Iranian Adolescent Girls\u27 Perceptions of Premarital Sexual Relationships: A Qualitative Study

Sexual perception refers to the attitudes, expectations, beliefs, and values associated with sexual behaviors. Adolescents’ sexual behaviors is affected by the knowledge, attitudes, values, beliefs, and social norms in their society. In this respect, the sexual perception of adolescents can be studied from a cultural perspective. The present study was designed to identify factors affecting Iranian adolescent girls’ perceptions of premarital sexual relationships. A qualitative study was conducted using a conventional content analysis approach. Data was collected using in-depth unstructured interviews with 18 adolescents recruited through purposive sampling. Data analysis resulted in the development of a primary main theme, meaning and value of sexual self-care, and three main categories: significant others, sexual norms, and attitudes, and perceived risks. Overall, findings of the present study revealed that the sexual perceptions of Iranian adolescent girls motivated them to abstain from premarital sexual relationships. However, apart from the perceived double standards involved in social norms and attitudes identified in the study, the presence of a conflict caused by their families, schools, and peers necessitated the importance of establishing and consolidating parent-adolescent communication about sexual issues. Findings of this study point to the need for appropriate sexual education for adolescents and parents to promote adolescent sexual literacy and health

Health-Promoting Lifestyle: A Considerable Contributing Factor to Quality of Life in Patients With Hypertension

Abstract: Aim: Investigating the relationship between health promoting behaviors and quality of life in patients with hypertension. Methods: In this cross-sectional study, health-promoting behaviors and quality of life in patients with hypertension were assessed in a cardiology clinic of a university hospital in an urban area of Iran. The sample consisted of 93 patients with hypertension who were recruited using a convenience sampling method. Demographic data, Health Promoting Lifestyle Behaviors Profile (HPLP II) and World Health Organization Quality of Life–BREF (WHOQOL-BREF) questionnaires were used to gather data. Data were analyzed using SPSS software version 21. Results: The mean score of health promoting behaviors was moderate (2.51 ± 0.47) with highest and lowest scores in nutritional (2.80 ± 0.52) and physical activity (1.78 ± 0.62) dimension, respectively. There was a statistically significant relationship between health-promoting behaviors and quality of life. The relationship between health-promoting behaviors and quality of life had the highest power in psychological health dimension (β = 5.353, P < .001) and lowest power in the environmental dimension (β = 0.365, P < .001). Conclusion: Improving quality of life of patients requires paying attention to educational interventions for creating changes in the lifestyle to improve all aspects of quality of life

Spouse’s social support in the postpartum period, predictors and its relationship with postpartum depression in a sample of Iranian primiparous women

Objective To investigate the predictive factors of receiving spousal support in the postpartum period and its relationship with postpartum depression (PPD). Methods This cross-sectional study was conducted between January and May 2019 in 250 primiparous women to determine the predictors of spousal social support in the postpartum period. Three scales were used to collect data: The Demographic and Obstetric Checklist, the Postpartum Partner Support Scale, and the Edinburgh Postpartum Depression Scale. Results Multivariate regression showed that the employment status of the spouse and life satisfaction variables were predictive of whether social support was received from a spouse in the postpartum period. In total, the variables examined in this model explained 19% of the variance for a mother receiving spousal social support in the postpartum period. PPD and spousal social support had a moderately inverse and significant correlation (β = –0.39). Conclusion Life satisfaction and employment of the spouse are important predictive variables for receiving social support of the spouse in the postpartum period. There is also a significant inverse relationship between PPD and spousal social support

Estimation of sleep problems among pregnant women during COVID-19 pandemic: a systematic review and meta-analysis

Objective To estimate the sleep problems among pregnant women during the COVID-19 pandemic. Eligibility criteria English, peer-reviewed, observational studies published between December 2019 and July 2021 which assessed and reported sleep problem prevalence using a valid and reliable measure were included. Information sources Scopus, Medline/PubMed Central, ProQuest, ISI Web of Knowledge and Embase. Risk of bias assessment tool The Newcastle-Ottawa Scale checklist. Synthesis of results Prevalence of sleep problems was synthesised using STATA software V.14 using a random effects model. To assess moderator analysis, meta-regression was carried out. Funnel plot and Egger’s test were used to assess publication bias. Meta-trim was used to correct probable publication bias. The jackknife method was used for sensitivity analysis. Included studies A total of seven cross-sectional studies with 2808 participants from four countries were included. Synthesis of results The pooled estimated prevalence of sleep problems was 56% (95% CI 23% to 88%, I2=99.81%, Tau2=0.19). Due to the probability of publication bias, the fill-and- trim method was used to correct the estimated pooled measure, which imputed four studies. The corrected results based on this method showed that pooled prevalence of sleep problems was 13% (95% CI 0% to 45%; p<0.001). Based on meta-regression, age was the only significant predictor of prevalence of sleep problems among pregnant women. Limitations of evidence All studies were cross-sectional absence of assessment of sleep problems prior to COVID-19, and the outcomes of the pregnancies among those with and without sleep problems in a consistent manner are among the limitation of the current review. Interpretation Pregnant women have experienced significant declines in sleep quality when faced with the COVID-19 pandemic. The short-term and long-term implications of such alterations in sleep on gestational and offspring outcomes are unclear and warrant further studies. PROSPERO registration number CRD42020181644

