scholarly journals Impact of the COVID-19 Lockdown in Malaysia: An Examination of the Psychological Well-Being of Parent-Child Dyads and Child Behavior in Families With Children on the Autism Spectrum

2021 ◽  
Vol 12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hui Xian Fong ◽  
Kim Cornish ◽  
Hannah Kirk ◽  
Kartini Ilias ◽  
Mohd Farooq Shaikh ◽  
...  

Background: The COVID-19 pandemic lockdowns have adversely impacted children on the autism spectrum and their families, especially in Malaysia where this population is often marginalized. The current quantitative research aimed to investigate the impact of the Malaysian COVID-19 lockdown on the behavior and psychological distress of children formally diagnosed with an autism spectrum condition (ASC) as well as the psychological distress and well-being of their parents, in comparison with a typically developing (TD) control group.Methods: The children's ages ranged between 5 and 17 years. The sample included 72 ASC parent-child dyads and 62 TD parent-child dyads. The primary caregiver completed an online survey including the following: demographic and diagnostic information; ASC symptoms; children's inattention, hyperactivity/impulsivity, perceived stress, depression, and anxiety; parents' perceived stress, depression, anxiety, and well-being based on their experience pre- and mid-lockdown (March 18th to June 9th 2020) in Malaysia.Results: Among the ASC group, no significant pre- and mid-lockdown change was found in ASC symptoms (p > 0.05). There were no significant gender differences (boys/girls) in all the child scales. The 2 [diagnosis (ASC, TD)] × 2 [lockdown (pre-lockdown, mid-lockdown)] mixed-model ANOVAs revealed main effects of lockdown on children's attention, hyperactivity/impulsivity, anxiety, and parents' perceived stress, depression, and psychological well-being (p < 0.005). There was a main effect of diagnosis in all child and parent variables, except parents' perceived stress (p >0.005). However, there was no significant interaction effect between diagnosis and lockdown (p >0.005). All child behavior (inattention and hyperactivity/impulsivity) and child psychological distress (anxiety, depression, and perceived stress) were significantly correlated in both the ASC and TD groups (p < 0.005). On the other hand, only some of the parent variables were significantly correlated with child variables (p < 0.0045) in the ASC group while none of the parent variables were significantly correlated with the child variables (p > 0.005) in the TD group.Conclusion: The results provide preliminary evidence indicating negative effects of the Malaysian lockdown on both children on the autism spectrum and TD children, as well as their parents. These quantitative results will be triangulated with the qualitative interview data to provide a holistic understanding of the impact of the pandemic, informing translational policy and practice recommendations.

BMJ Open ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (4) ◽  
pp. e047650
Author(s):  
Wiraporn Pothisiri ◽  
Paolo Miguel Manalang Vicerra

ObjectiveThe COVID-19 situation in Thailand was controlled with various social measures. Much of the information covered in the media and in studies focused on the public health and economic aspects of the pandemic. This study aimed to explore the psychological well-being of older people, which is important especially in an ageing society categorised as low income or middle income due to the limits of economic and healthcare resources.SettingThe impact of COVID-19 on older persons in Thailand, an online survey, taken across nine provinces within the five regions of the country.ParticipantsInformation was collected from 1230 adults aged at least 60 years old.If an older person was illiterate, unable to access the internet or had a disability preventing them from responding to the survey, an intermediary residing in the community conducted the survey interview.Primary and secondary outcome measuresThe analysis focused on the worries of older adults and the factors associated with psychological distress experienced during the pandemic using logistic regression analysis.ResultsThe majority of people aged at least 60 years old experienced psychological distress during COVID-19. Employment loss (OR 1.08, 95% CI 0.78 to 1.38), inadequate income (OR 1.77, 95% CI 1.28 to 2.44) and debt incursion (OR 2.74, 95% CI 1.57 to 4.80) were detrimental to psychological well-being. The negative changes in the perception of their health status (OR 1.92, 95% CI 1.23 to 2.99) and decreased life satisfaction (OR 1.49, 95% CI 0.45 to 1.87) also weighed on older Thais. The protective factors for psychological well-being were residing in rural areas (OR 0.46, 95% CI 0.35 to 0.61) and being married (OR 0.75, 95% CI 0.55 to 1.01).ConclusionObserving the concerns of the older population is important for introducing policies that can alleviate their precarious financial and health statuses.


