Malay parents of 40 infants and preschool children were interviewed using translations of temperament questionnaires by Thomas and Chess, and by Carey. Similarities and differences between Malay children and previously studied American children are discussed, and relationships suggested among temperament ratings and Malay child-rearing practices and values.
Kajian ini mengukur kesan pembawaan semula jadi, punca tekanan dan reaksi tekanan ke atas kesihatan mental di kalangan juvana. Ia melibatkan 55 orang juvana dari pusat pemulihan akhlak dari lingkungan umur 15 hingga 18 tahun. General Health Questionnaire (GHQ28), Student Life Stress Inventory (SLSI), dan Dimensions of Temperament DOTSR-Child (Self) digunakan sebagai alat kajian. Manakala analisis regresi dan korelasi telah dikendalikan untuk menganalisis data. Keputusan kajian menunjukkan punca tekanan, reaksi tekanan dan pembawaan semula jadi tidak memberi kesan yang signifikan ke atas kesihatan mental juvana. Namun punca tekanan secara tunggal didapati menjadi peramal yang signifikan kepada kemurungan juvana dengan menyumbang sebanyak 14.6% daripada varian. Punca kekecewaan menyumbang sebanyak 18.1% daripada varian dalam meramal kemurungan. Reaksi emosi menyumbang sebanyak 10.6% kepada kesan anxieti dan insomnia. Punca tekanan dan pembawaan semula jadi pula menyumbang sebanyak 31% kepada reaksi emosi. Punca tekanan mempunyai korelasi positif yang sederhana dengan reaksi emosi (k = 0.55) dan mempunyai korelasi positif yang rendah dengan pembawaan semula jadi (k = 0.11) dan kesihatan mental (k = 0.23). Kesimpulannya punca tekanan memainkan peranan yang penting dalam mempengaruhi reaksi terhadap tekanan. Faktor pembawaan semula jadi tidak mempunyai pengaruh yang kuat dalam mempengaruhi reaksi tekanan dan kesihatan mental juvana. Faktor kekecewaan pula merupakan peramal yang signifikan kepada kemurungan.
Introduction: Emerging evidence has been explored to determine the factors affecting the development of infant circadian rhythm. While fetal programming happens during the pregnancy period, external environmental cues and infant nutritional programming can have substantial effects on the infant circadian rhythm. Understanding prenatal and postnatal factors determining infant circadian rhythm can improve future interventions in optimizing maternal and infant health. Methods: This is a prospective observational cohort study, targeting 216 pregnant women from government maternity clinics in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Pregnant women will be recruited at third trimester (baseline), and follow up at 3 months, and 6 months. A subsample will be collected for salivary cortisol analysis to determine circadian rhythm of the mother and infant at third trimester and 3 months. Data of eating misalignment, light exposure, chronotype, infant temperament, sleep quality, and mood will be collected via validated questionnaires. Anthropometric data and birth outcomes will be collected from antenatal and postnatal health records. Summary: Studies on infant circadian rhythm development have yet to be explored and established, hence this study presents a novel approach to identify the factors from prenatal to postnatal periods on infant circadian rhythm and its influence on growth and temperament. Findings from this study will provide insights in the critical timing which has larger effects on infant circadian rhythm development for future interventions to be conducted.
Recently, two forms of virtue-related humor, benevolent and corrective, have been introduced. Benevolent humor treats human weaknesses and wrongdoings benevolently, while corrective humor aims at correcting and bettering them. Twelve marker items for benevolent and corrective humor (the BenCor) were developed, and it was demonstrated that they fill the gap between humor as temperament and virtue. The present study investigates responses to the BenCor from 25 samples in 22 countries (overallN= 7,226). The psychometric properties of the BenCor were found to be sufficient in most of the samples, including internal consistency, unidimensionality, and factorial validity. Importantly, benevolent and corrective humor were clearly established as two positively related, yet distinct dimensions of virtue-related humor. Metric measurement invariance was supported across the 25 samples, and scalar invariance was supported across six age groups (from 18 to 50+ years) and across gender. Comparisons of samples within and between four countries (Malaysia, Switzerland, Turkey, and the UK) showed that the item profiles were more similar within than between countries, though some evidence for regional differences was also found. This study thus supported, for the first time, the suitability of the 12 marker items of benevolent and corrective humor in different countries, enabling a cumulative cross-cultural research and eventually applications of humor aiming at the good.
Intimate partner violence (IPV) during the first year postpartum is common in Bangladesh, and many infants are exposed to hostile and aggressive environment. The aim of the current study was to investigate how IPV (physical, emotional, and sexual) impacts on the mother's perception of her infant's temperament 6 to 8 months postpartum, and whether maternal depressive symptom at 6 to 8 months postpartum is a mediator in this association. A total of 656 rural Bangladeshi women and their children 6 to 8 months postpartum were included in this study. Data were collected by structured interviews. The women were asked about physical, sexual, and emotional IPV; depressive symptoms (Edinburgh Postnatal Depressive Symptoms [EPDS]); and their perception of infant temperament assessed by the Infant Characteristic Questionnaire (ICQ). Descriptive analyses were conducted for prevalence of IPV and maternal depressive symptoms. Mediation analysis was conducted with a series of linear regressions with types of IPV as independent variables, ICQ including its subscales as dependent variables and maternal depressive symptoms as potential mediator. All the analyses were adjusted for the woman's and her husband's ages and number of children of the couple. Nearly 90% of the mothers reported some kind of IPV at 6 to 8 months postpartum. All types of IPV were directly associated with the mother's perception of her infant as unadaptable. Maternal depressive symptom was a mediating factor between physical IPV and the ICQ subscales fussy-difficult and unpredictable. In addition, depressive symptoms mediated between sexual and emotional IPV, and the mother's perception of the infant as unpredictable. The results showed that IPV influenced how mothers perceived their infant's temperament. It is important that health care professionals at maternal and child health services enquire about IPV with possibilities to refer the family or the mother and infant for appropriate support.