The association between social support and postpartum depression in women: A cross sectional study

Background

Prevalence of postpartum depression is estimated to be about 10–15% worldwide. Many risk factors are supposed to play a role leading a new mother to maternal postpartum depression which can considerably affect the baby, mother, family and also the society.

An integrated response to trauma in three post office businesses

Abstract

This paper looks at the way the UK Post Office has developed a core trauma care programme that is capable of being adapted to meet the needs of three of its businesses. The core programme includes an introductory stage that is involved in the selection and education of the workforce and the promotion of the programme; crisis management; manager debriefing; psychological debriefing; trauma counselling; and a final stage involving the evaluation of the programme and following up traumatized employees. The core programme was tailored to the needs of each of the three Post Office businesses, using information on the business operation, culture and policies of the businesses in the light of the nature and range of the traumatic incidents that affect their workforce.     

History of perinatal loss and maternal–fetal attachment behaviors

BackgroundMaternal–fetal attachment (MFA) is an important requirement for optimal maternal–infant adaptation. Current studies showed conflicting findings about whether a history of perinatal loss (fetal/neonatal death) affects maternal attachment in pregnancy.Research question“Does a history of perinatal loss affect maternal–fetal attachment behaviors?”MethodsOne hundred women with and without a history of PL were recruited using a convenience method of sampling, from prenatal care services affiliated to Shahid Behesti University of Medical Sciences. Data collected by questionnaires from a convenience sample of multiparous women in the 3rd trimester of pregnancy with no surviving children were compared with data from a selected cohort of primigravid women. The two groups of women were matched for health and literacy. The data collected included demographic characteristics and responses to 24 questions in five groups of behaviors on the Persian version of Cranly's Maternal–Fetal Attachment Scale. Data were analyzed by SPSS 13 and using t, ANOVA, Chi square, Pearson correlation and Mann–Whitney tests.FindingsFinding showed that total score of MFA for women with a history of PL (68.95 ± 9.20%) is not significantly different from this score for women without such a history (71.22 ± 11.75%; p < 0.05). Women with a history of PL had a significantly lower score for a subgroup of behaviors “differentiation of self from fetus” compared to women without of a history of PL (78.25 vs. 83.21%; p < 0.05). But, there were no statistically significant differences between two groups respecting to other subgroups of behaviors between two groups.ConclusionIn this study, a history of pregnancy loss was found to be associated with disturbances in the group of maternal–fetal attachment behaviors related to “differentiation of self from fetus” in a subsequent pregnancy.     

Validation Study: The Iranian Version of Caregiver Abuse Screen (CASE) among Family Caregivers of Elderly with Dementia

Since abuse screening is difficult among the elderly with dementia, detection of elder abuse is a serious issue; meanwhile, the number of available tools to assess elder abuse by caregivers is limited. The aim was to evaluate validity and reliability of the Iranian version Caregiver Abuse Screen (CASE) tool. After the translating process of the tool to the Farsi language for 236 dementia participants ≥60 years old and their informal caregivers’ from outpatient’ clinics, in a cross-sectional method then the validity, reliability and factorial structure of the CASE was evaluated. The translated Iranian version CASE reveals a good psychometric property (α = 0.868) with strong internal consistency and reliability. Some variables (depression, burden, dementia intensity, and ADLs) were associated with abuse in dementia elderly. The two-factor structure was obtained in exploratory factor analysis labeled interpersonal abuse and neglect. Generally, the Iranian version of CASE approved with sufficient validity and reliability as a suitable instrument to find the risk of elder abuse among dementia caregivers.     

How Rumination Affects Marital Conflict in Iranian Women: A Qualitative Study

Rumination can cause numerous problems for an individual. Previous studies have indicated that the tendency of women toward rumination is greater than that of men. Therefore, the aim of this study was to investigate how rumination might affect marital conflict in Iranian women. This qualitative study has a thematic analysis design. Using purposeful sampling, women were recruited to be interviewed using a semistructured manual, and the sampling continued until it reached saturation (N = 63). Analysis of the data showed that findings could be grouped into 5 themes: insecure attachment style, deteriorating behaviors, deactivation, uncertainty about the relationship, and negative emotions. The finding of this research is that when marital conflicts are not solved, insecure attachment styles are activated, possibly resulting in rumination. As a result, rumination will exacerbate the negative emotions and marital relationship quality.     

Quality of life and sexual function in postmenopausal women

This study examined the relationship between quality of life (QoL) and sexual function among postmenopausal women. As a cross-sectional study, it was conducted among 405 postmenopausal women selected using a multistage sampling method. The data-collection tools were the Female Sexual Function Index (FSFI) questionnaire, the WHO Quality of Life-BREF (WHOQOL-BREF) questionnaire, and a researcher-administered questionnaire. Sexual dysfunction was observed in 61% of the participants. The total scores of FSFI had a positive correlation with the WHOQOL-BREF total scores and all QoL domain scores. Therefore, sexual function needs to be covered by health-care packages aiming to improve postmenopausal women’s QoL.     

Using instrumental variables for selecting the order of arma models

A methodology is developed for selecting the order of an ARMA representation of a short realization. The methodology is based on an extension of the Instrumental Variables technique and its theoretical logic is supported by the characteristic of extended Yule-Walker equations and Toeplitz matrices. The methodology is a modification of the Cormer Method and tries to identify a set of orders instead of a single order. The strength of the methodology is evaluated by comparing its numerical findings with that from the Corner Method and the Extended Sample Autocorrelation Function Method. The numerical results imply that (i) the proposed method performs, on the average better than the Corner Method and both methods outperform Extended Sample Autocorrelation Function method, and (ii) the selection of a set of orders provides more reliable results than the selection of a single order.     

Assessing Spirituality Through Personal Goals: Implications for Research on Religion and Subjective Well-Being

This article is concerned with the conceptual and methodological issues in the measurement of personal goals, with special emphasis on assessing spiritual and religious content in goals. The research literature on personal goals and subjective well-being is reviewed and synthesized. A comparison of several popular goal units in the research literature is included. Goal content and goal conflict have been reliably associated with well-being in past research. Spiritual or religious content in personal goals emerges as having an especially strong influence on well-being, and recent research on spiritual personal strivings and well-being is summarized. One of the primary purposes of the article is to consider conceptual and methodological challenges in the measurement of spirituality through personal goals. The advantages of a combined idiographic-nomothetic approach to measuring spirituality through purposive behavior are enumerated. A personal goals approach to studying spiritual motivation can make an important contribution to understanding how religiosity affects well-being, thus expanding religion's role in quality of life research.