Assessing mental health and service needs among refugees in Malaysia

Refugees in Malaysia often experience economic insecurity and poverty, poor health, poor mental wellbeing and limited legal rights. Using a survey with quantitative measures and open‐ended questions, we assessed socio‐demographic characteristics, mental health (RHS‐15), and service needs, including interest in group support services, among 86 Dari‐ and Arabic‐speaking refugees living in Kuala Lumpur. High levels of emotional distress were found, as nearly all participants scored positive for distress and average scores were 2.5 times above the cut‐off signifying distress. Distress scores did not vary based on most factors examined, although being married was associated with lower levels of distress. All but one participant expressed interest in participating in a support group. Barriers to potential participation included childcare, sickness and transportation. Additional mental health and social supports are needed among refugees residing in Malaysia. Key Practitioner Message: ? Emotional distress is high among Dari‐ and Arabic‐speaking refugees sampled in Malaysia; ? Participants expressed strong interest in accessing supportive mental health services, including group supports.     

Parents and Educators: Dialogue and Development Through Partnership

SUMMARY. This paper describes an approach to working with parents which emphasises the parents' own learning process and which might be termed ‘developmental partnership’. By this is meant a relationship in which not only are the parents explicitly acknowledged as the primary educators of their own children but also that, through a process of mutual enquiry into the activities and development of these children, parents, educator and children learn and work together. A number of issues are raised about working in ‘developmental partnership’ with parents, including the role of the unconscious in relationships focused upon learning.     

Jography: Exploring Meanings,Experiences and Spatialities of Recreational Road-running

Jogging is a relatively under-researched mobile practice with much existing literature focusing on ‘serious’ and competitive running. In this paper, we provide an account of some of the movements, meanings and experiences that together help produce the practice of jogging in the south-western English city of Plymouth. Drawing upon participant diaries and interviews, we uncover rich detail about how joggers ascribe not one but a number of meanings to their practice. Some of these are positive, some are negative; some complement each other and some compete with each other. We also consider how the experiences of joggers can be shaped by their ongoing need to develop tactics capable of enabling them to negotiate space with non-joggers. This is in some contrast to more competitive running that occurs in the separated space of an athletics track. Our sense is that better awareness of the meanings and experiences of jogging will be of value if the advertised health and sustainability benefits of the practice are to be more effectively encouraged and promoted.     

“Allah will decide my life and death”: Religion and spirituality among populations at risk for HIV in Malaysia

ABSTRACT

We examined the influence of religion and spirituality on HIV risk contexts through in-depth interviews with men who have sex with men (n = 10) and female commercial sex workers (n = 10) in Malaysia. Using a grounded theory approach, five themes emerged from the interviews: (a) religion encourages caring for health, (b) health is influenced by a higher power, (c) prayer is a conduit to health assistance, (d) stigma is compounded by religion but it does not limit one’s spirituality, and (e) religion is not but should be incorporated into HIV campaigns. Incorporation of spirituality in service provision and addressing stigma is warranted.     

Predictors of Longitudinal Growth in Inhibitory Control in Early Childhood

In the current study, we examined latent growth in 731 young children's inhibitory control from the ages of two to four years, and whether demographic characteristics or parenting behaviors were related to initial levels and growth in inhibitory control. As part of an ongoing longitudinal evaluation of the family check‐up, children's inhibitory control was assessed yearly at the ages of two to four years. Inhibitory control was initially low and increased linearly to the age of four years. High levels of harsh parenting and male gender were associated with low initial status in inhibitory control. High levels of parental positive behavior support were associated with faster growth. Extreme family poverty and African‐American ethnicity were also associated with slower growth. The results highlight parenting as a target for early interventions in contexts of high socioeconomic risk.     

Dimensions of Poverty: Status and Solutions Towards the Millennium Development Goals

Books reviewed: State of the World Population 2004: The Cairo Consensus at Ten ‐ Population, Reproductive Health and the Global Effort to End Poverty. By UNFPA. How Have the World's Poorest Fared Since the Early 1980s? By Shaohua Chen and Martin Ravallion. The State of Food Insecurity in the World 2004: Monitoring Progress towards the World Food Summit and Millennium Development Goals. By FAO. Fifth Report on the World Nutrition Situation: Nutrition for Improved Development Outcomes. By SCN. IFPRI Annual Report 2003‐4. By IFPRI. Halving Hunger: It Can Be Done. By Task Force on Hunger. Outgrowing the Earth: The Food Security Challenge in an Age of Falling Water Tables and Rising Temperatures. By Lester R. Brown. The State of the World's Children 2005: Childhood Under Threat. By UNICEF. Education for All: The Quality Imperative ‐ EFA Global Monitoring Report 2005. Commissioned by UNESCO. World Employment Report 2004‐05: Employment, Productivity and Poverty Reduction. By ILO. The Future of the WTO: Addressing Institutional Challenges in the New Millennium. By the Consultative Board. State of the World 2005: Redefining Global Security. By the Worldwatch Institute. Investing in Development: A Practical Plan to Achieve the Millennium Development Goals. By Jeffrey D. Sachs and the UN Millennium Project.