The Impact of Spousal Migration on the Mental Health of Nepali Women: A Cross-Sectional Study

Childhood abuse as a mediator of the relationship between early family socio-economic status and geriatric depression: A population-based study in China

Previous studies have suggested that childhood socioeconomic status (SES) is linked to geriatric depressive symptoms in many developed countries. However, the potential pathways of the relationship between childhood SES and geriatric depressive symptoms need to be further explored. This study aimed to assess the mediating effect of being abused during childhood on the association between childhood SES and geriatric depressive symptoms, using evidence from a longitudinal study in China. The study cohort included 8137 individuals. Childhood abuse was defined as experiences related to parental violence, sibling abuse, school violence, community violence, and parental quarrel. Results indicated poor childhood SES was associated significantly with geriatric depressive symptoms. The indirect effect of poor childhood SES to high geriatric depressive risk through community violence, sibling abuse, school violence, and parental quarrel were 0.02, 0.01, 0.02, and 0.01, respectively. Our findings shed new light on the literature regarding the impact of childhood SES on elderly depressive symptoms. Furthermore, childhood SES demonstrated a significant correlation with geriatric depressive symptoms through bullying behaviors. The findings highlight the need to promote both childhood social welfare and psychological well-being within the elderly population.

Communications Through Contemporary Tools of Information and Communication Technology: Cross-sectional Study Evaluating Health Among Separated Family Members

Background

The number of single-living workers separated from their spouses and families has been increasing due to the need to create a balance between life and work. Workers are assigned everywhere in globalized workplaces while also caring for their family members in the context of Japan’s aging society. At the same time, the mental and health status of persons living separately from their families is a matter of concern. The development of interpersonal communication means using information and communications technology (ICT) tools and the internet is remarkable, enabling simultaneous 2-way communication across distances and national borders. The easy accessibility to simultaneous communication is expected to improve the psychosocial status of isolated family members.

Objective

This study aims to clarify the health benefits of ICT by using a psychosocial health assessment, the characteristics of ICT tools, and the frequency of communication among the workers and their families who live separately.

Methods

This was a cross-sectional study planned and conducted in Japan. Study participants, including adults who live separately from other family members or have separately living family members due to work, were recruited to answer a web response survey about ICT usage status, health status, and life and society evaluation. This study recruited 73 participants divided into 2 groups by their communication tools and frequencies, and their separated life, health, and psychosocial status were statistically compared.

Results

Among the 73 study participants, 15 were categorized in the high communication–skilled (HCS) group that used both types of ICT tools to communicate frequently: “live,” such as video chat and voice call, and “nonlive,” such as SMS text message service and email. A simple comparison between the HCS and reference groups showed significant differences in the cohesion with the neighborhood (P=.03), perceived social position (P=.01), and happiness (P<.001); however, there were no significant differences in the health (psychological distress, P=.08; self-rated health, P=.07), lifestyle (drinking, P>.99; current smoking, P=.37), and dyadic trust in family members living separately (P=.80). Further, in a multivariate regression analysis adjusted for confounding factors, such as educational history, age, gender, and job status, poor subjective health showed a prevalence odds ratio of less than 1 (OR 0.17, 95% CI 0.03-1.02). The HCS group showed significant positive relationships in the cohesion score with the neighborhood (P=.01; β=2.40, 95% CI 0.56-4.24), perceived social position (P=.03; β=1.17, 95% CI 0.11-2.23), and happiness score (P=.002; β=1.46, 95% CI 0.58-2.34) in the same multivariate regression models.

Conclusions

This study suggested that people who frequently communicate with separated family members by taking advantage of various ICT tools can maintain a better mental state and better social relations among those who live alone and are separated from their families.

Migration and the Health of Non-migrant Family: Findings from the Jamaica Return(ed) Migrants Study

Research on the association between migration and health among nonmigrant family in Jamaica is limited. Data from the 2012 Jamaica Return(ed) Migrants Study (N = 621) and weighted regression models were used to investigate the association between migration and health among left-behind women (n = 323) and men (n = 298) in Jamaica. Compared to women whose children lived in Jamaica, women who had a child abroad reported lower odds of good mental health (OR = 0.46, 95% CI 0.21, 0.97). Men in this situation were less satisfied with their lives (b = - 2.370, p = 0.031). Women reported better physical (b = - 2.113, p = 0.010) and mental (b = - 3.119, p = 0.039) health scores when a parent, but not a grandparent, lived abroad. Men with a migrant spouse/partner reported significantly more physical illness symptoms than men whose spouse/partner lived in Jamaica (b = 3.215, p = 0.013). Migration exerts disparate health impacts on left-behind family and may disrupt social relationships.