Women’s Health Bulletin
Volume:9 Issue: 3, Jul 2022

Depression could negatively impact the mood, behavior, attitude, and efficiency of women and massively harm family performance. The present study aimed to investigate the mediating role of the self-esteem in the association of attachment behaviors with depression and marital quality in women in Ahvaz, Iran.

The study was descriptive-correlational estimated through structural equation modeling. The statistical population was made up of married women with at least high school education in Ahvaz, Iran in 2021. Convenience sampling was used to choose 340 individuals. The instruments included the Quality Marriage Index (QMI), Beck Depression Inventory (BDI- 13), the Brief Accessibility, Responsiveness, and Engagement (BARE) Scale, and the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale (RSES). A path analysis approach was adopted to evaluate the proposed model and the indirect relationships were examined through bootstrapping in AMOS version 24.

The mean and standard deviation (SD) of depression, marital quality, and self-esteem were 5.78±2.86, 28.58±6.48, and 7.22±2.93, respectively. Depression was negatively correlated with marital quality (r=-0.78) and self-esteem (r=-0.72) in women. The direct paths from attachment behaviors to self-esteem (P<0.001) and from self-esteem to depression (β=-0.53, P<0.001) and marital quality (β=0.18, P<0.001) were significant. The indirect paths from attachment behaviors to depression and marital quality through self-esteem were also significant (P<0.05).

The suggested model suited the data well. The relationship between attachment behaviors, depression, and marital quality in women was mediated by self-esteem. Workshops on boosting self-esteem and outlining its advantageous effects on women’s mental health are advised.

The effects of the coronavirus outbreak on the psychological and physical wellbeing of teenage girls is not well understood. Herein, one of the important mental health-related variables is introduced to be psychosocial distress (PSD). The current research aimed to explore the status of PSD in teenage girls during the coronavirus outbreak considering the impact of physical activity (PA) and sedentary time (ST).

This research utilized a descriptive-correlation method. We selected 384 teenage girls (mean age 16.93±0.72 years) in Iran, in 2020, using a convenience sampling procedure. The participants were healthy and without any physical or mental disabilities. They completed the standard questionnaires including the COVID-19-Related Psychological Distress Scale, Physical Activity Behavior in Leisure-Time Scale, and Adolescent Sedentary Activity Questionnaire. Spearman correlation test and structural equation modelling were utilized for data analysis.

Our findings revealed that the psychosocial status of adolescent girls during the coronavirus outbreak was 41.50 out of 70. The subjects who were more physically active had lower levels of PSD (r=-0.627, P<0.001, whereas those with higher ST reported higher scores in PSD status (r=0.481, P<0.001).

The results of the current research demonstrate that PSD and PA are significant challenges threatening the health of teenage girls during the coronavirus outbreak. Accordingly, it is essential to adopt appropriate procedures to enhance PA and reduce ST of teenage girls.

Causes of maternal deaths could be prevented if women are aware of maternity danger signs. We aimed to examine women’s awareness about obstetric danger signs and associated factors among females attending primary health facilities in Gaza strip, Palestine.

A cross-sectional clinic-based study was employed. An interview-based questionnaire, prepared after a review of literature, comprises two parts: socio-demographic and Obst/Gyn information and second awareness about obstetric danger signs during pregnancy, delivery, and after delivery was administered to 185 women between September and mid of November, 2020. Descriptive analysis (mean, percentage, mean, and standard deviation) was employed. Moreover, bivariate and multivariate logistic regression were applied to determine independent factors related to women knowledge.

One hundred thirty-eight (138) women participated. The mean age was 26.3±6.1 years and 76.1% were married for less than 10 years. Women had adequate knowledge about obstetric danger signs during pregnancy, childbirth, and post-partum (82.6%, 71%, and 68.1% respectively). Common danger signs reported were blurred vision, severe headache, convulsion, and severe vaginal bleeding. One third of women relied on more than two sources of information regarding danger signs and 90.6% thought that danger signs lead to death. Independent factors related to the knowledge about obstetric danger signs are being literate (OR: 2.46; CI95%: 1.77–6.23), previous maternal health problem (OR: 2.4; CI95%: 1.67–5.93), utilization of ante-natal care services (OR 2.21; CI95%: 1.72–4.02), and parity (OR: 3.6; CI95%: 1.48–5.64).

