Farah Malik

Parental Acceptance and Power/Prestige as Predictors of Psychological Adjustment Among Pakistani Adolescents:

This study dealt with the impact of paternal versus maternal acceptance on the psychological adjustment of adolescents in relation to parental power and prestige within the family in the Lahore region of Pakistan. The study drew from a sample of 91 adolescents (46% males) ages 13 through 17 years (M = 14.86). Measures used were the child version of the Parental Acceptance–Rejection Questionnaire (mother and father forms), the child version of the Personality Assessment Questionnaire, and the youth version of the Parental Power–Prestige Questionnaire. Results showed that perceived maternal and paternal acceptance were significantly correlated with adolescents’ psychological adjustment. However, neither power nor prestige was correlated with either maternal or paternal acceptance. Results of hierarchical regression analyses confirmed that adolescents’ perceptions of psychological adjustment were uniquely predicted by both maternal and paternal acceptance irrespective of either parent’s power or prestige within family.

Parental Power, Prestige, and Acceptance as Predictors of Young Adults’ Psychological Adjustment in Gilgit-Baltistan, Pakistan

One hundred four 18- through 36-year-old students (M = 22.6 years, 44% men) were recruited from Karakoram International University, Gilgit city, Pakistan. The adult version of the Parental Power–Prestige Questionnaire was administered to participants along with short forms of the adult Parental Acceptance–Rejection Questionnaire for mothers and for fathers, the adult version of the Personality Assessment Questionnaire and the Gender Inequality Scale. Results showed that perceived paternal and maternal acceptance were significantly correlated with the young adults’ psychological adjustment. Neither power nor prestige was significantly correlated with adjustment. Hierarchical regression analysis indicated that both perceived paternal and maternal acceptance independently predicted offspring’s psychological adjustment, while perceived parental power and prestige failed to predict their psychological adjustment. Perceived parental power and prestige were also evaluated as possible moderators in the relationship between paternal and maternal acceptance and psychological adjustment, but findings were not significant.

Duration of untreated psychosis in a high-income versus a low- and middle-income region.

Objective: Most data on duration of untreated psychosis (DUP) derives from high-income countries. An inverse relationship between DUP and income and a longer DUP in low- and middle-income (LAMI) countries has been reported. The aim of this study was to compare DUP in a high-income country with that in a LAMI country using the same methodology. Methods: The sample consisted of in- and outpatients, aged 15–35 years for the Vienna site and 18–35 years for the Pakistani sites, with first-episode psychosis (FEP). DUP was evaluated using psychiatric interviews, medical charts and the Nottingham Onset Schedule. Differentiated reporting of duration of untreated illness (DUI) from prodrome to start of treatment, and DUP from manifest psychotic symptoms to start of treatment was ensured. Primary outcome measures, DUI and DUP, were measured at a 0.025 level of significance. Results: Thirty-one FEP patients in Vienna (mean age 20.03 years, SD 4.2) and 60 FEP patients from the Pakistani sites (mean age 26.15 years, SD 5.29) participated. The mean age in Vienna was younger due to the different age range inclusion criteria. The severity of psychopathology was more pronounced in the Pakistani sample. Log DUP was significantly different between groups (i.e. longer in the Pakistani sample (p=0.001)). Log DUI showed a trend for longer duration in the Vienna sample; however, this did not reach statistical significance (p=0.036). The severity of positive psychotic symptoms was associated with length of DUI in both regions. Conclusion: The longer DUP in Pakistan confirms the need to provide affordable treatment for psychosis for young FEP patients in Pakistan and in other LAMI countries. The relatively long period from prodrome to treatment initiation in both regions underlines the need to further establish low-threshold early intervention strategies in order to increase detection rates and reduce factors limiting patients seeking treatment.