Spousal Roles Research Articles

Postpartum periods of visually impaired mothers: A qualitative study.

Parenting for individuals with visual impairments introduces unique challenges, requiring meticulous planning, attention and care in daily activities and child-rearing. This qualitative study aims to explore the postpartum experiences of visually impaired mothers, exploring their emotional challenges, support networks and experiences in caring for infants and breastfeeding. Twelve participants engaged in in-depth interviews, revealing emotional difficulties such as uneasiness, anxiety, fear and challenges in baby care. The study highlights the pivotal role of family, spouses and relatives in providing crucial support, contributing significantly to overcoming challenges related to childcare and breastfeeding. Supportive family involvement emerged as a key factor in meeting the emotional needs of visually impaired mothers during the postpartum period, fostering confidence in baby care and breastfeeding and transforming the experience into a more positive one. The findings highlight the importance of understanding and addressing the postpartum experiences of visually impaired mothers, advocating for more effective support programs tailored to their unique needs.

Exploring marital safety: three South African wives living with HIV in nonmutual monogamous marriage

For wives who have been sexually monogamous, their being infected with HIV disrupts the cultural assumption of sexual safety in marriage. This phenomenological interview study shows how three married South African women, who were diagnosed with HIV and had reported being monogamous, experienced gendered distress while contemplating the failures of married coupledom in offering safety and familial stability. Constructionist thematic analysis showed three themes to represent changes in the marital unit. The first theme, HIV as Demarcation of Enduring Disruption, pointed to infection as the harbinger of distressing relational dynamics. The second theme, Feeling Controlled, reflected domains in which the wives felt trapped: restricted freedoms and obligatory intimacy. The third theme, Relational Deterioration, showed meanings about infidelity, fights or arguments, and distress about partner disengagement. Highlighted in this analysis is that, for two women, male control and disempowerment after having been infected with HIV added to their experiences of feeling trapped because they felt pressured into regressing into subservient spousal roles. They were required to retreat into household, mothering, and child care duties. The study’s practice implication is that, to address the aftermath of the discovery of HIV infection in heterosexual married couples, wherein sexual monogamy remains the unquestioned norm, health psychology and clinical interventions should incorporate a gendered approach in counselling formulation.

Exploring Marital Satisfaction and Work-Home Balance in a Church in North Texas Using Solution Focused Narrative Therapy

This qualitative research explored marital satisfaction and work-home balance using Solution Focused Narrative Therapy (SFNT) with Christian couples. Phenomenological analysis was used to look at the experiences of six married Christian couples. The results demonstrated that many Christian couples would be noticing a healthy work-home balance. The main umbrella theme that came up was spousal roles and there were seven sub themes/categories. The other umbrella theme was work-home balance with six sub themes. The findings contributed to filling a gap in the literature related to work-home balance in Christian couples.

Understanding women’s and men’s perspectives on cervical cancer screening in Uganda: a qualitative study

BackgroundCervical cancer remains a significant but preventable threat to women’s health throughout much of the developing world, including Uganda. Cervical cancer screening and timely treatment of pre-cancerous lesions is a cost-effective means of mitigating cervical cancer morbidity and mortality. However, only 5% of women in Uganda have ever been screened. Barriers to screening, such as social stigma and access to safe conditions, have been previously identified, but insights into the role of male spouses in encouraging or discouraging screening have been limited. To our knowledge, no studies have compared barriers and facilitators among women who had or had not yet been screened and male partners of screened and unscreened women.MethodsTo resolve this gap, we conducted 7 focus groups– 3 among women who had been screened, 3 among those who had not been screened, and 1 among men whose female partners had or had not been screened. We performed qualitative thematic analysis on the focus group data.ResultsWe identified several important factors impacting screening and the decision to screen among women, ranging from stigma, availability of screening, false beliefs around the procedure and side effects, and the role of spousal support in screening promotion. Male spousal perspectives for screening ranged from full support to hesitancy around male-performed exams and possible prolonged periods without intercourse.ConclusionThis exploratory work demonstrates the importance of dialogue both among women and their male partners in enhancing screening uptake. Efforts to address screening uptake are necessary given that it is an important means of mitigating the burden of cervical cancer. Interventions along these lines need to take these barriers and facilitators into account in order to drive up demand for screening.

