Nor Ba’yah Abdul Kadir

Malaysian Moslem Mothers’ Experience of Depression and Service Use

Standard psychiatric criteria for depression developed in the United States and United Kingdom are increasingly used worldwide to establish the prevalence of clinical disorders and to help develop services. However, these approaches are rarely sensitive to local and cultural expressions of symptoms or beliefs about treatment. Mismatch between diagnostic criteria and local understanding may result in underreporting of depression and underutilization of services. Little such research has been conducted in Malaysia, despite the acknowledged high rate of depression and low access to services. This study examines depression in Moslem Malay women living in Johor Bahru, Southern Peninsular Malaysia, to explore depression symptoms using the Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-IV. The 61 women interviewed were selected on the basis of high General Health Questionnaire scores from a large questionnaire survey of 1,002 mothers. The illustrative analysis looks at descriptions of depressed mood, self-depreciation and suicidal ideation, as well as attitudes toward service use. The women gave full and open descriptions of their emotional symptoms, easily recognizable by standard symptom categories, although somatic symptoms were commonly included, and the spiritual context to understanding depression was also prevalent. However, few women had knowledge about treatment or sought medical services, although some sought help from local spiritual healers. Attending to such views of depression can help develop services in Malaysia.

Vulnerability, life events and depression amongst Moslem Malaysian women: comparing those married and those divorced or separated

IntroductionThe experiences of married and single mothers were compared in an investigation of psychosocial vulnerability, stress and depression in a community-based study of Moslem mothers in Malaysia. For the first time, a model of vulnerability-provoking agent originally developed by Brown et al. in the UK was tested in a Malaysian context.MethodsA cross-sectional study was carried out in the district of Johor Bahru, Malaysia. Of the 1,200 women approached from membership of community associations, 1,002 (84%) completed the questionnaires. Severe life events Recent Life Events Questionnaire (Brugha and Cragg in Acta Psychiatr Scand 82:77–81, 1990) and psychosocial vulnerability (VDQ) (Moran et al. in Br J Clin Psychol 40:411–427, 2001) were used to measure vulnerability factors. Depression was measured by the General Health Questionnaire (GHQ-30) (Havenaar et al. in Soc Psychiatry Psychiatr Epidemiol 43:209–215, 2008).ResultsSingle mothers had significantly higher rates of depression than those married (60.5 vs. 39.5%), as well as higher rates of severe life events and Negative Elements in Close Relationships (lack of support and conflict with children). However, married mothers had greater Negative Evaluation of Self. The two vulnerability factors were correlated to each other and to severe life events and social adversity. Logistic regression showed an interaction between severe life events in the material and relationship domains and joint vulnerability for depression outcome. The results are discussed in relation to the low recognition of psychosocial risks for depression in single mothers in Malaysia, as well as lack of appropriate services.

Internal assets as predictors for positive emotions among at-risk youth in Malaysia

This study aims to examine internal assets as predictors for positive emotions among at-risk youth in Malaysia. A set of questions was sent out to 1149 youth who were drawn from low-income apartments in the suburbs of Kuala Lumpur. Of the 1149 participants approached, only 403 participants met the inclusion criteria and completed the questionnaires. Multiple regression analysis suggested that school engagement, self-esteem, interpersonal competence and motivation were significantly predicted positive emotions. The findings suggest that at least four predictors of internal assets are required to produce positive emotions.

Preliminary data on abuse during childhood among female university students

This study investigated the childhood experiences of physical and sexual abuse in relation to the risk of adult depression among female university students. The objectives of the study were to determine the prevalence of abusive experiences in childhood, to examine if childhood physical and sexual abuse, parental antipathy and neglect correlated to depression, and to determine the risk factors of depression in this population. A translated childhood experience of care and abuse questionnaire (CECA-Q) was randomly distributed to the students. The results showed that the reliability of the CECA-Q was good and stable. The prevalent rate of childhood physical abuse in this population was 19% and childhood sexual abuse was 5%. Childhood physical abuse by the mother was a significant risk factor in contributing to depression. The study provides evidence of a correlation between childhood abuse and depression among female university students.

A Study on Attachment Orientations of Married Couples Living in the Suburbs of Kuala Lumpur and Rural Areas of Kota Bahru, Kelantan, Malaysia

This study investigated the attachment orientations among married couples living in the suburbs of Kuala Lumpur and rural areas of Kota Bahru, Kelantan, Malaysia. The door-to-door approach was used to collect the data. The Experience in Close Relationship–Revised version and the Experiences in Close Relationship–Relationship Structures were used to measure attachment orientations. The results showed that husbands scored higher in anxiety and lower in avoidance than their wives. The participants from Kuala Lumpur reported more anxiety and more avoidance for the partner domain but less avoidance for the best friend domain. The implications of the study as well as the need for understanding attachment orientations for married couples are discussed.

Exploring disorganized attachment style among Malay mothers in Malaysia: A study using the Attachment Style Interview

ABSTRACT This article explores emerging themes involving disorganized attachment style among Malay Muslim mothers using the Attachment Style Interview (ASI). Analysis of the 18 mothers with disorganized attachment style (those with combined anxious and avoidant styles) utilized themes deemed important from the attachment research literature and selected based on a careful reading of the narrative cases. These include more extreme negative interpersonal experiences than found in other insecure attachment style descriptors, and included partner violence and related isolation/social exclusion. It also indicated more complex cognitive-affective disturbance including mixed or contradictory dependency patterns and both angry and fearful attitudes to others. We discuss the concept of disorganized attachment style in relation to abuse, social exclusion, and its implication for psychopathology, intervention, and treatment.