact of mental morbidities from the state of Madhya Pradesh, India.

Disability associated with mental illness has a disproportionate impact on the work, social, and family responsibilities of an individual toward society. The evidence for disability in mental illnesses would help the clinician, caregivers, policymakers, and various stakeholders to come up with sustainable solutions not only to help fill the existing gaps in care but also to develop new avenues as per the specific needs of the population of Madhya Pradesh (MP). To estimate the burden of disability related to mental illnesses in the state of MP. A multi-site cross-sectional study was conducted in 2015-16 as part of National Mental Health Survey among adults above 18 years of age. Samples were selected using multi-stage, stratified, random cluster sampling based on probability proportionate to size. Six tehsils with one urban metro out of four districts from a total of 50 districts were selected in the state of MP. The Sheehan Disability Scale and socio-economic impact of illness (from selected questions from WHO-Disability Assessment Schedule-2.0) were used to assess mental morbidity and the subjective reporting of disability. The weighted prevalence of disability (n = 1011) was found as 10.2%, 13.1%, and 13.9%, respectively, in work/school, social life, and family/home domains. The weighted prevalence of moderate to extreme disability in the same domains was, respectively, 5.1%, 6.7%, and 7.3%. The presence of common mental disorders (CMDs) increases the odds of self-reported disability in work [odds ratio (OR) 2.48, 95% CI 1.35 to 4.59], social life (OR 2.74, 95% CI 1.50 to 5.07), and family domains (OR 3.03, 95% CI1.62 to 5.74). When combined with common mental disorders, tobacco use disorder further escalates the odds of self-reported disability in all three domains [OR 7.10, confidence interval (CI) 3.15 to 16.37; 4.93, CI 2.19 to 11.28; and 7.10, CI 2.78 to 19.25]. Currently, non-working persons had a higher disability in social life and family life domains (P = 0.003 and P = 0.021), respectively. We report a substantial magnitude of disability in social, work, and family life domains. Participants having CMDs, female gender, and those non-working had more disabilities and would require targeted interventions.

Exploring the Factors that Affect Employee Motivation during COVID-19 Pandemic: An Empirical Study from Indonesia

The COVID-19 pandemic has created working condition that is totally new to working population globally, including Indonesia. Social distancing policies have forced employee to work from home where work-life and family-life domains become blur and may increase level of stress due to various reasons. Employees that need to work in the office may be fear of infection if the working environment is perceived not safe. Other factors, such as leadership style, may complicate the issues faced by the employees. Previous studies on how COVID-19 pandemic affects employee motivation are still limited. This study answers the limited research on employee motivation during COVID-19 pandemic and attempts to minimize the gap by investigating the relationship and impact of four independent variables (safe working environment, special benefit, perceived work-life balance, and transformational leadership) on employee motivation during COVID-19 pandemic. Online questionnaire survey method was employed to collect data from 325 active working employees mainly across Java Island. Multiple regression using SPSS version 25 was applied to analyze the data. Results show that all four variables have positive relationship with employee motivation. However, only three variables (safe working environment, special benefits, and transformational leadership) have significant impact on employee motivation.

Chinese older adults' personal–family life balance and its associations with social networks: The moderating role of internet use

AbstractThis study used nationally representative data from the China Longitudinal Ageing Social Survey 2018 to examine how activity patterns in the personal and family life domains were associated with social networks among Chinese older adults and whether internet use changed these relationships. Using latent class analysis, we identified four activity patterns, including Personal‐centered Activity class (14.37%), Low Activity class (58.06%), Family‐centered Activity class (19.24%), and Balanced Activity class (8.33%). Multivariate analyses revealed that the Personal‐centered Activity and Low Activity classes were associated with looser family ties compared with the Family‐centered Activity class, whereas the Balanced Activity class was associated with closer friendship ties. Internet usage was significantly associated with stronger family and friendship ties in the Low Activity group. Intervention programs to address the digital divide and engage older adults with limited offline social engagement in online communications may have positive effects on maintaining or expanding their social networks.

