Epigenetic transmission of maternal behavior: Impact on the neurobiological system of healthy mothers

Quality of maternal caregiving not only impacts children's development but can also result in heritable changes in gene expression (i.e., in an epigenetic manner). Consequently, when women become mothers, they adopt parenting behavior similar to that they received at family of origin. This transgenerational transmission of maternal behavior may also be associated with changes in the neurobiological system of future mothers. This review aims to highlight the effect quality of perceived parenting has on maternal behavior and the neurobiological system of mothers, specifically the oxytocin system, brain morphology and brain function. This would likely help in finding biomarkers that profile the impact of perceived parenting on mothers, and thus allow identification of mothers who experience poor-quality parenting for intervention

Life events stress in ulcerative colitis: A case-control study

Background: Ulcerative colitis (UC) is significantly associated with life events stress. Aim: To investigate the relationship between ulcerative colitis, and life events stress. Methods: A prospective study of 30 patients with ulcerative colitis and 30 healthy controls. A semi-structured psychiatric interview and clinical mental state examination were used in the psychiatric assessment of the patients and controls. Psychiatric diagnoses were made according to ICD-10. A modified version of Life Events Scale by Tennant and Andrews was used in the assessment of life events stress. Results: Life events stress were significantly experienced by more patients than the controls. The total number of life events, the number of individual significant life events and the total number of unpleasant events were all significantly more in patients than the controls. Conclusions: In this study the association between the ulcerative colitis and life events stress is substantiated at all levels. However, further more extensive studies are needed to elucidate the nature of this relationship

JOB SATISFACTION AMONG THE ACADEMIC STAFF OF A SAUDI UNIVERSITY: AN EVALUATIVE STUDY

Background: Job satisfaction is a major determinant of job performance, manpower retention and employee well-being. Objectives: To explore the state of job satisfaction among the academic staff of King Faisal University - Dammam (KFU-D), and detect the areas and groups at a higher risk of being dissatisfied. Method: A fully-structured 5-option Likert-type Job Satisfaction Questionnaire (JSQ) composed of an evaluative item and eleven domains making a total of 46 items was used. It was distributed by internal mail to all the 340 academic staff, 248 of whom returned completed questionnaires (response rate = 72.9 %). Findings: The overall mean Job Satisfaction Rate (JSR) was 73.6 %. The highest JSR′s were found in three domains ("Supervision", "Responsibility", and "Interpersonal Relationships"), and the lowest in four others ("Salary", "My Work Itself", "Working Conditions", and "Advancement"). The JSR was significantly lower among Saudi nationals, females, those below age 40, those from clinical medical and Dentistry departments. Multiple Regression identified six independent variables which conjointly explained 25 % of the variance in job satisfaction (p < 0.0001). These were: being an expatriate, above the age of 50, serving the university for less than one or more than ten years, and, not from a clinical department of Medicine or Dentistry. Conclusions : Most staff were satisfied with many aspects of their jobs, but there was significant dissatisfaction with several job-related aspects and demographic features. Appropriate interventions are indicated. Further studies are needed to confirm the present findings and to monitor future trends

Effect of leadership support, work conditions and job security on job satisfaction in a medical college

Background: Faculty members are crucial elements of an educational institution, and their job satisfaction is likely essential for success of the educational process. Leadership support, work conditions and perceived job security could be factors affecting academic job satisfaction. Objective: The aim of the study was to investigate the effect of leadership support, work conditions and perceived job security on the overall academic job satisfaction of faculty. Materials and Methods: A cross-sectional survey, using a structured questionnaire, was conducted to determine the effect of leadership support, work conditions and perceived job security on academic job satisfaction among faculty and teaching staff at the College of Medicine, Imam Abdulrahman Bin Faisal University, Dammam, Saudi Arabia. Multiple regression analysis was performed to examine the significance of these relationships at 95% confidence interval and P < 0.05 level of significance. Results: Leadership support (β = 0.187, t = 2.714, P= 0.007), work conditions (β = 0.199, t = 2.628, P= 0.009) and perceived job security (β = 0.264, t = 3.369, P= 0.001) were found to be significantly associated with overall academic job satisfaction. Conclusion: The results of this study support the hypothesis that faculty and teaching staff working with supportive leaders and favorable work conditions as well as having an optimized sense of perceived job security demonstrate significantly higher levels of overall academic job satisfaction. These findings provide input for policymakers, and their implementation could enhance an institution's vitality and performance, and thus enable it to fulfill its goals