2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Vartika Kapoor ◽  
Jaya Yadav ◽  
Lata Bajpai ◽  
Shalini Srivastava

PurposeThe present study examines the mediating role of teleworking and the moderating role of resilience in explaining the relationship between perceived stress and psychological well-being of working mothers in India. Conservation of resource theory (COR) is taken to support the present study.Design/methodology/approachThe data of 326 respondents has been collected from working mothers in various sectors of Delhi NCR region of India. Confirmatory factor analysis was used for construct validity, and SPSS Macro Process (Hayes) was used for testing the hypotheses.FindingsThe results of the study found an inverse association between perceived stress and psychological well-being. Teleworking acted as a partial mediator and resilience proved to be a significant moderator for teleworking-well-being relationship.Research limitations/implicationsThe study is based at Delhi NCR of India, and future studies may be based on a diverse population within the country to generalize the findings in different cultural and industrial contexts. The present work is based only on the psychological well-being of the working mothers, it can be extended to study the organizational stress for both the genders and other demographic variables.Practical implicationsThe study extends the research on perceived stress and teleworking by empirically testing the association between perceived stress and psychological well-being in the presence of teleworking as a mediating variable. The findings suggest some practical implications for HR managers and OD Practitioners. The organizations must develop a plan to support working mothers by providing flexible working hours and arranging online stress management programs for them.Originality/valueAlthough teleworking is studied previously, there is a scarcity of research examining the impact of teleworking on psychological well-being of working mothers in Asian context. It would help in understanding the process that how teleworking has been stressful for working mothers and also deliberate the role of resilience in the relationship between teleworking and psychological well-being due to perceived stress, as it seems a ray of hope in new normal work situations.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marta Modrego-Alarcón ◽  
María Teresa Navarro-Gil ◽  
María Beltrán-Ruiz ◽  
Alicia Monreal-Bartolomé ◽  
Santiago Gascón ◽  
...  

Abstract Background: There is growing concern about mental health problems in university students. For this reason, mindfulness training is becoming increasingly popular in university settings. However, mindfulness-based interventions (MBIs) usually present high attrition rates. This trial aims to evaluate the efficacy of a MBI to reduce perceived stress and to improve the psychological well-being of university students, as well as to explore the capacity of virtual reality (VR) to enhance adherence to the intervention. Methods: This study protocol presents a randomized controlled trial (RCT) involving assessment time points of baseline, posttreatment and 6-month follow-up. A total of 280 students from the Spanish National Distance Education University (UNED) or the University of Zaragoza will be randomly assigned to a mindfulness condition, a mindfulness condition complemented by VR, and a relaxation condition to serve as a control group. Stress will be the main outcome and will be measured using the 10-item self-report Perceived Stress Scale (PSS). Other well-being and academic functioning outcomes will be assessed, as well as variables that explore the impact of VR. Multilevel mixed-effects models will be calculated to estimate the efficacy of the programme, and effect size estimations will be carried out. Effects of VR in adherence to programme will be evaluated. Discussion: Some strengths of this study are the RCT design, which includes a suitable active control group and a 6-month follow-up assessment; a large sample size of university students at different stages of their courses and a variety of degrees; and the incorporation of the VR support to facilitate completion of the MBI programme. Potential limitations are the voluntary participation of the students and the utilization of self-report measures.Trial registration number: ClinicalTrials.gov NCT03771300.