The Family Impact of Atopic Dermatitis in the Pediatric Population: Results from an International Cross-sectional Study

To evaluate the impact of atopic dermatitis on families of pediatric patients. This cross-sectional, web-based survey of children/adolescents (6months to <18years old) with atopic dermatitis and their parents and caregivers was conducted in 18 countries encompassing North America, Latin America, Europe, Middle East/Eurasia, and East Asia. Children and adolescents with atopic dermatitis and their parents and caregivers were identified by the International Study of Asthma and Allergies in Childhood criteria and ever being told by a physician that they had "eczema". Atopic dermatitis severity was assessed using the Patient-Oriented Eczema Measure and the Patient Global Assessment. Atopic dermatitis impact on families' lives was evaluated using the Dermatitis Family Impact questionnaire and stand-alone questions on hours of atopic dermatitis-related care (past week) and missed work days (past 4weeks) owing to their child's atopic dermatitis. A total of 7465 pairs of pediatric participants with atopic dermatitis and their parents or caregivers were surveyed. Across age groups, the Dermatitis Family Impact questionnaire total score for all regions ranged from 7.1 to 8.6, 13.2 to 14.9, and 17.0 to 17.2 for Patient-Oriented Eczema Measure mild, moderate, and severe atopic dermatitis, respectively. Subscale scores showed that greater atopic dermatitis severity had a greater impact on all family life domains, including sleep and tiredness. No specific patterns or trends were observed across age groups. Time spent on childcare and missed work days increased with atopic dermatitis severity. Across pediatric age groups and geographic regions, greater atopic dermatitis severity was associated with a greater negative impact on physical, emotional, social, and economic components of family life.

The mediating role of the work-family conflict in the relationship between technostress and psychological well-being in the COVID-19 pandemic context

The COVID-19 pandemic has brought dramatic changes both for work and employees’ personal and family life domains. In this context, this research investigates the mediating role of the work-family conflict in the relationship between technostress creators (techno-overload and techno-invasion) and psychological well-being. We conducted a survey of 217 employees and the results indicated that the work-family conflict fully mediated the relationship between techno-overload and psychological well-being, thus strongly affecting the psychological well-being of employees in the context of exposure to the stress generated by ICTs overload. Similar results were identified regarding the mediating role of work-family conflict in the relationship between techno-invasion and psychological well-being. The findings suggest the need to increase the coping capacity of employees with technostress and their psychological well-being by reducing the work-family conflict and technostress.

Functional outcomes with bright light in monotherapy and combined with fluoxetine in patients with major depressive disorder: Results from the LIFE-D trial

BackgroundBright light therapy has been shown to improve depressive symptoms in patients with nonseasonal major depressive disorder (MDD) but there are few studies examining functional outcomes. MethodsWe examined secondary functional outcomes in the 8-week randomized, placebo-sham-controlled LIFE-D trial comparing light therapy, fluoxetine, and the combination in patients with nonseasonal MDD. Functional assessments included the Sheehan Disability Scale (SDS) and, for employed participants, the Lam Employment Absence and Productivity Scale (LEAPS). Analysis of covariance (ANCOVA) was conducted with SDS and LEAPS change scores from baseline to week 8 as dependent variables, treatment modality (light, fluoxetine) as an independent variable, and baseline SDS and LEAPS scores as covariates. ResultsOf 122 randomized participants, SDS data were available for 105 and LEAPS data for 70. For the SDS, there were no interaction effects, but there was a significant small- to medium-sized main effect of light treatment on total SDS scores with corresponding significant effects in the Social Life and Family Life domains, but not in the Work/Study domain. There were no significant interaction or main effects with LEAPS scores. ConclusionLight therapy significantly improved social and family life functioning in patients with MDD. However, work functioning was not significantly improved despite large effect sizes; these results were limited by low statistical power because of small sample sizes. Future studies should use longer treatment durations and be powered to detect clinically relevant differences in functional outcomes.

What is Parental Stress Connected to in Families of Children With Autism Spectrum Disorder? Implications for Parents’ Interventions

Raising a child with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) can be a very stressful experience, impacting parents and their ability to take care of their child. We examined the relationship between parenting stress and child, and parent and contextual factors in a sample of 61 families of children with ASD recruited in a centre for ASD assessment and treatment. Results showed that mothers had a higher level of stress related to their parental role when compared to fathers. Data also showed the importance of considering the specific role of parental emotion regulation, family functioning and educational level in influencing maternal stress and the specific role of couple adjustment in influencing fathers’ parental distress. This study pointed out the importance of employing a vision that embraces different domains of family life in cases of children with ASD and in parents’ intervention programmes because these factors may contribute to parental stress.

How Has COVID-19 Changed Family Life and Well-Being in Korea?