Women have an adequate level of awareness about obstetric danger signs; however, it is quite less in post-partum. Efforts should be made to target knowledge deficit about danger signs in post-partum and to reduce the stress resulted from these danger signs.

One of the treatments for depression and anxiety which has significantly increased in recent years in most countries is drinking lavender and chamomile herbal tea. The current study aimed to compare the result of these two types of herbal drinks on anxiety and depression in the postmenopausal women.

The present study is a randomized clinical trial conducted in 2020. It was recorded with the code of IRCT20090304001742N6 in the Iranian Registry of Clinical Trials. The total sample size was 96 people. In the current study, the depression questionnaire (created by Beck) and anxiety questionnaire (created by Spielberger) were used to assess the contributors. Each intervention group received 2 g of dried lavender and chamomile leaves, which were cooked twice daily—once in the morning and once at night—in 300 ml of boiling water for 10 to 15 minutes—as part of the intervention. The data were analyzed using one-way ANOVA, paired t-tests, and chi-square.

The average score of depression in the lavender tea group was reduced from 21.00±4.10 to 18.56±3.24 (P<0.001). In the group which consumed chamomile herbal tea, the average score of depression in the pre-intervention stage was 22.00±3.97, while after consuming chamomile herbal tea, it decreased to 18.31±3.05 (P<0.001). The mean score of depression among the groups that used lavender and the control group showed a significant difference. Although there was a non-significant difference between the average anxiety (state and trait) scores in the control group at the start and end of the study (P=0.058, P=0.083), there was a significant difference between the mean anxiety (state and trait) scores in the intervention groups before and after the intervention (P<0.001). Furthermore, the average score of depression between the group that used lavender and the control group displayed a significant difference (P=0.021).

In general, drinking lavender or chamomile herbal tea could alleviate the level of anxiety and depression in postmenopausal women.

Violence against women has been reported to be high across Nigeria. However, there are no specific data on this issue across individual states in southwestern Nigeria and their correlations. This study aimed to characterize the types, prevalence, and correlates of violence against reproductive-age women in the southwestern Nigeria states, thereby establishing an inter-state comparison that could stimulate a community-based intervention.

This cross-sectional study was a secondary data analysis of the population-based 2018 Nigerian Demographic and Health Survey (NDHS) data. The NDHS collected data from 14th August to 29th December 2018 through a stratified three-stage cluster sample design using a sampling frame containing the list of enumeration areas prepared for 2006. Responses from 1516 women aged 15-49 were analyzed by descriptive and inferential statistics in SPSS version 25.

The overall percentage of intimate partner violence (IPV) was 22% (95% CI=19.9%-24.2%) and 17% (14.7%-18.5%) for non-IPV. Oyo State had the least percentage of IPV (11%) while Lagos State had the highest (25%). Women from Ogun State had a statistically significant risk of non-IPV, such that 47% of people with non-IPV came from the state (P=0.001). The odds of IPV among women with secondary education (OR=1.78, CI=1.25-2.55; P=0.002) was more than that of women with primary education (OR=1.68, CI=1.10-2.56; P 0.016). Alcohol consumption and husband’s controlling behavior were the most important predictors of IPV across the states (P<0.001). Only 3% of the respondents reported being sexually hurt by non-partners.

Violence against reproductive-age women is very concerning. The current rate needs attention to reduce the ensuing risk of unintended pregnancies, suicides/self-harm, drug abuse, depression, and miscarriage. All of these will negatively impact the population’s health outcome. A community-based intervention using a socioecological model of behavioural changes is recommended.

