scholarly journals Violence, Well-Being and Level of Participation in Formal Education among Adolescent Girls in Eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo: The Role of Child Marriage

2018 ◽  
Vol 12 (2) ◽  
pp. 273-290 ◽  
Author(s):  
Debbie Landis ◽  
Kathryn Falb ◽  
Ilaria Michelis ◽  
Theresita Bakomere ◽  
Lindsay Stark

Child marriage is a well-recognized barrier to education, and exposes girls to an increased risk of violence along with other negative health and developmental outcomes. A quantitative survey was conducted with girls selected from 14 communities in South Kivu, Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). Data from 350 girls (ages 13-14) were analyzed using mixed effects logistic regression models. Findings revealed that child marriage was associated with lower levels of participation in formal education as well as higher rates of physical, sexual and emotional violence. In particular, when adjusting for age and girls’ level of participation in formal education, being married was associated with more than a three-fold (OR: 3.23) increased risk of experiencing sexual violence (p<0.001). Married girls were also significantly more likely to affirm the belief that they would be forced to marry their perpetrator in the event that they were raped (p=0.017), suggesting that a portion of girls within this sample may have experienced this occurrence. Although higher levels of participation in formal education were associated with a reduced risk of violence among non-married girls, these differences were not observed for girls who were married. Findings reveal that child marriage has a significantly negative effect on the relationship between girls’ level of participation in formal education and experiences with violence. Taken cumulatively, findings from this study suggest an overall harmful relationship between child marriage and girls’ safety, education and well-being, and that efforts to prevent its occurrence in the DRC and beyond are urgently needed.

Children ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 7 (11) ◽  
pp. 200
Author(s):  
Jing-Yi Chen ◽  
Esben Strodl ◽  
Li-Hua Huang ◽  
Ying-Jie Chen ◽  
Gui-You Yang ◽  
...  

Research into early screen exposure has raised growing concerns about its impact upon children’s neuropsychological well-being. However, possible pathways remain unclear. This study therefore aimed not only to evaluate the association between screen exposure during the ages of 0–3 years and preschoolers’ autistic-like behaviors, but also the mediating roles of the frequency of caregiver-child interaction, sleep duration and level of participation in outdoor activities. Based on the 2017 survey of the Longhua Child Cohort Study, data of 29,595 child-caregiver dyads were obtained via a caregiver-reported questionnaire, with the data from 29,461 dyads included in the data analysis. Multiple linear and logistic regression models were employed to estimate the associations between screen exposure, caregiver-child interaction, sleep duration, outdoor activities, and children’s autistic-like behaviors. The results indicated that screen exposure during 0–3 years of age was associated with the presence of autistic-like behaviors at preschool age, and the strength of the association was enhanced with the increase of average daily screen time (Odds Ratios (ORs) ranging from 1.358 to 4.026). The frequency of caregiver-child interaction and sleep duration mediated 5.32% and 1.19% of the variance of the association respectively, but outdoor activities did not mediate the association. Our findings indicate that preschoolers who are exposed to screens at aged 0–3 years might have an increased risk of autistic-like behaviors, and that, the frequency of caregiver-child interaction and sleep duration might function as potential mediators of this association.


2017 ◽  
Vol 76 (4) ◽  
pp. 145-153 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jana Nikitin ◽  
Alexandra M. Freund

Abstract. Establishing new social relationships is important for mastering developmental transitions in young adulthood. In a 2-year longitudinal study with four measurement occasions (T1: n = 245, T2: n = 96, T3: n = 103, T4: n = 85), we investigated the role of social motives in college students’ mastery of the transition of moving out of the parental home, using loneliness as an indicator of poor adjustment to the transition. Students with strong social approach motivation reported stable and low levels of loneliness. In contrast, students with strong social avoidance motivation reported high levels of loneliness. However, this effect dissipated relatively quickly as most of the young adults adapted to the transition over a period of several weeks. The present study also provides evidence for an interaction between social approach and social avoidance motives: Social approach motives buffered the negative effect on social well-being of social avoidance motives. These results illustrate the importance of social approach and social avoidance motives and their interplay during developmental transitions.


2021 ◽  
pp. 030573562110194
Author(s):  
Amy Visser ◽  
Megan Lee ◽  
Timothy Barringham ◽  
Nasim Salehi

Professional popular musicians are at increased risk of psychological distress, substance use problems, and suicide, yet little evidence is available on effective psychotherapeutic practices to address these issues. This scoping review aims to understand how professional popular musicians perceive, engage with, and respond to mental health interventions. Four databases were searched, garnering a total of 310 articles. Of these, six met inclusion criteria. Four thematic categories were explored: (1) amenability of professional popular musicians to particular therapeutic approaches; (2) attribution of treatment outcomes to tailored approaches; (3) professional popular musicians’ perceived barriers to treatment; and (4) recommendations for treatment approaches. The scoping review supports the importance of considering the characteristics of professional popular musicians as a distinct group with unique well-being needs, challenges, and strengths. There is a clear preference for tailored, affordable, and accessible approaches that consider the uniquities of musicianship and the need to explore the role of nonclinical support, such as friends, family, and industry peers.


Nutrients ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (8) ◽  
pp. 2628
Author(s):  
Marius Baguma ◽  
Espoir Bwenge Malembaka ◽  
Esto Bahizire ◽  
Germain Zabaday Mudumbi ◽  
Dieudonné Bahati Shamamba ◽  
...  