Religious Coping, Resilience, and Military Spouse Mental Health.

Military spouses play a key role in the military family and contribute to military readiness. Despite their influence, they are an understudied population. Previous research has identified military spouses as a vulnerable group considering their unique life stressors and high mental distress; thus, it is critical to identify potential protective factors for military spouses. However, there is a lack of research exploring the role of religious coping and resilience in mental health outcomes of military spouses. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effect of religious coping on depression, anxiety, and stress, and the extent to which the effect is mediated by resilience. A total of 1,079 military spouses completed self-administered surveys online. The questionnaires assessed demographic factors, depression, anxiety, stress, religious coping, and resilience. Zero-order correlations and descriptive statistics were analyzed. Additionally, multiple linear regression was utilized to investigate the extent to which resilience mediated the relationship between religious coping and mental health outcomes. The results indicate high levels of depression, anxiety, and stress among military spouses. Religious coping had significant effects on mental distress, such that increases in religious coping corresponded to decreases in depression (β = -3.30), anxiety (β = -1.89) and stress (β = -1.58). Mediation analyses indicated resilience significantly mediated the relationship between religious coping and depression (95% CI [-1.38, -.431]), anxiety (95% CI [-1.23, -.376]), and stress (95% CI [-1.328, -0.420]). For military spouses, religious coping was associated with increased resilience, which was subsequently associated with reduced mental distress. This study draws attention to the role of religious coping and resilience in mental health outcomes for military spouses. Considering the role of military spouses in supporting service members, future research should explore how to strengthen military spouses' religious coping and resilience to mitigate mental distress, thereby facilitating service member success and military readiness.

Gender and Environmental Management: Exploring Spousal Roles Decision-Making Patterns in Owner-Occupied Homes in Mahuta and Mando Communities, Kaduna State, Nigeria

Gender and Environmental Management: Exploring Spousal Roles Decision-Making Patterns in Owner-Occupied Homes in Mahuta and Mando Communities, Kaduna State, Nigeria

Bargaining Equal Spousal Roles in Marital Life: The Phenomenon of Wife-Petitioned Divorce Among Middle-Class Muslims in Yogyakarta

This study aims to highlight the phenomenon of divorce petitioned by wives among middle-class Muslim communities in Yogyakarta and its relevance to their attempt to negotiate their roles in marriage. This is qualitative research based on data collected through observation, interviews, and documentation. Deploying a sociological approach, this study reveals that while for the majority of cases, economic problems constituted the main ground for divorce, for this case, the main grounds of divorce presented by women include failure of the spouse to express self-esteem, dissatisfaction with gender role, and differences in principles in making decisions which culminate to what we call as ‘soft dispute’. The study also argues that among the middle class of society, there has been high awareness of gendered equal roles spread by social institutions and that it has, to some extent, become a threat to legal thought of male masculinity within spouses, who are both highly educated, as both spouses have not evenly held the awareness. Relevantly, this study argues that the ‘soft dispute’ brought from such conditions as mentioned above is legally considered by judges to have met or been in line with the legal ground of ‘protracted disputes’ specified by the laws. Abstrak: Penelitian ini bertujuan untuk menyoroti fenomena gugatan cerai yang diajukan oleh istri di kalangan komunitas Muslim kelas menengah di Yogyakarta dan relevansinya dengan upaya dalam menegosiasikan peran mereka dalam perkawinan. Penelitian kualitatif ini mengumpulkan data melalui observasi, wawancara, dan dokumentasi. Dengan pendekatan sosiologis, studi ini mengungkapkan bahwa secara mayoritas kasus perceraian disebabkan oleh persoalan ekonomi, yang sering menjadi alasan utama. Dalam konteks perceraian ini, alasan utama perceraian yang diajukan oleh perempuan adalah kegagalan pasangan untuk mengekspresikan harga atau kehormatan diri, ketidakpuasan terhadap keseimbangan peran gender, dan perbedaan prinsip dalam mengambil keputusan, yang kesemuanya disebut sebagai ‘soft dispute’. Penelitian ini juga berargumen bahwa di kalangan masyarakat kelas menengah yang keduanya berpendidikan tinggi telah terjadi kesadaran yang tinggi tentang peran kesetaraan gender yang disebarluaskan oleh institusi sosial dan bahkan dalam batas tertentu telah menjadi ancaman terhadap pemikiran hukum tentang maskulinitas laki-laki pada pasangan. Hal ini karena kesadaran gender tersebut tidak dimiliki secara merata oleh kedua pasangan. Penelitian ini kemudian menegaskan bahwa ‘soft dispute’ yang ditimbulkan dari kondisi tersebut dianggap secara hukum oleh hakim telah memenuhi atau relevan dengan ketentuan hukum sebagai alasan perceraian, yaitu ‘perselisihan yang berlarut-larut’.