The problems imposed by multiple sclerosis (MS) can affect the patients’ mental health socially and psychologically. Patients must thus acquire practical coping mechanisms to deal with their illness and go on living. The present study examined the impact of mindfulness-based cognitive therapy (MBCT) and imagery rescripting and reprocessing treatment (IRRT) on emotional tiredness in MS-affected women.

In this quasi-experimental study, the statistical population comprised 145 women with MS who had registered in the Iran MS Society in Tehran, Iran from May to October 2019. A sample of 45 was conveniently selected and randomly divided into two experimental and one control group (15 patients per group). The control group received no training, whereas the first experimental group experienced seven sessions of IRRT, the second experimental group underwent eight 90-minute sessions of MBCT. The data were collected using Emotional Exhaustion subscale of the Maslach Burnout Inventory. The repeated-measures ANOVA was used to analyze the data.

Based on the results, two therapies significantly differed in terms of emotional exhaustion (P<0.001). The mean (SD) of the post-test score of emotional exhaustion in the MBCT and IRRT groups was 40.73 (1.66) and 41.20 (1.47), respectively, which was different from the control group (43.76(1.80)). However, there was no significant difference between the effectiveness of the two therapies on emotional exhaustion in women with MS. The effects of the interventions on emotional exhaustion persisted during three-month follow-up.

IRRT and MBCT can be recommended as effective interventions to improve the emotional exhaustion of women with MS.

Fertility phenomenon holds great importance in almost all cultures; therefore, failures in this matter can turn into a harmful sensation. This study aimed to study the efficacy of acceptance and commitment therapy on anxiety, depression, and stress in women with frequent miscarriage records.

The research design of this study was quasi-experimental, including post-test and pre-test types with experiment and control groups. The population of this study consisted of all applicants from Alzahra hospital of Rasht, Iran with frequent miscarriage records in summer 2019. The research sample size comprised 30 women who were chosen through convenience method sampling and were randomly assigned into two groups of control group (15 participants) and experiment group (15 participants). Eight sessions of acceptance and commitment therapy were performed on the experiment group. Lovibond and Lovibond’s (1995) scale of depression, anxiety, and stress was applied to collect the data. To analyze the data, one-way ANCOVA was used.

Results revealed that acceptance and commitment therapy was significantly reduced (P=0.001). The mean scores of anxiety (M=27.73±0.79), depression (M=26.73±1.22), and stress (M=27.06±0.59) in the experimental group as compared with control group that were anxiety (28.26±0.96), depression (28±0.75), and stress (28.13±0.83), respectively.

The findings of present study indicated that acceptance and commitment therapy increased the psychological flexibility and led to committed action toward personal values. Therefore, this therapy is applicable for those women with frequent miscarriages to decrease their anxiety, depression, and stress levels.

A mother’s distress tolerance is her ability to withstand negative emotions, which can alleviate her child’s behavioral disorders. This study was conducted to investigate the association of distress tolerance and mother-child interaction with children’s behavioral disorders through the mediating role of marital quality in mothers of children with learning disabilities.

In this descriptive correlational study, the statistical population included all the mothers of students with learning disabilities from Andimeshk, Khuzestan Province, Iran, in 2021. The convenience sampling method was employed for recruiting 210 participants. The research instruments included the Children’s Behavior Questionnaire, the Revised Dyadic Adjustment Scales, the Distress Tolerance Scale, the Mental Health Questionnaire, and the Child-Parent Relationship Scale. Structural equation modeling (SEM) was adopted to evaluate the proposed model.

The results indicated that the direct paths from distress tolerance and mother-child interaction to marital quality were significant (P<0.001). Moreover, the indirect paths from distress tolerance to children’s behavioral disorders and the association between mother-child interaction and children’s behavioral disorders were significant through the mediating role of marital quality (P<0.001). However, the direct paths from distress tolerance and mother-child interaction to children’s behavioral disorders were not found to be significant.

The proposed model had good fitness. It could be considered as a major step towards identification of the factors affecting behavioral disorders of students with learning disabilities.