The main purpose of this paper is to discuss how COVID-19 has impacted Korean families. The economic well-being of Korean families has been threatened because many family members lost their jobs or earned reduced incomes due to the pandemic. COVID-19 substantially changed the work environment and has provided the momentum for the growth of flexible work including telecommuting in Korea, which was not commonly used before the pandemic. However, the work-from-home arrangements created an ambiguous boundary between work and family, particularly among employed mothers because childcare facilities and schools were closed during COVID-19. The postponed 2020 school year started with online schooling in April, and children in secondary schools often continued private education during the pandemic. Although COVID-19 provided an opportunity to build emotional ties for some families, many Korean families who were stuck at home experienced relational difficulties. Socioeconomic and gender inequality along with discrimination against certain groups were heightened. Our analysis of social media posts showed that childcare, schooling, and religion were important domains of family life during the pandemic. We conclude that COVID-19 has changed the meaning of home in Korea from a place to sleep to a basecamp involving numerous major activities related to work, schooling, parenting, housework, shopping, leisure, and religion. Korean families have found it challenging to spend intensive time with their family, to share gendered family responsibilities, and to support other families. Thus, we suggest that professional and policymakers develop a new service model that is more effective for the changing family climate.

Patterns of Interactions Between Youth and Resident Stepmothers: A Latent Class Analysis.

Stepparent-child relationships are a core pillar of stepfamily functioning and well-being. Stepparents can take on a variety of roles in the lives of their stepchildren, ranging from de facto parents to distant acquaintances. There remain important opportunities to explore specific interactional patterns between youth and stepparents, particularly resident stepmothers. Drawing from a family systems perspective, the purpose of the current study is to explore patterns of youth-stepmother interaction across recreational, personal, academic, and disciplinary domains of family life. Latent class analysis is conducted using a representative sample of 295 youth (mean age: 15.82years, SD=1.63; 41% female; 65% non-Hispanic White) residing in father-stepmother households who have living nonresident mothers at Wave I of the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent to Adult Health. The optimal latent class solution yielded four interactional patterns, labeled versatile and involved (21%), inactive (12%), casually connected (17%), and academically oriented (50%). The latent classes are also contrasted with respect to stepfamily relationship quality, youth well-being, and socio-demographic characteristics. Foremost, the results illustrate significant variability in the patterns of interactions between youth and their resident stepmothers, which could be attributed to youths' varying autonomy-seeking efforts and other complex family dynamics. Consistent with a family systems perspective, associations between youth-stepmother interactional patterns and family and youth outcomes highlight the importance of the relationship between youth and their resident stepmothers. Importantly, not all interactional patterns differed significantly across outcomes, suggesting that no one pattern is universally optimal in father-stepmother families with adolescent children.

DOMAIN-SPECIFIC AGE STEREOTYPES AND ADULTS’ PERCEIVED FUTURE TIME EXPERIENCES

Experiencing ageism has been shown to affect older adults’ outlook for the future (Barber & Tan, 2018). However, ageism is a multi-faceted construct in addition to positive and negative age stereotypes. In this study, we examined to what extent domain-specific age stereotypes are related to different aspects of a person’s perceived future time experiences. A total of 646 participants (aged 18 to 83) were recruited from a U.S. mid-Western public university for an online anonymous survey. Age stereotypes were assessed in eight life domains of family, friends, religion, leisure, lifestyle, finance, work, and health (Kornadt & Rothermund, 2011). Future time experiences were assessed in four aspects, including perceived openness and concreteness of future, acceptance of life’s finitude, preoccupation with the past, and experiences of obsolescence (Brandtstädter & Wentura, 1994). Age stereotypes in the family domain were associated with one’s perceived openness and concreteness of future and preoccupation with the past. The religion and financial domains were both associated with perceived openness and concreteness of future and acceptance of life’s finitude. Moreover, the older the participants were, the more they accepted life’s finitude. Surprisingly, none of the domains significantly predicted one’s perceived future experiences of obsolescence. Unlike the common finding that people hold negative age stereotypes due to physical and mental declines, age stereotypes in the health domain did not predict any aspects of the future time experiences. Our findings highlight the importance of distinguishing ageism across domains in order to improve one’s perceived future time experiences.

Mothers' and fathers' joint profiles for testosterone and oxytocin in a small-scale fishing-farming community: Variation based on marital conflict and paternal contributions.