Mexican Immigrant Couples’ Marital Quality and Coparenting Satisfaction: The Role of Spouses’ Incongruence in Familism Values

With a sample of 120 Mexican immigrant couples, this study tested an estimated actor-partner interdependence model (APIM) to examine the associations between spouses’ perceptions of marital quality (i.e., marital warmth and marital negativity), spousal incongruence in familism values, and spouses’ coparenting satisfaction. The model simultaneously explored the moderating effects of spouses’ incongruence in familism values to ascertain the extent to which the within-couple match between spouses’ cultural values impacted the association between spouses’ marital quality and coparenting satisfaction. Significant and positive actor effects from marital warmth to coparenting satisfaction were found. A significant interaction qualified the actor effect for wives. Spouses’ incongruence in familism values moderated the association between wives’ marital warmth and their coparenting satisfaction in such a way that the link was stronger for couples with low spousal incongruence in familism values (i.e., couples in which spouses were in close agreement on familism values). Marital negativity and incongruence in familism values were not significantly related to spouses’ coparenting satisfaction. Findings underscore the link between spouses’ marital warmth and their coparenting satisfaction and suggest that effective coparenting is nested within the context of a warm and supportive marital relationship.

Understanding marital stability through work–family experiences in proximal and distal contexts: Comparing United States and Japan

AbstractObjectiveGuided by Gottman's framework of marital stability and the ecological theories, the present study aims to understand the relationships between work–family spillover and marital stability within two levels of context—the relational and social cultural contexts.BackgroundThe relational context of marriage is manifested by spousal relationships—spousal support and strain, which would moderate the relationship between work–family spillover and marital stability. Identified relationships also unfold within sociocultural contexts.MethodThis study uses data from the Midlife in the United States 2 (MIDUS 2) and Midlife in Japan (MIDJA) projects to explore these dynamics. The current study involved 500 Japanese and 1,800 American participants who were married and employed at the time of data collection.ResultsResults from multigroup path models revealed cultural differences. The relational context—spousal support and strain—played moderating roles in the associations between work–family spillover and marital stability in both countries. However, distinct sociocultural patterns emerged as spousal strain showed a stronger association among Japanese participants, whereas spousal support was more prominent among Americans in relation to marital stability.ConclusionThe results support Gottman's contention that positive and negative features of marriage are related to marital stability directly and indirectly by shaping the impacts of work–family spillover and sociocultural expectations of work and family.ImplicationsPractitioners and organizations should recognize the role of spouses in addressing the negative effects of work–family spillover in marriage, as well as incorporating clients' or employees' cultural backgrounds when addressing marital concerns.

