Marital Factors Research Articles

Factors Influencing Childbearing Intentions among Female Employees of Department M in the Public Sector in China under the “Two-Child” Policy

Since China implemented a comprehensive two-child policy in October 2015, it has not reached the expected peak birth rate. Therefore, birth willingness, determining factors and policy optimization have become key topics of discussion and analysis. This study examined the factors influencing childbearing intentions among female employees of Department M in the Public Sector in China under the “Two-child” Policy Using a questionnaire survey and interview guide both capturing three dimensions that are individual basic information, actual marital status and family structure characteristics, data were collected from female employees of Department M in the Public Sector in China. Data were collected from 280 female employees. Logistic binary regression was carried out for quantitative data using SAS software while qualitative data were analysed using content analysis. The findings revealed that the influencing factors of the current female employees’ willingness to bear children in the Department M were marital factors, birth and support costs, growth environment, family conditions and external conditions. Therefore, it was concluded that the severe cost of childbirth and its own development situation will affect the willingness of female employees to bear children. And the recommendations of this study are that the government should pay more attention to the fertility environment of the whole society.

Barriers against safer sex as predictors of condom negotiation self-efficacy among Mozambican Women

Abstract Background Negotiation self-efficacy is one of the main predictors of effective condom use. Therefore, it is essential to identify the factors that influence condom use negotiation self-efficacy in vulnerable women. The aim of this paper is to examine whether socio-demographic and marital factors, and perceived barriers against safer sex are associated with condom use negotiation self-efficacy among Mozambican women at sexual risk. Methods 173 women, patients at a Mozambican public Hospital and at risk for HIV infection, completed measures of sociodemographic and marital characteristics, perceived barriers against safer sex, and condom use negotiation self-efficacy. Measures included the Mozambican version of the “Women's Health Study Questionnaire”, which presented good psychometric properties in this sample. Results Demographic variables (age and education) explained 20% of the variance (ΔF(2, 170)=20.92, p<.001) in condom use negotiation self-efficacy, and the marital variables, “marital status” and “talking about AIDS with partner”, explained 30% of the variance in the outcome (ΔF(2, 168)=50.06, p<.001). Barriers against safer sex explained 6.5% of unique variance in condom use negotiation self-efficacy (ΔF(1, 167)= 24.68, p<.001). The overall model explained 55% of the variance in condom use negotiation self-efficacy. Conclusions These results support an exploratory predictive model of condom use negotiation self-efficacy that can inform interventions directed at behavioral change among Mozambican women at sexual risk. Key messages Women who were younger, had a higher level of education, were single, and talked about AIDS, had higher levels of condom use negotiation self-efficacy. Women who had lower levels of perceived barriers, had higher levels of condom use negotiation self-efficacy.

Are marital relationships a barrier to health care utilization in Southern Appalachia?: A dyadic examination of the link between marital quality and individual health care usage.

There are substantial health disparities in Appalachia partially due to the poor access and utilization of health care. Social support, especially in Appalachia, is consistently linked to the utilization of available health care. The present study aims to identify how on aspect of social support, relationship functioning, are associated with health care utilization for couples in Southern Appalachian. Individual and couple data (N = 147, individuals; n = 76, couples) were collected from participants interested in a brief couple interventions. Individuals and Dyadic Path analyses were conducted in Mplus using methods to account for the dependence in the data. Relational aggression was the only marital factor linked to health care utilization in multivariate analyses while constructive communication was only linked to health care utilization in bivariate correlations, r = .24, p < .05. Dyadic results indicate that men's health care utilization may benefit from partner's relational aggression while women's utilization may be negatively influenced by her own self-reported relational aggression. An individual's social context must be considered in order to completely understand barriers to health care utilization. Further, the inclusion of couple/dyadic level interventions should be considered in order to improve health care utilization in the Appalachian region and similarly rural regions. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2020 APA, all rights reserved).