2019 ◽  
Vol 15 ◽  
pp. 174550651983836
Author(s):  
Sarah Weddell ◽  
Georgina L Jones ◽  
Sheila Duffy ◽  
Cameron Hogg ◽  
Sarah Johnson ◽  
...  

Objectives: A prospective, randomized controlled trial in women seeking to conceive examined the impact of using ovulation tests on self-reported levels of stress, psychological well-being, and quality of life in women with unexplained infertility. Method: The test group used a home ovulation test to detect the day of ovulation, whereas the control group were provided with a predicted day of ovulation based on the average length of menstrual cycle reported during study recruitment. Volunteers collected their first morning urine samples to evaluate biochemical levels of stress (urinary cortisol and estrone-3-glucouronide) and completed questionnaires over two complete menstrual cycles. Results: Overall, the use of digital ovulation tests by sub-fertile women under medical care had negligible negative effects and no detectable positive benefit on psychological well-being, according to multiple measurements of stress by questionnaire and biochemical markers. No significant differences were found between groups for all stress measures at the various study time points, except in relation to “couple concordance” where the test group scored much higher than the control group (mean difference at end of study was 21.25 (95% confidence interval: 9.25, 33.25; P = 0.0015)). The maximum difference in log cortisol: creatinine ratio between the test and control groups was −0.28 (95% confidence interval: −0.69, 0.13). Conclusions: These results do not support propositions that using digital ovulation tests can cause stress in women trying to conceive.


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Carmen Cecilia Caballero-Dominguez ◽  
Jeimmy De Luque-Salcedo ◽  
Adalberto Campo-Arias

Introduction. This study aims to establish the association between low capital social (CS) with some indicators of psychological distress. Methods. A cross-sectional study was carried out using an online questionnaire that evaluated demographic variables, social capital, coronavirus disease perceived stress, depression risk, insomnia risk, and suicide risk. SC was taken as an independent variable, and symptoms indicating psychological distress was handed as dependent variables. Odds ratios (OR) were established with 95% confidence intervals (CI), using binary logistic regression analysis. Results. A group of 700 adults participated in the survey; they were aged between 18 and 76 years (M = 37, SD = 13). Low SC was associated with depression risk (OR = 2.00, 95%CI 1.34-2.97), elevated suicide risk (OR = 2.62, 95%CI 1.40-4.91) high perceived stress related to coronavirus disease (OR = 2.08, 95%CI 1.15-3.76), and insomnia risk (OR = 2.42, 95%CI 1.69-3.47). Conclusions. Low CS was associated with indicators of psychological distress represented in depression risk, elevated suicide risk, high perceived stress related to coronavirus disease and insomnia risk. SC is a community social resource that could help mitigate the impact of the coronavirus disease quarantine amidst the Colombian population's psychological health. It is necessary to deepen the SC role in psychological well-being during and after the coronavirus disease epidemic.


2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (7) ◽  
pp. 880
Author(s):  
Flavia Marino ◽  
Chiara Failla ◽  
Paola Chilà ◽  
Roberta Minutoli ◽  
Alfio Puglisi ◽  
...  

Background: Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) has been demonstrated as effective in improving psychological well-being in several clinical domains, but there is no evidence regarding the parents of children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). Methods: In this randomized controlled trial, we evaluated the efficacy of the ACT matrix behavioral protocol in comparison to the Parent Training (PT) program, measuring several primary and secondary outcomes prior to and following treatments. Twelve parents were randomly and equally assigned to two demographically matched groups wherein individuals underwent 24 weekly meetings of ACT protocol (experimental group) or conventional PT (control group). Results: Parents enrolled in the ACT protocol demonstrated significant improvement in psychological flexibility, awareness states, personal values in everyday life, and parental stress, whereas reduced scores were elicited in parents’ perceptions of their child’s disruptive behaviors. Conclusions: The results of this randomized controlled trial, if repeated with a large number of subjects, could open the way to include ACT protocols in daily practice to support the development of new parenting skills.