This comparative cross-sectional study aimed to better understand the respective contributions of protein malnutrition and cassava-derived cyanide poisoning in the development of konzo. We compared data on nutritional status and cyanide exposure of school-age adolescent konzo-diseased patients to those of non-konzo subjects of similar age from three areas in the Eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo. Our results show that konzo patients had a high prevalence of both wasting (54.5%) and stunting (72.7%), as well as of cyanide poisoning (81.8%). Controls from Burhinyi and those from Idjwi showed a similar profile with a low prevalence of wasting (3.3% and 6.5%, respectively) and intermediate prevalence of stunting (26.7% and 23.9%, respectively). They both had a high prevalence of cyanide poisoning (50.0% and 63.0%, respectively), similar to konzo-patients. On the other hand, controls from Bukavu showed the lowest prevalence of both risk factors, namely chronic malnutrition (12.1%) and cyanide poisoning (27.6%). In conclusion, cassava-derived cyanide poisoning does not necessarily coexist with konzo outbreaks. The only factor differentiating konzo patients from healthy individuals exposed to cyanide poisoning appeared to be their worse nutritional status. This further suggests that, besides the known role of cyanide poisoning in the pathogenesis of konzo, malnutrition may be a key factor for the disease occurrence.


2011 ◽  
Vol 24 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Hanne Lootens ◽  
Greet Van Hoye

Psychological well-being during unemployment: the role of personality and perception of time structure Psychological well-being during unemployment: the role of personality and perception of time structure Gedrag & Organisatie, volume 24, September 2011, nr. 3, pp. 207-232.Unemployed people report lower levels of psychological well-being than employed individuals. However, when unemployed individuals perceive their use of time to be structured and purposive, this negative effect of unemployment on psychological well-being is reduced. This study investigated whether personality – as measured by the Big Five framework – determined the perception of time structure. In a sample of 231 Flemish unemployed people, we found that the more sense of purpose and present orientation individuals showed, the higher their psychological well-being was. Concerning the relation between personality and the perception of time structure, unemployed people with more openness to experience reported less sense of purpose. More conscientious individuals showed more sense of purpose, routine, organization, and present orientation. More neurotic individuals perceived less sense of purpose and present orientation. Finally, more neurotic unemployed individuals with more openness for experience showed lower psychological well-being, due to their lower perception of time structure.


Thorax ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 74 (6) ◽  
pp. 604-606 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michele Arigliani ◽  
Robert Kitenge ◽  
Luigi Castriotta ◽  
Pathy Ndjule ◽  
Vincenzo Barbato ◽  
...  

Lung function in patients with sickle cell anaemia (SCA) living in sub-Saharan Africa is largely unknown. Anthropometry and spirometry were cross-sectionally evaluated in patients with SCA (HbSS) aged 6–18 years and in schoolchildren from the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The Global Lung Initiative 2012 spirometry reference values were used. A total of 112 patients and 377 controls were included. Twenty-six per cent of patients with SCA had spirometry findings suggestive of a restrictive pattern and 41% had a FEV1 z-score <5th percentile. Wasting, increasing age and female sex were independently associated with increased risk of restrictive spirometry pattern in patients with SCA. Longitudinal studies could clarify the prognostic meaning of these findings.


2009 ◽  
Vol 40 (2) ◽  
pp. 301-313 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. Sacker ◽  
N. Cable

BackgroundLater transitions to adult roles and responsibilities have been linked with better psychological well-being yet psychological distress has risen despite young people making the transition to adulthood at older ages over recent years.MethodWe examine the role of structural constraints and adolescent resources in the relationship between the timing of transitions and psychological distress in early adult life in the 1958 National Child Development Study and the 1970 British Cohort Study. Graphical chain models were used to examine the influences on timing of four key transitions and their relationship with psychological distress (Malaise Inventory). The role of structural factors at birth (gender, social class) and adolescent resources (psychosocial problems, exam grades) were modelled.ResultsAn earlier transition to adult roles was associated with an increased risk for psychological distress but so was failing to make some key transitions. Structural constraints had negative effects on successful development. Persistent social class and gender inequalities in psychological distress were evident in both cohorts. Social class constraints were mediated by educational resources whereas gender constraints were mediated by psychosocial resources. The influence of structural constraints on the timing of transitions to adult roles was more complex with evidence of positive and negative mediation and moderation effects.ConclusionsDelaying transition to adulthood promotes psychological health but failure of transition to independent living is associated with psychological distress. Life-course transitions are constrained by social origin and gender and possibly economic environment. Adolescent resources help young adults to make timely transitions to adult roles.


2019 ◽  
Vol 4 (2) ◽  
pp. p101
Author(s):  
Serge Malenga Mpaka ◽  
Blaise Ngizulu Mazuka ◽  
Didier Ndabahweje Ndyanabo ◽  
Benjamin Longo-Mbenza ◽  
Michel Lelo Tshikwela

Background: Some published studies on the patient’s activity before the stroke occurrence indicate that thereis an increased risk of the onset of acute stroke during these activities. In our community, these data are not yet assessed. The purpose of this pilot study was to examine whether intracerebral hemorrhage may be linked to patient’s physical activity before the onset and to carry out any relationship with location of the hemorrhage.Methods: The patient’s activity before the onset of stroke and location of hemorrhage in 58 patients (40 men and 18 women, aged 39 to 81years) admitted with spontaneous intracerebral hemorrhage seen by CT in Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of the Congo, from 2012 to 2015, were recorded and analyzed using logistic regression models. Results: In 31% of the case, the onset developed after emotional factors, in 24% in the lavatory, in 15% during housework and in 12% during sexual activity (X-squared = 8.319, p-value = 0.081). There was no significant difference between those activities and the site of intracerebral hemorrhage (p?0.05).Conclusion: Most patients in this series seemed to be stricken by the hemorrhagic stroke during some physical activity. It is less certain that location of intracerebral hemorrhage was linked with these activities.


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