0195 Social Determinants of Sleep: Inside Relationships with Significant Others

Abstract Introduction Social relationships impact health through different mechanisms. Sleep problems are prevalent among adults in the USA, negatively impacting all-cause mortality, and increasing the risk for chronic diseases such as depression, cardiovascular disease, and cancer. This study aimed to assess whether the quality of an individual’s relationship with their significant other including support and strain, subjective relationship quality, joint decision making, marital risk, and conflict are associated with clinical, subjective, and objective measures of sleep. Methods Participants were selected from the Midlife in the United States (MIDUS) study if they had complete data on subjective sleep quality from the MIDUS II biomarker project and shared a bed with their partner (n=751, 49.5% female, Mage=53.4, SDage=11.2, range= 34–83). Subjective sleep quality was measured using the PSQI. A subset of these participants (n=246, 50.8% female) also completed 7-days of daily diary and actigraphy. Results Sleep disturbances were pervasive; 44.1% (n=331) of participants reported clinically meaningful sleep disturbances (PSQI&amp;gt;=5). Among the smaller sample of participants with 7-day sleep data, sleep disturbances were even more prevalent (60.9%). There were significant bivariate associations between higher support and lower strain with better subjectively and objectively sleep outcomes. Better subjective relationship quality was also associated with better subjectively measured sleep outcomes. Higher marital risk and more disagreement with partner were associated with poorer sleep. When accounting for all marital relationship factors, participants with higher support and lower strain given to partner had a better long-term sleep quality, b= 1.93, SE= .54, p&amp;lt;.001. Relationship quality was also associated with better daily sleep quality and daily reports of feeling rested, b = -.12, SE= .05, p=.023, and b= .11, SE = .048, p=.023, respectively. These relationships remained significant after accounting for age, current employment status, recent major health events, average daily caffeine, alcohol, exercise, and napping. Conclusion These findings support the importance of considering social determinants of sleep, suggesting that relationships with significant others may impact health through sleep quality. This highlights the importance of sleep as a transdiagnostic physiological mechanism that could be enhanced through improvements to relationships with significant others. Support N/A

Family Influences on Patients' Decisions to Undergo Bariatric Surgery.

Bariatric surgery is the treatment of choice for many obese patients. Although bariatric surgery has recognized benefits, some patients wait several years before deciding to proceed and many patients rely on family member advice and support during the decision-making process. Using a secondary qualitative analysis of transcribed interviews, we examined family member influences on the patient's decision to undergo bariatric surgery. We identified four main themes: role modeling, quality of life with children, family and marital factors, and acquaintances' success with bariatric surgery. Participants indicated that being active with children and demonstrating healthier lifestyles was important, and that adult family members' perceptions of the surgery affect the decision. Because family member influences are evident in the decision-making process, perioperative nurses should be aware of the family's influence and include family members and significant others in the patient's decision-making process for bariatric surgery.

The Relationship of Close Marital Affairs to Healthy Women's Sexual Function: A Cross-Sectional Retrospective Study in Egypt.

IntroductionSome marriage-related factors may be associated with women’s sexuality, but this topic has not been sufficiently investigated in developing countries. Indeed, these marital factors can be well planned and/or managed to achieve desirable outcomes; for instance, the legal age of marriage can be increased to 21 years. However, how this will reflect on women’s sexuality should be clarified before any laws are changed.AimThe purpose of this study was to investigate the associations of the age of marriage, number of children, educational level, duration of marriage, and aging with female sexual function among groups of Egyptian women.MethodsWe analyzed the recorded sociodemographic data and scores of the 19-item Female Sexual Function Index (FSFI) among 270 apparently healthy women aged 21−45 years. According to the studied variables, the data were divided into various subgroups.Main Outcome MeasureThe sociodemographic data and scores of the FSFI.ResultsMarriage, before or after 21 years, was not correlated with sexual function. FSFI scores were significantly lower among women with ≥3 children and women who had been married for ≥10 years. FSFI scores were significantly lowest in women with the lowest educational level and those aged ≥40 years.ConclusionIt is important to ensure that people are equipped with accurate information. Sound knowledge can serve as the basis for informed decisions regarding the age of marriage and number of children desired. Furthermore, everyone, not just women, should be aware of the adverse sexual effects associated with long marriages and the age-related declines in sexual activity. Accordingly, women can achieve better sexual satisfaction.Hassanin AM, Kaddah AN, El-Amir MY. The Relationship of Close Marital Affairs to Healthy Women’s Sexual Function: A Cross-Sectional Retrospective Study in Egypt. Sex Med 2019;7:498–504.