The Verse Ayah "Affection and Mercy" and its Legal Effects on the Spouses

Objectives: The objective of this discussion is to highlight the importance of marital life as a foundational element in building strong families and cohesive societies. It aims to emphasize the roles of both spouses, with the woman providing passion and tenderness, and the man offering strength and security. Additionally, the discussion seeks to underscore the significance of love, understanding, and legislative systems within Islam in nurturing harmonious marital relationships. Methods: This discussion employs a qualitative approach, drawing upon Islamic teachings and principles to explore the dynamics of marital relationships. It relies on textual analysis and interpretation to elucidate the roles and responsibilities of spouses as outlined in Islamic doctrine. Results: The discussion reveals that Islam places great importance on fostering love, understanding, and mutual respect within marital relationships. It emphasizes the complementary roles of spouses in providing emotional support and security, which are essential for the stability and happiness of families. Islamic legislative systems are designed to promote harmony and prosperity within families, thereby contributing to the well-being of society as a whole. Conclusion: In conclusion, marital life is regarded as a cornerstone of family and societal stability in Islam. The affection and mercy between spouses are considered fundamental to achieving marital bliss and prosperity. By adhering to Islamic teachings and principles, couples can cultivate strong, resilient relationships based on love, understanding, and mutual respect. Ultimately, nurturing healthy marital relationships contributes to the formation of cohesive and thriving societies, reflecting the values of compassion, cooperation, and unity upheld by Islam.

Adaptation of Menopausal Spousal Support Questionnaire into Turkish: Validity and reliability study

Aim: This study focused on the pivotal role of spouses in providing comprehensive and enduring support for menopausal women. The primary objectives were to assess the validity and reliability of the Menopause Spousal Support Scale and to adapt it for use in the Turkish context. Methods: The research involved a cohort of 384 women aged 45-60, living with their husbands and not undergoing hormone replacement therapy. Data were gathered through face-to-face interviews utilizing an "Introductory Information Form" and the "Menopausal Spousal Support Questionnaire." The scale's validity was assessed through examinations of language, content, and construct, while its internal consistency and test-retest reliability were also evaluated. Results: Exploratory factor analysis unveiled a four-factor structure, accounting for 60.2% of the total variance in the scale. Confirmatory factor analysis confirmed the compatibility of the scale. The Cronbach's Alpha coefficient for the scale was 0.96. Furthermore, item-total score correlations and test-retest analysis outcomes demonstrated strong, positive, and statistically significant results. Conclusion: The Turkish adaptation of the Menopause Spousal Support Scale has been proven to be a highly valid and reliable instrument for assessing the support received by menopausal women from their spouses.

Associations Between Stress, Health Behaviors, and Quality of Life in Young Couples During the Transition to Survivorship: Protocol for a Measurement Burst Study.

Cancer is a life-threatening, stressful event, particularly for young adults due to delays and disruptions in their developmental transitions. Cancer treatment can also cause adverse long-term effects, chronic conditions, psychological issues, and decreased quality of life (QoL) among young adults. Despite numerous health benefits of health behaviors (eg, physical activity, healthy eating, no smoking, no alcohol use, and quality sleep), young adult cancer survivors report poor health behavior profiles. Determining the associations of stress (either cancer-specific or day-to-day stress), health behaviors, and QoL as young adult survivors transition to survivorship is key to understanding and enhancing these survivors' health. It is also crucial to note that the effects of stress on health behaviors and QoL may manifest on a shorter time scale (eg, daily within-person level). Moreover, given that stress spills over into romantic relationships, it is important to identify the role of spouses or partners (hereafter partners) in these survivors' health behaviors and QoL. This study aims to investigate associations between stress, health behaviors, and QoL at both within- and between-person levels during the transition to survivorship in young adult cancer survivors and their partners, to identify the extent to which young adult survivors' and their partners' stress facilitates or hinders their own and each other's health behaviors and QoL. We aim to enroll 150 young adults (aged 25-39 years at the time of cancer diagnosis) who have recently completed cancer treatment, along with their partners. We will conduct a prospective longitudinal study using a measurement burst design. Participants (ie, survivors and their partners) will complete a daily web-based survey for 7 consecutive days (a "burst") 9 times over 2 years, with the bursts spaced 3 months apart. Participants will self-report their stress, health behaviors, and QoL. Additionally, participants will be asked to wear an accelerometer to assess their physical activity and sleep during the burst period. Finally, dietary intake (24-hour diet recalls) will be assessed during each burst via telephone by research staff. Participant enrollment began in January 2022. Recruitment and data collection are expected to conclude by December 2024 and December 2026, respectively. To the best of our knowledge, this will be the first study that determines the interdependence of health behaviors and QoL of young adult cancer survivors and their partners at both within- and between-person levels. This study is unique in its focus on the transition to cancer survivorship and its use of a measurement burst design. Results will guide the creation of a developmentally appropriate dyadic psychosocial or behavioral intervention that improves both young adult survivors' and their partners' health behaviors and QoL and potentially their physical health. DERR1-10.2196/53307.