Communal coping and its association with marital relations and psychological outcomes among healthcare professionals during the COVID-19 pandemic

Background: Communal coping is a type of interdependency in which couples dealing with a health threat share assessment of a threat and respond together to the stress. The present study investigated communal coping in the COVID-19 pandemic and its association with psychological and relational outcomes among healthcare professionals. Methods: In the present cross-sectional survey study, 242 healthcare professionals from hospitals and health centers were recruited via convenience sampling between August and October 2020. Communal coping with working conditions during the COVID-19 pandemic, dyadic adjustment, psychological distress, and fear of COVID-19 along with demographic and professional characteristics were assessed via an online survey. Results: Multivariable linear regression showed that dyadic adjustment (b = 0.73), psychological distress (b = 0.16), fear of COVID-19 (b = 0.11), and support gap (b

Predictors of breastfeeding self-efficacy during the covid-19 pandemic

Background: Breastfeeding self-efficacy (BSE) is a strong predictor of the duration of breastfeeding. The aim of this study is to determine the predictors of BSE in breastfeeding mothers during the Covid-19 pandemic. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted with 300 breastfeeding mothers who breastfed during the Covid- 19 pandemic. Convenience sampling was used to recruit participants. A battery of online questionnaires measured sociodemographic and obstetric characteristics, breastfeeding self-efficacy, spouse postpartum social support, perceived social support, anxiety and depression, and fear of Covid-19. Data were analyzed using Pearson correlation coefficients, one-way ANOVA, and multivariable linear regression via stepwise method. The significance level in this study was α = 0.05. Results: The mean BSE score among participants was 58.19 ± 10.48 (out of 70). Spouse postpartum social support (β = 0.732, p = 0.04), intention to breastfeed (β = 0.17, p = 0.001), use of formula while breastfeeding (β

The Fear of COVID-19 Scale: A meta-Analytic structural equation modeling approach

The widespread administration and multiple validations of the Fear of Covid-19 Scale (FCV-19S) in different languages have highlighted the controversy over its underlying structure and the resulting reliability index. In the present study, a meta-analysis based on structural equation modeling (MASEM) was conducted to assess the internal structure of the 7-item, 5-point Likert-type FCV-19S version, estimate an overall reliability index from the underlying model that best reflected the internal structure (one τ-equivalent factor, one congeneric factor, or two-factor models), and perform moderator analyses for the model-implied inter item correlations and estimated factor loadings. A Pearson inter-item correlation matrix was obtained for 48 independent studies, from which a pooled matrix was calculated following a random-effects multivariate meta-analysis. The results from the one-stage MASEM analysis showed that the two-factor model properly fitted the pooled matrix, while the τ-equivalent and congeneric one-factor models did not. Even though, the use of a bifactor model exhibited the predominance of the general factor over the domain-specific ones. High omega coefficients were obtained for the entire scale (.91) and the psychological (.83) and physiological (.83) symptoms subscales. Moderator analyses evidenced an increase in the estimated factor loadings, as well as in the reliability of the FCV-19S, when the standard deviation of the total scores increased and when the FCV-19S was administered to specific (vs. general) populations. The FCV-19S can be therefore considered as a highly related two-factor scale whose reliability makes it suitable for applied and research purposes.2022-2

Social media addiction and sexual dysfunction among Iranian women: the mediating role of intimacy and social support

Background and aims: Social media use has become increasingly popular among Internet users. Given the widespread use of social media on smartphones, there is an increasing need for research examining the impact of the use of such technologies on sexual relationships and their constructs such as intimacy, satisfaction, and sexual function. However, little is known about the underlying mechanism why social media addiction impacts on sexual distress. This study investigated whether two constructs (intimacy and perceived social support) were mediators in the association of social media addiction and sexual distress among married women. Methods: A prospective study was conducted where all participants (N = 938; mean age = 36.5 years) completed the Bergen Social Media Addiction Scale to assess social media addiction, the Female Sexual Distress Scale – Revised to assess sexual distress, the Unidimensional Relationship Closeness Scale to assess intimacy, and the Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support to assess perceived social support. Results: The results showed that social media addiction had direct and indirect (via intimacy and perceived social support) effects on sexual function and sexual distress. Discussion and conclusions: The findings of this study facilitate a better understanding of how problematic engaging to social media can affect couples’ intimacy, perceived social support, and constructs of sexual function. Consequently, sexual counseling should be considered an essential element for assessing individual behaviors in the context of social media use