Marital factors affecting addiction among Iranian women: a qualitative study

ABSTRACTIntroduction: Women’s addiction is a phenomenon with individual, social, economic and health impacts. Its underlying complications have been the downfall of many values and cultural and moral norms, and it threatens the health of individuals, families, and society. This research shows that certain marital factors can predispose women to addiction.Methods: This qualitative study used thematic analysis to investigate a sample of 32 women addicted to narcotics who referred to the addiction treatment clinics in 2015–2016. In-depth interviews were conducted with the participants.Results: Through data analysis, six main components were acquired from marital characteristics: bad marriage, addiction of spouse, spousal abuse, dysfunctional relationship, apathy and disgust toward one’s spouse, no support from spouse.Conclusion: This research showed that particular paired factors may make women susceptible to addiction. A prevention or cure for addicted women based on marital factors needs to be considered. Group therapy can help prevent and treat addiction among women.

For Love, Labour, and Lifestyle: European Men Moving to Northeast Brazil

ABSTRACTThis article debates the specific case of the migration of European men to Northeast Brazil and its relation to the creation of intimacy bonds with local women that have been made possible by previous tourist visits. The analysis has the principal objective of understanding the dense framework of social conditions and circumstances that cause the transatlantic mobility of men, and gives particular emphasis to the emotional and marital factors that fuel this type of movement, trying to show that they also migrate for intimacy reasons, and not only for economic reasons as studies based on a neoclassical approach have often seemed to indicate. While central, in these examples of international mobility, the intention to marry is not as determining a factor as the concept of ‘marriage migrations’ would suggest. Poetic motivations related to passion coexist dynamically with a much wider set of (micro)political economy and existential drives, related not only to employment and investment but also to recreation and the minutiae of everyday life. For this reason, it is important to avoid any unicausal schema based on exclusive or dichotomous conceptual frameworks that foreground migration for marital, lifestyle and/or employment motives. The migrations in question tend to be motivated, simultaneously, by the desire for matrimony and to secure assets, and even by what we might call ‘civilisational’ issues. The material that sustains both this and other perspectives presented in the article is the result of a multisited ethnographic fieldwork undertaken in various spaces within Euro-Brazilian configurations of intimacy.

Geographical-level contributions of risk factors for HIV infections using generalized additive models: results from a cohort of South African women

ABSTRACTSouth Africa has the highest burden of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infections in the world with significant geographical variations. We identified the predictors of HIV infections and their sub-geographical-level contributions to the epidemic using a decade long data (2002–2012) from 6484 South African women. Generalized additive models were used to uncover the most significant features of these estimates across the region. In the overall analysis, younger age, not married or cohabiting with a partner, partner has another partner(s) and null/prim parity, using injectable contraceptives and presence of other sexually transmitted infections (STIs) were identified as independent predictors of HIV seroconversions. Overall, the top three highest contributors to infections were women’s marital status (PAR% = 73%, 95% CI: 68%, 77%), parity (PAR% = 47%, 95% CI: 42%, 53%) and partnership factors (PAR% = 37%, 95% CI: 30%, 44%). However, their contributions varied remarkably at sub-geographical level. This was mainly due to the substantial localized variations in their prevalence and hazard ratios across the region. Our results will guide policy makers to develop tailored prevention strategies in order to allocate scarce resources by targeting the most significant contributors of HIV infection at sub-geographical level.

Modeling Self Medication Risk Factors (A Case Study of Kiambu County, Kenya)

In this paper self-medication risk factors are investigated and multivariate model proposed. A random sample of four major hospitals was selected, one from each sub-county and sample of 728 patients selected from selected hospitals using stratified random sampling. The data was collected using semi structured questionnaires and analyzed in R program after cleaning for non-response. Preliminary analysis was carried to check for statistical significance of the risk factors of age, gender, income, marital, education, employment and insurance status. All proposed risk factors were statistically significant except employment factor when using chi-square test for each of discrete variables while both age and income continuous variables were significant at α =0.05 level of significance when fitting simple logistic regression model. The initial multivariate logistic regression model was fitted and variables of marital and insurance status of persons were statistically insignificant and therefore improved model was fitted less marital and insurance factors. The overall significance of the model was determined using Hosmer and Lemeshow goodness-of-fit test and the model recorded p-value of 0.7751 that indicates that there is no significant difference between observed and predicted probability, therefore the model would be used to predict chance of self-medication in the presence of significant risk factors. In conclusion therefore there is need to initiate legislation on policies that will guide self-medication that include provision of necessary knowledge and regulating the practice to avoid over dose, wrong prescriptions and emergence of human pathogen resistance microorganisms or serious consequences like resistance to medication in future guided by the prevalence results obtained from proposed model.