Twitch spouse: Livestreaming and the legacy of spousal labour in the video game industry

Precarious careers in the games industry have long relied on the unpaid and largely feminized support of spouses and family members. This paper addresses the role of spouses and other domestic cohabitants in the production of live game broadcasts on Twitch, Amazon’s world-leading platform in live video entertainment. I introduce the heuristic of the ‘Twitch Spouse’ to underscore the crucial role that domestic partners have played as invisible workers in the wider games industry, whose precarious conditions have been extended by the rise of at-home livestreaming. Drawing from ‘playful’ interviews and ethnographic observation with 12 Twitch creators located across the United States and Canada, I delineate three themes by which the partners of Twitch streamers vitally contribute to livestreaming: collaborative space production, the management of intimacy, and timekeeping. Herein, I show how a theorization of the ‘Twitch Spouse’ will build future pathways for recognizing the intertwined struggles of domestic and digital work within the precarious horizons of the game industry. This paper argues that Twitch streamers’ conceptualizations of intimate partners’ supportive labour reinforce domesticity and visibility as co-extended forces in the evolving relevance of digital labour to contemporary capitalism.

Family and facility care variables attributing to postnatal depression among women in two tribal-dominated districts of Odisha: Log model analysis to suggest intervention.

It is a proven fact that women are affected by poor mental health predominantly in the postnatal period. This is authenticated by the use of a validated and tested Edinburg Postnatal Depression scale (EPNS), which is a simple tool to measure depression among women after delivery by posing 10 questions and this is also validated in Odia language. Odisha has made laudable progress in delivering Maternal and Child Health care to women even in tribal-dominated districts through its robust Comprehensive Obstetrics care network restricting home delivery almost to a mere 4%-5% and reducing maternal deaths by 60%-70% as per the National Family Health Survey (NFHS-5). As a part of an Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) extramural project to enhance contraceptive acceptance among males in districts that had a total fertility rate (TFR) higher than 3, a qualitative objective to measure mean postnatal depression in the early postpartum period (who are also the target to advocate contraceptive acceptance) was undertaken. A secondary objective was to compare family care vs. facility care as greater attributing factors for higher EPNS scores. Due to time constraints, the study was done on a fast-track mode wherein two villages each from the sampled blocks of Koraput and Boudh (with one of the highest birth rates) were selected. All women in villages who had a baby aged between 1 and 6 months, were the sampling frame and only those were selected who consented. A questionnaire was used that elicited information on familial sociodemographic details and also facility-based antenatal care (ANC) and postdelivery services that were availed for the last-born child. General Health Questionnaire-12 (GHQ-12) scores were used as an independent variable and a proxy measure of cumulative familial stress. Descriptives and log regression were used to measure the odds of family vs. facility-based services. A total of 98 women, 50 from Boudh and 48 from Koraput, participated in the study. Koraput's mean EPNS scores were 6 points higher than Boudh indicating much higher postnatal poor mental health. Log models showed that there was no difference between facility-based care in both districts as both reported 96%-97.3% institutional delivery, with out-of-pocket expenditure (OOP) being less than 520 Indian rupees on average and nearly 100% reported receipt of iron folic acid and calcium as well as streamlined Janani Suraksha Yojana (JSY) services. However, the odds of men's participation in Family planning was 2.77 times less in Koraput (SD = 2.582), fourth birth order 1.33 odds, and female gender 5.66 odds higher for the district as a result of which GHQ 12 score mean was 21.00 (CI: 19.18-22.82) hinting very high psychological stress as compared with Boudh where the mean was 17 (CI: 14.59-19.41). This clearly indicates that a robust healthcare delivery alone will not be able to address the holistic health of women in the childbearing age group. Familial stressors compound poor mental health and hence counseling of the family as a whole is necessary to achieve sound mental health in women in the postnatal period. The spousal role is emerging as a strong determinant, especially in terms of nonacceptance or casual approach to contraceptive use. Interestingly, a skewed gender bias is noted for the female child, which is also a contributor to postnatal depression (PND) in both districts, though a bigger sample would be needed to statistically prove it.