IntroductionTestosterone and oxytocin are psychobiological mechanisms that interrelate with relationship quality between parents and the quantity and quality of parenting behaviors, thereby affecting child outcomes. Their joint production based on family dynamics has rarely been tested, particularly cross‐culturally.MethodsWe explored family function and salivary testosterone and oxytocin in mothers and fathers in a small‐scale, fishing‐farming society in Republic of the Congo. Fathers ranked one another in three domains of family life pertaining to the local cultural model of fatherhood.ResultsFathers who were viewed as better providers had relatively lower oxytocin and higher testosterone than men seen as poorer providers, who had lower testosterone and higher oxytocin. Fathers also had higher testosterone and lower oxytocin in marriages with more conflict, while those who had less marital conflict had reduced testosterone and higher oxytocin. In contrast, mothers in conflicted marriages showed the opposite profiles of relatively lower testosterone and higher oxytocin. Mothers had higher oxytocin and lower testosterone if fathers were uninvolved as direct caregivers, while mothers showed an opposing pattern for the two hormones if fathers were seen as involved with direct care.ConclusionsThese results shed new light on parents' dual oxytocin and testosterone profiles in a small‐scale society setting and highlight the flexibility of human parental psychobiology when fathers' roles and functions within families differ across cultures.

Depressive Symptoms and Care Demands Among Primary Caregivers of Young Children with Evidence of Congenital Zika Virus Infection in Brazil.

Evidence suggests that caring for a child with special health care needs can affect many domains of family life, including caregiver mental health. However, few studies have examined these outcomes among families impacted by the Zika virus (ZIKV). This study examines depressive symptom severity and care demands among primary caregivers of children, aged 15 to 26 months, with evidence of congenital Zika virus infection (ZVI). A sample of primary caregivers of children with evidence of congenital ZVI in northeastern Brazil (n = 150) reported on depressive symptoms, care demands, and their children's development. Children were categorized into groups according to their developmental delay status. Bivariate analyses were run to test for differences between groups. A path analysis model was used to examine the indirect effects of developmental delay on depressive symptoms through economic challenges and time spent providing health care at home and whether these associations varied by child care support. Compared to primary caregivers of children without developmental delay, primary caregivers of children with developmental delay had higher depression scores (p = 0.002), reported more economic (p < 0.001) and child care (p < 0.001) challenges, and spent more time providing health care at home (p < 0.001). Among primary caregivers who did not have child care support, developmental delay had a significant indirect effect on depressive symptoms through economic challenges but not through time spent providing health care at home. For families impacted by the ZIKV outbreak in Brazil, economic and child care challenges may be associated with primary caregiver mental health.

A user-centred social commitment model for location sharing applications in the family life domain

Mobile location-sharing technology is used increasingly by parents to know where their children are. It is our aim to make such technology more flexible in adapting to the particular social context in which it operates. We propose to realise this by allowing users to specify norms that govern the respective social contexts, to which the application should adapt at run-time to provide tailored support. The challenge we address in this paper is the development of a normative model tailored for mobile applications that support location sharing in family life. The novelty of our work lies in the fact that we employ empirical user-centred design methods and techniques for developing the model in an iterative and 'bottom-up' way. This results in two main contributions: 1) a normative model, specifically a social commitment model, for family life location sharing applications shown to be useful and usable, and 2) a demonstration of how user-centred design can be employed to develop a normative model for social applications.

A user-centred social commitment model for location sharing applications in the family life domain

Mobile location-sharing technology is used increasingly by parents to know where their children are. It is our aim to make such technology more flexible in adapting to the particular social context in which it operates. We propose to realise this by allowing users to specify norms that govern the respective social contexts, to which the application should adapt at run-time to provide tailored support. The challenge we address in this paper is the development of a normative model tailored for mobile applications that support location sharing in family life. The novelty of our work lies in the fact that we employ empirical user-centred design methods and techniques for developing the model in an iterative and 'bottom-up' way. This results in two main contributions: 1) a normative model, specifically a social commitment model, for family life location sharing applications shown to be useful and usable, and 2) a demonstration of how user-centred design can be employed to develop a normative model for social applications.

