Interparental differences in attitudes to cultural changes in Kuwait

Interparental conflict is an example of interpersonal disagreements that arise between those who adhere to the traditions of the indigenous Arab culture and those who accept the more liberal attitudes conveyed by the imported Western culture. Interparental attitude conflict over family relationships, methods of marriage and emancipation of women is positively associated with Kuwaiti nationality, urban residence and greater interparental age difference. It is the degree of conflict in attitudes rather than liberal attitudes as such that is associated with an excess of reported psychiatric symptoms

Inter-generational conflict and psychiatric symptoms

Secondary school pupils and their parents were investigated using the scaled version of the General Health Questionnaire (GHQ–28) and by a questionnaire designed to study attitudes involved in inter-generational conflict in psychiatric patients. Parent-pupil and interparental conflict in answers to the attitude questionnaires were taken as measures of inter-generational and intra-generational conflicts respectively. The former significantly exceeded the latter. Parent-student conflict was higher when the students involved were females, Kuwaiti, or had less educated fathers. The tendency of the number of reported GHQ symptoms to be higher in members of families with higher inter-generational conflict did not reach statistical significance. There is an apparent discrepancy between this finding and the prominence of inter-generational conflict in clinical material

Burnout among surgeons before and during the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic: an international survey

Background: SARS-CoV-2 pandemic has had many significant impacts within the surgical realm, and surgeons have been obligated to reconsider almost every aspect of daily clinical practice. Methods: This is a cross-sectional study reported in compliance with the CHERRIES guidelines and conducted through an online platform from June 14th to July 15th, 2020. The primary outcome was the burden of burnout during the pandemic indicated by the validated Shirom-Melamed Burnout Measure. Results: Nine hundred fifty-four surgeons completed the survey. The median length of practice was 10 years; 78.2% included were male with a median age of 37 years old, 39.5% were consultants, 68.9% were general surgeons, and 55.7% were affiliated with an academic institution. Overall, there was a significant increase in the mean burnout score during the pandemic; longer years of practice and older age were significantly associated with less burnout. There were significant reductions in the median number of outpatient visits, operated cases, on-call hours, emergency visits, and research work, so, 48.2% of respondents felt that the training resources were insufficient. The majority (81.3%) of respondents reported that their hospitals were included in the management of COVID-19, 66.5% felt their roles had been minimized; 41% were asked to assist in non-surgical medical practices, and 37.6% of respondents were included in COVID-19 management. Conclusions: There was a significant burnout among trainees. Almost all aspects of clinical and research activities were affected with a significant reduction in the volume of research, outpatient clinic visits, surgical procedures, on-call hours, and emergency cases hindering the training. Trial registration: The study was registered on clicaltrials.gov "NCT04433286" on 16/06/2020

Lay explanations of symptoms of mental ill health in Kuwait

The cognitive schemas of 208 subjects were elicited in relation to 12 hypothetical symptoms which are most commonly presented by patients suffering from psychiatric disorder. Three types of explaining schemas were recognised as physical, psychosocial and supernatural explanations. Somatic symptoms tended to have physical explanations and emotional symptoms tended to have psychoso cial explanations although both are known in clinical practice to indicate psychiatric disorder and to disappear together when the disorder recovers. Supernatural explanations were most likely in elderly males and in extended families. Symptoms associated with supernatural cognitive schemas fit in with the cultural background and not with the level of modern education achieved

Marriage and Fertility Rates of Schizophrenic Patients in Kuwait

Forty-nine schizophrenic inpatients and outpatients were compared to 53 patients with affective disorders and to the general population for marriage and fertility rates. Schizophrenic patients showed significantly lower rates of marriage, confirming similar findings in other studies. However, their rates of marital fertility exceeded that of the general population. This is attributed to the increase in community care, short-term hospitalizations and the arranged marriages prevalent in Arab communities. A significant association was found between celibacy in schizophrenics and schizoid premorbid characteristics, affective blunting, and early age of disease onset. Family history, lower educational status, lower occupational status and abortion rate had no significant relationship to the fertility of schizophrenics

Illness behaviour in mental ill-health in Kuwait

Two hundred and eight individuals were interviewed in order to study the behaviour they adopt in relation to the most common somatic and emotional symptoms of mental ill-health. Illness behaviour included ignoring, brooding, self-help and consultation of others. Older individuals tended more frequently to resort to meditation, native healers and doctors. Males consulted doctors more than females. Brooding was more frequent in well educated subjects. A group of married expatriates who left their wives in their original countries were the most likely to consult doctors. Education and marital status were the most predictive of brooding and self-help behaviour. Self-help was the most commonly adopted illness behaviour. The results are explained in terms of the social and cultural background of the individuals studied because this influences their methods of expressing distress and their action in relation to symptoms