Risk and Resilience Factors Related to Parental Bereavement Following the Death of a Child with a Life-Limiting Condition.

This paper reviews the theoretical and empirical literature on risk and resilience factors impacting on parental bereavement outcomes following the death of a child with a life-limiting condition. Over the past few decades, bereavement research has focussed primarily on a risk-based approach. In light of advances in the literature on resilience, the authors propose a Risk and Resilience Model of Parental Bereavement, thus endeavouring to give more holistic consideration to a range of potential influences on parental bereavement outcomes. The literature will be reviewed with regard to the role of: (i) loss-oriented stressors (e.g., circumstances surrounding the death and multiple losses); (ii) inter-personal factors (e.g., marital factors, social support, and religious practices); (iii) intra-personal factors (e.g., neuroticism, trait optimism, psychological flexibility, attachment style, and gender); and (iv) coping and appraisal, on parental bereavement outcomes. Challenges facing this area of research are discussed, and research and clinical implications considered.

The Role of Family and Marital Communication in Developing Resilience to Family-of-Origin Adversity

ABSTRACTTo explain recovery from adverse experiences, researchers have focused on resilience as a process occurring within individuals. This study extends existing research by positioning resilience as an interpersonal process in which people communicatively interpret and respond to adversity. Married participants who experienced significant adversity in their family of origin (n = 193) reported on their familial and marital communication and personal characteristics. Overall, resilience was influenced by the unique and combined influences of individual, marital, and family factors. Individuals’ optimism and efficacy emerged as predictors of resilience, and communicated support from a marital partner was particularly important for those lower in optimism. People from families with a balance of cohesion and flexibility and strong communication were more resilient, regardless of the amount of adversity they experienced. In unbalanced families, supportive marital communication served in a compensatory role to promote resilience to family of origin adversity.

Socio-Cultural Factors as Determinant of Women’s Attitude Towards Participation in Trade Unionism in Ondo State

Abstract This study examined the issues of socio-cultural factors as determinants of women’s attitude towards participation in trade unionism in Ondo State. The study adopted a descriptive research design of the survey type and a multi-stage sampling procedures. At stage one, purposive sampling technique was used to select five institutions out of the six government owned institutions in Ondo State. The one that was not selected was considered very young with no active labour union. Stage two involved the categorisation of staff in each institution into academic and non- academic using stratified sampling technique. Stage three involved the selection of fifty (50) respondents each from the institutions selected through random sampling technique making a total of five hundred (500) respondents as sample for the study. An instrument titled: ‘Women Participation in Trade Unionism Questionnaire (WPTUQ)’ designed by the researcher was used to collect data. The research questions were answered using descriptive statistics such as, frequency count, mean scores, percentages and standard deviations while hypotheses were tested using t-test and regression statistics as well as Pearson Product Moment Correlation analysis at 0.05 level of significance. Findings of the study revealed significant relationship between socio-cultural variables such as marital factors, age related factors, economic factors and women’s participation in trade union activities. It was therefore recommended that women need to be encouraged to participate more actively in trade unionism. Also, religious institutions were advised to preach sermons in churches and mosques that would discourage gender bias. Also, women’s education should be taken as priority to enhance their active participation in trade unionism.

Marital history and survival after a heart attack

Heart disease is the leading cause of death in the United States and nearly one million Americans will have a heart attack this year. Although the risks associated with a heart attack are well established, we know surprisingly little about how marital factors contribute to survival in adults afflicted with heart disease. This study uses a life course perspective and longitudinal data from the Health and Retirement Study to examine how various dimensions of marital life influence survival in U.S. older adults who suffered a heart attack (n = 2197). We found that adults who were never married (odds ratio [OR] = 1.73), currently divorced (OR = 1.70), or widowed (OR = 1.34) were at significantly greater risk of dying after a heart attack than adults who were continuously married; and the risks were not uniform over time. We also found that the risk of dying increased by 12% for every additional marital loss and decreased by 7% for every one-tenth increase in the proportion of years married. After accounting for more than a dozen socioeconomic, psychosocial, behavioral, and physiological factors, we found that current marital status remained the most robust indicator of survival following a heart attack. The implications of the findings are discussed in the context of life course inequalities in chronic disease and directions for future research.