The Role of Spouses’ Relationships in Ensuring Family Well-being

There is an acute problem in the world of family relationships, their impact on human development, determining the dependence of social factors on the well-being of the family, and creating a socio-pedagogical mechanism aimed at increasing the level of happiness of families. One of the priority areas is to further improve the comprehensive education of children in the family, to ensure the stability of family relationships, and to expand pedagogical opportunities. Based on this, our study highlights the problems of family problems that affect the sustainability of today’s families and the implementation of mechanisms for eliminating stereotypes through pedagogical mechanisms through training seminars. The article mainly reveals the need to focus on improving the relationship of spouses’ by improving traditional and empathic mechanisms.

The role of problem solving appraisal and support in the relationship between stress exposure and posttraumatic stress symptoms of military spouses and service member partners.

Using a stress process lens, this paper considers the interrelationship between individual and family-level stress exposures and military spouse resources, including problem-solving appraisals and problem-solving support (PSS), and their associations with posttraumatic stress symptoms (PTSS) among both partners in military marital dyads. The study employs data from the Millennium Cohort Family Study, a longitudinal survey of married military dyads, with an initial panel of 9,872 spouses enroled from 2011 to 2013. A structural equation model explored the associations between service member and spouse childhood maltreatment exposure, nonmilitary and military stressors, as well as interactions with spouse resources on self-reported PTSS among both service member (SM) and spouse (SP). Among our findings, spouse childhood maltreatment muted later self-reported problem-solving appraisal and support. Spouse resources, in turn, had both protective (problem-solving appraisal) and promotive (problem-solving support) effects on PTSS for both service members and spouses. These findings emphasise the central role of spouses in military families, as more psychological resources among spouses appeared to buffer against the deleterious effects of stress exposure on both their own and their partners mental health.

Метафорическая репрезентация мужа и жены в корейских паремиях

Paroemias are of particular interest for cognitive metaphor studies since they reflect the national world view. An analysis of conceptual metaphors represented in paroemias makes it possible to reveal national ways of conceptualizing the world, including ideas concerning the roles of spouses and family relationships. This paper provides a qualitative analysis of conceptual metaphors represented in Korean paroemias that include kinship terms for husband and wife. The study was carried out using a data base consisting of 93 paroemias which use five kinship terms for husband (fiancé): 신랑 (新郞), 남편 (男便), 서방 (書房), 영감 (令監), 임, six kinship terms for wife (fiancée): 신부 (新婦), 색시, 아내, 계집, 마누라, 처 (妻), and six derivatives for wife: 새색시, 여편네 (女便네), 본부인 (本夫人), 본처 (本妻), 악처 (惡妻), 조강지처 (糟糠之妻). The semantics of these kinship terms is discussed, and major differences in meanings are highlighted. Using the methods of MIPVU and the five-step metaphor analysis, conceptual domains involved in cross-domain mapping are identified. In particular, cross-domain mapping has been revealed between SPOUSES as the target domain and HOUSEHOLD ITEMS, FOOD, PETS, LIVESTOCK, PEOPLE WITH OTHER SOCIAL ROLES as the source domains. A conclusion is drawn that conceptualizing the roles of spouses the Korean people relied on objects commonly used in everyday life and people who attracted attention due to their social status or specific behavior.