Author(s):  
Cher-Yi Tan ◽  
Chun-Qian Chuah ◽  
Shwu-Ting Lee ◽  
Chee-Seng Tan

The impact of happiness on creativity is well-established. However, little is known about the effect of creativity on well-being. Two studies were thus conducted to examine the impact of creativity on subjective well-being. In the first study, 256 undergraduate students (Study 1a) and 291 working adults (Study 1b) self-reported their creativity, stress, and subjective well-being. Hierarchical multiple regression analysis showed a positive relationship between creativity and subjective well-being after controlling the effect of self-perceived stress and demographics in both samples. Study 2 then employed an experimental design to examine the causal relationship between creativity and subjective well-being. Half of the 68 undergraduates underwent a creativity priming task followed by a divergent thinking test as well as self-reported stress and subjective well-being. The priming task was found to boost creative performance in the pilot study (Study 2a) and the actual study (Study 2b). Moreover, after controlling the effect of self-perceived stress, ANCOVA analysis showed that participants receiving the priming reported higher subjective well-being scores than their counterparts in the control group. The overall findings not only shed light on the facilitative effect of creativity on subjective well-being but also highlight the necessity of considering the reciprocal relationship of the two constructs in future research.


Author(s):  
Anne-Rigt Poortman

AbstractShared physical custody, or more generally, frequent contact with both parents is often assumed to benefit children, but having to move back and forth between parents’ homes may also be harmful, particularly when parents live far apart. This study examined the role of spatial mobility in the association between frequent parent-child contact and multiple child outcomes. Using the New Families in the Netherlands survey, analyses firstly showed that frequent parent-child contact, on average, was found to be not or modestly associated with better child outcomes. Second, spatial mobility mattered, but in varying ways. Long travel times were negatively associated with children’s contact with friends and their psychological well-being, but positively related to educational performance. Furthermore, frequent commutes were negatively associated with how often children saw their friends, but positively associated with child psychological well-being. Third, and most importantly, the impact of parent-child contact and frequent commutes on child outcomes were found to be dependent on traveling time. For child psychological well-being and contact with friends, frequent parent-child contact and/or frequent commutes were found to have positive effects when travel distances were short, but these positive effects disappeared when traveling times increased.


2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marta Modrego-Alarcón ◽  
María Teresa Navarro-Gil ◽  
María Beltrán-Ruiz ◽  
Alicia Monreal-Bartolomé ◽  
Santiago Gascón ◽  
...  

Abstract Background There is growing concern about mental health problems in university students. For this reason, mindfulness training is becoming increasingly popular in university settings. However, mindfulness-based interventions (MBIs) usually present high attrition rates. This trial aims to evaluate the efficacy of a MBI to reduce perceived stress and to improve the psychological well-being of university students, as well as to explore the capacity of virtual reality (VR) to enhance adherence to the intervention. Methods This study protocol presents a randomized controlled trial (RCT) involving assessment time points of baseline, posttreatment and 6-month follow-up. A total of 280 students from the Spanish National Distance Education University (UNED) or the University of Zaragoza will be randomly assigned to a mindfulness condition, a mindfulness condition complemented by VR, and a relaxation condition to serve as a control group. Stress will be the main outcome and will be measured using the 10-item self-report Perceived Stress Scale (PSS). Other well-being and academic functioning outcomes will be assessed, as well as variables that explore the impact of VR. Multilevel mixed-effects models will be calculated to estimate the efficacy of the programme, and effect size estimations will be carried out. Effects of VR in adherence to programme will be evaluated. Discussion Some strengths of this study are the RCT design, which includes a suitable active control group and a 6-month follow-up assessment; a large sample size of university students at different stages of their courses and a variety of degrees; and the incorporation of the VR support to facilitate completion of the MBI programme. Potential limitations are the voluntary participation of the students and the utilization of self-report measures. Trial registration number ClinicalTrials.gov NCT03771300.


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