Race, Marital History, and Risks for Stroke in US Older Adults.

Stroke is among the leading causes of disability and death in the United States, and racial differences are greater for stroke than for all other major chronic diseases. Considering the equally sizeable racial disparities in marital life and associated risks across adulthood, the current study hypothesizes that black-white differences in marital history play an important role in the large racial inequalities in the incidence of stroke. The major objective are to (i) demonstrate how marital history is associated with the incidence of stroke, (ii) examine how marital factors mediate and/or moderate racial disparities in stroke, and (iii) examine the factors that may explain the associations. Using retrospective and prospective data from the Health and Retirement Study (n = 23,289), the results show that non-Hispanic (NH) blacks have significantly higher rates of marital instability, greater numbers of health-risk factors, and substantially higher rates of stroke compared with NH whites. Contrary to the cumulative disadvantage hypothesis, findings from discrete-time-hazard models show that the effects of marital history are more pronounced for NH whites than for NH blacks. Risks for stroke were significantly higher in NH whites who were currently divorced, remarried, and widowed, as well as in those with a history of divorce or widowhood, compared with NH whites who were continuously married. In NH blacks, risks for stroke were elevated only in those who had either never married or had been widowed-with no significant risks attributable to divorce. The potential mechanisms underlying the associations are assessed, and the implications of the findings are discussed.

A study on awareness of cervical cancer among women of reproductive age group in urban slums of old Hubli, Karnataka, India

Background: Cervical Cancer tops the list of cancers among women worldwide with an estimated new case of 530,000 and a mortality of 275,000 deaths annually with an overall mortality ratio of 52%. This can be largely prevented by early detection and timely screening tests. Awareness and education regarding this, is the key to curtail the rise of such cancers in the community. Objectives of the studies were to assess knowledge, attitude regarding cervical cancer among women of reproductive age group and to correlate with various socio-demographic & marital factors. Methods: A cross-sectional study among 200 women of reproductive age group, chosen conveniently for a period of two months from April to June 2014 at urban slums of Old Hubli was undertaken by a pretested and semi-structured questionnaire. Data collected by a house to house survey, entered in Ms Excel, analysed by SPSS v.20 and presented as Percentages and Proportion. Chi-square was applied for finding out the associations and those with p-value 0.05, which is not significant. The Chi-square for awareness about Pap smear is, X2= 0.2442, where p>0.05, which is not significant. Conclusions: The study showed that awareness about cervical cancer was poor among women and also its screening tests, H.P.V vaccinations were never heard of in the community.

Book Review Background Understanding of Child Abuse (Malay Version)