Spousal Involvement in Collaborative Management and Glycemic Behavior Change among Patients with Diabetes Mellitus: A Systematic Review.

The marked increase in the number of individuals with diabetes mellitus (DM) worldwide each year has resulted in the importance of the spouse's contribution to the promotion and support of patient self-management programs. This study aimed to systematically explore the role or involvement of spouses in collaborative management and glycemic behavior change in DM. Five databases including Scopus, PubMed, Cumulative Index of Nursing and Allied Health Literature, SAGE, and Web of Science were reviewed for relevant articles retrieved from 2017 to 2022. Literature search used keywords, including "Spouse," "Support," "Self-management," "Glycemic Control," and "Diabetes mellitus." The Joanna Briggs Institute guidelines were used for appraisal review of journals. The component of partner support in the self-management of patients with DM is associated with an increase in the patient's glycemic level. Twenty-five studies were identified that describe the different spousal roles and strategies in the promotion and support of DM management. Overall, spouses' involvement positively impacted healthy diets, higher self-efficacy, improved quality of psychological well-being, increased perceived support, and changes in glycemic-influenced behavior. Adaptation in the spouse patient relationship including maintaining cohesiveness can result in positive coping is essential in normalizing and contextualizing the chronic condition of DM. Partner-based collaboration is important for diabetes management, overcoming management barriers, and generating communal coping. This systematic review observed that the involvement of a spouse is important in improving collaborative management and results in better glycemic behavior in patients with DM. A better understanding of the relationship between spousal involvement, coping strategies, and adherence in daily management and the subsequent use of this information are highly useful for creating targeted and effective interventions.

Living arrangements, activity participation and depression among older Chinese adults

ObjectivesWe examined the relationship among living arrangements, activity participation and depression and the mediating effects of activity participation on the relationship between living arrangements and depression. Study designThis was a cross-sectional study based on nationally representative data. Methods9647 older adults aged 60 years and over were recruited from the 2018 Chinese Longitudinal Healthy Longevity Survey. Three-step regression and mediation analysis methods were used. ResultsCompared with older adults living with family members, those living in institutions attended fewer activities and experienced higher depression rates, and those living alone attended more activities and experienced higher depression rates. In the group living with family members, living with a spouse was an important way to increase activity participation and reduce depression. Mediation analysis suggested that activity participation mediated the impact of living arrangements on depression. Attending more activities could alleviate depression for older adults who are living alone, living in institutions and living without a spouse. ConclusionOur findings suggest an emphasis on the role of spouses and activity participation during depression interventions among older adults.

From spewing resentment to lingering grief: Metaphorical constructions of intrauterine devices and spousal roles in contemporary China

In recent years, an emerging discourse on various social media platforms has drawn attention to the enduring, yet unspoken, distress experienced by a considerable number of Chinese women who have utilized intrauterine devices (IUDs) for extended durations. Using corpus linguistics and thematic analysis, this article seeks to explore the use of metaphors in discussions about IUDs on Weibo and how the public makes sense of roles of spouses in the decision of using IUDs. The findings reveal three distinct metaphors about IUDs within multi-layered family and social relationships: a time bomb, a blood-stained wedding ring, and a lethal weapon. Furthermore, three metaphorical representations of the spousal roles in relation to the use of IUDs are identified: participants versus observers regarding contraception, perpetrators versus victims within societal frameworks, and the nurturing cornerstone of the family versus instrumental means for procreation. These metaphors, deeply rooted in war metaphors, not only reflect the oppressive forces imposed on women by state power, patriarchal society, and traditional beliefs but also function as a form of resistance against such forces.