The capabilities approach and agency for shaping family formation trajectories in Ghana

Context/Background: Developed by Amartya Sen, the Capabilities Approach (CA) has been applied in several domains of abstraction for understanding human well-being and development. However, there is very little about CA in the processes of forming families, particularly in Africa. This paper employs CA to examine the Ghanaian family formation trajectories. It explores the norms and preferences, the choices and decision-making processes, timing as well as constraints embedded in the family formation process. Data sources and methods: This paper draws on a bigger Ghana/Mali qualitative research that contrasted individual realities and collective images of family formation trajectories in the two countries, but specifically focuses on the Ghana case to understand the individual family formation trajectories in terms of their family life histories, resources available to them as well as their notions on the ideal family life. It is based on analyses and discussions of thirty (30) in-depth interviews conducted in rural and urban Ghana. Results:The results show an inherent interplay of agency-driven idealized goals and socio-cultural concerns, in other words, realities that reflect agency-structure concerns with regards to different family life domains (pre-marital relationships, partner choice-making, marriage, etc.). Conclusion:Based on the analyses, we conclude that the concepts of ‘ambivalence’ and ‘agency’ are important in smoothening the difficulties family formation actors encounter in pursuing their personal family life goals within the context of socio-cultural family life requirements.

Domain-specific associations between disability and depression, anxiety, and somatization in primary care patients

This study explores the associations between different disability domains and the most prevalent symptoms of mental disorders in primary care patients (i.e. depression, anxiety, and somatization). A total of 1241 participants from 28 primary care centres completed self-report measures of depression, anxiety, and somatization. This same sample also completed the Sheehan Disability Scale (SDS) to assess functional impairment in work, social life, and family life domains. Associations between the symptoms and each disability domain were examined using hierarchical regression analyses. Depression emerged as the strongest predictor of all three disability domains. Somatization was associated only with the work domain, and anxiety was associated only with the family life domain. Clinical symptoms explained a greater proportion of the variance than sociodemographic variables. In primary care patients, depression, anxiety and somatizations were associated with distinct domains of disability. Early provision of effective treatments in the primary care setting may be crucial to reduce the societal burden of common mental disorders.

Benefícios da Intervenção Precoce para a Família de Crianças com Transtorno do Espectro do Autismo

O presente artigo foi desenvolvido no âmbito do Mestrado em Educação Especial, com Especialização em Intervenção Precoce, pela Universidade do Minho, em Braga, Portugal. Tem como finalidade apresentar uma revisão de pesquisas recentes, compreendidas entre os anos de 2005 a 2016, que evidenciem os benefícios da Intervenção Precoce (IP) para as famílias de crianças com Transtorno do Espectro do Autismo (TEA), no que concerne ao bem-estar e qualidade de vida, ao desenvolvimento de competências que perspectivem o controle/corresponsabilização, à melhoria do conhecimento/informação e à promoção da participação/envolvimento da família. A conclusão desta pesquisa permite-nos compreender que a IP se traduz em resultados positivos para as famílias, permitindo-nos assim reforçar a importância da participação efetiva das famílias em todos os processos de IP, bem como promover a necessidade de avaliar estes benefícios. Esta avaliação deve ter como referência a perspectiva das famílias de modo a podermos construir práticas que sejam reforçadoras e positivas nas suas vidas.

Quality of life and clinical characterization of patients with vernal keratoconjunctivitis in a pediatric population in Colombia

Vernal keratoconjunctivitis is one of the most serious ocular allergies that have the potential to induce large ocular morbidity and significant visual changes affecting the quality of life of these individuals. MethodologyThis study was conducted in two phases. The first phase consisted of the clinical characterization of 32 patients from the Clinical Allergology center of the I.P.S. Universitaria from July 2014 to February 2015. A retrospective analysis of medical records was performed.In the second phase, the evaluation of quality of life was conducted using the questionnaire KIDSCREEN 27, which was validated in our population and evaluated as recommended by the creators of this instrument. ResultsA total of 24 patients (75%) were men, mean age of 12.1 (SD 2.6) years. 100% of the patients had clinical evaluation and were monitored by Allergology and Ophthalmology, 12 patients (37.5%) were found in mild level, 5 patients (15.6%) were moderate and 14 patients (43.8%) were severe level. The most common symptoms were pruritus (75%), photophobia (50%), lacrimation (37.5%), and secretions (28.1%). 65.6% had a family history of atopy and 84.4% had an allergic comorbidity. Aeroallergen skin tests were found positive in 25 patients (78.1%). All patients had initiated ocular treatment by the time the survey of quality of life was conducted; but, they still had low quality of life scores in the 5 domains assessed. When the scores were evaluated by gender, the only statistically significant difference was found in the domain of family life and free time, which was lower for women. ConclusionThe vernal keratoconjunctivitis is a disease more prevalent in men. It apparently has an important atopic base in our environment, which due to its severe ocular involvement causes a marked decrease in the quality of life of the children who present it.