Written by Khadijah Alavi and Ann Wan Seng, this book contains the complete background of cases of abuse and neglect of children in Malaysia. This is due to cases of abuse and neglect of children increased dramatically and it became one of the very worrying social problems. The book includes studies that have been made regarding cases of abuse, including physical, emotional, sexual and neglect of children whose interaction model of child abuse used as a frame of the study. Also included in this book is a causal factor of abuse such as socioeconomic status, marital relations were cracked, cultural norms and behavioral factors other than the abuser’s own personality. Abuse and neglect of children increased dramatically these days and it’s one of the very worrying social problems of society and government. The incidence of abuse and neglect of children in Malaysia need to be studied and researched. The basic objective of this study was to examine four categories of abuse was physical abuse, sexual abuse and neglect of children and to identify factors that lead to abuse. The uniqueness of this study is that it is conducted in the pediatric ward of the University Hospital, Kuala Lumpur for one year, namely January to December 1994. Children under 13 years are admitted to the pediatric ward as sample. The length of time the victim lived in the ward is two days or more depending on the seriousness of the case. This study is quite different from previous studies because it uses anthropological approach. Model interaction of child abuse used as a frame of the study. This is because it is an approach that encompasses all factors as a whole to study the problem of abuse and neglect of children. External and internal factors such as socioeconomic status of the family system, marital rift parents, actors personality, social networks, cultural norms and behavioral factors are also considered victims in analyzing cases of abuse and neglect of children. Personality actors and the lack of interaction in the family system were found to be the underlying factors that lead to child abuse. However, no one single factor is the main cause in cases of abuse and neglect of children. All the factors mentioned above are interconnected so that they form a social problem that is complicated and complex to be diagnosed, whether this incident was an accident, illness or injury inflicted. What is even more distressing abuse of children has reached a critical level where people have lost a sense of humanity and concern in providing education to children who are still toddle in life. Children born in a state of pure and the one who shaping the children into good or evil is the guardian. Children are like a piece of white cloth and are the responsibility of parents to make sure it is not contaminated. It is the responsibility of all to protect them from negative elements that were attacking contemporary society. Found to be 2 to 15 cases of abuse are reported every week in Malaysia. These figures show how serious the problem of child abuse in Malaysia. Since 1990 the number of cases reported to the authorities increased between 10-15 percent per annum. During 1985 to 1992 a total of 935 cases of child abuse have been referred to the police and this number continues to rise until it reaches into the thousands. It should be noted this number does not include cases that have not been reported or referred to the authorities. It is estimated that this number will continue to increase over time. Over a period of eight years, namely 1985 to 1992, a total of 47 children who are abused have died after suffering severe injuries and had to endure throughout his life. Statistics released by the Social Welfare Department showed an increase of 27 per cent of cases in the whole country except for Sabah and Sarawak. In 1992, a total of 852 cases were reported and this number continues to increase to 1084 cases in 1993. In the past five years, from 1989 to 1993 a total of 3693 cases were reported. The figures show this is far more than a decade ago where in 1981 the number of cases reported in Peninsular Malaysia only amounted to 93 cases. This figure is then increased to 970 cases 10 years later. It shows over the last decade the number of cases increased by 877 cases. The number of cases of child abuse is higher in the Federal Territory and Selangor due to the density of population which largely comes from rural areas. Pressure and high cost of living in the Klang Valley area causing many social problems such as living conditions uncomfortable, placement and traffic congestion, crime and so on.

Relationship of Marital Satisfaction, Family Support and Family-Work Conflict Factors Among Malaysian Fathers with Adolescents

Relationship of Marital Satisfaction, Family Support and Family-Work Conflict Factors Among Malaysian Fathers with Adolescents

The Marital Factors on Social Adaptation among North Korean Refugees

This study examined positive and negative marital factors on social adaptation to South Korea among North Korean refugees. In terms of previous studies, family variables play an important role in the adaptation to new society among refugees. We analyzed three major marital factors of marriage background, dyadic adjustment, and marital violence. Marital factors consisted of place of birth, place of marriage, dyadic consensus, dyadic satisfaction, dyadic cohesion, emotional violence, physical violence, and sexual violence. We analyzed the data of 295 North Korean refugees who resided in Seoul, Gyeonggi province and Incheon using snowballing sampling. The result indicated that the refugees married to non-Korean partners (including Korean-Chinese, Chinese, or Russian) are more likely to suffer in social adaptation. Place of marriage (whether the couple got married before escaping, during the escape or after living in South Korea) did not have a significant impact. Dyadic satisfaction was helpful in social adaptation, while sexual violence had a negative effect. The findings of this study suggest alternatives for more successful social adaptation by North Korean refugees to South Korea, a need for more services that target married couples and families rather than individuals, and suggestions for the use of counselors who are also North Korean refugees.

Psychosocial and nonclinical factors predicting hospital utilization in patients of a chronic disease management program: a prospective observational study.

Psychosocial factors such as marital status (odds ratio, 3.52; 95% confidence interval, 1.43-8.69; P = .006) and nonclinical factors such as outpatient nonattendances (odds ratio, 2.52; 95% confidence interval, 1.22-5.23; P = .013) and referrals made (odds ratio, 1.20; 95% confidence interval, 1.06-1.35; P = .003) predict hospital utilization for patients in a chronic disease management program. Along with optimizing patients' clinical condition by prescribed medical guidelines and supporting patient self-management, addressing psychosocial and nonclinical issues are important in attempting to avoid hospital utilization for people with chronic illnesses.