Lifetime trauma exposure and PTSD symptoms in relation to health-related behaviors and physiological measures among Malaysian adolescents.

Lifetime trauma exposure may result in serious consequences for mental health. It can lead to posttraumatic stress disorder diagnosis, and when traumatic experience occurs among adolescents, the consequences may affect their mental and physical health later in their adulthood. This is a cross-sectional research design aiming to determine the relationship between lifetime trauma experience with health-related behaviors and physiological measures among Malaysian adolescents. A total of 606 adolescents with mean age of 16.9 years (SD = 1.28) responded to the survey questionnaires. Their height, weight, blood pressure, and heart rate were measured. Adolescents with traumatic experiences were significantly more likely to engage in unhealthy behaviors such as drinking alcohol and smoking. Their physiological readings (i.e., heart rate) were significantly higher than those without traumatic experience. The significant relationship between trauma exposure, unhealthy behavior, and physical health are discussed in this articl

Lifetime Trauma, posttraumatic stress disorder Symptoms and Early Adolescence Risk Factors for Poor Physical Health Outcome Among Malaysian Adolescents.

Introduction: Individuals who experienced traumatic events were more susceptible to non-communicable diseases and adoption of health-harming behaviours. Clearer understanding of the relationship between trauma and PTSD on the risk trajectories of CVD, especially among adolescents are missing in the literature. Objective: This study investigated the associations of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) manifestation and early risk factors for cardiovascular physiological measures, i.e., high blood pressure and heart rate among adolescence. Methods: A total number of 606 adolescents aged 14-19 years old (M=16.9, SD = 1.28) to participate in the present study. Their blood pressure, heart rate and body mass index (BMI) were measured. They were asked to rate their possible trauma experiences and PTSD symptoms via questionnaires. Results: Results showed that PTSD symptoms had a significant effect on blood pressure and heart rate reading. Total PTSD scores and only specific trauma types were significant predictors for the blood pressure and heart rate changes among adolescence. Conclusion: It is concluded that risk factors related to reported associations between trauma, PTSD symptoms, and physiological outcomes among adults might be able t

Lifetime Trauma Exposure and PTSD Symptoms in relation to Health-related Behaviors and Physiological Measures among Malaysian Adolescents

Lifetime trauma exposure may result in serious consequences for mental health. It can lead to Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) diagnosis, and when traumatic experience occurs among adolescents the consequences may affect their mental and physical health later in their adulthood. This is a cross-sectional research design aiming to determine the relationship between lifetime trauma experience with healthrelated behaviors and physiological measures among Malaysian adolescents. Sixhundred and six adolescents with mean age of 16.9 years (SD=1.28) responded to the survey questionnaires. Their height, weight, blood pressure and heart rate were measured. Adolescents with traumatic experiences were significantly more likely to engage in unhealthy behaviors such as drinking alcohol and smoking. Their physiological readings (i.e., heart rate) were significantly higher than those without traumatic experience. The significant relationship between trauma exposure,unhealthy behavior and physical health are discussed in this paper

Coping style and defence mechanisms among traumatized and non-traumatized adolescents in Malaysia

ABSTRACT Background: Coping and psychological defence skills are frequently used when individuals experience trauma, stress, and anxiety. Objective: To examine the roles of Coping and psychological defence skills in traumatized adolescents exhibiting post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms. Methods: A sample of 1016 adolescents aged 12 to 17 answered the Coping Style Questionnaire-3, Defence Style Question - naire-40, Traumatic Event Checklist, Harvard Trauma Questionnaire and a socio-demographic questionnaire. Results: Results showed that traumatized adolescents significantly used all coping styles: emotional focused, avoidance, ra - tional, and detached. Similarly, adolescents with PTSD symptoms significantly used all the coping styles than those without PTSD symptoms: emotional focused, avoidance, rational and detached. Traumatized adolescents significantly used immature style, mature style than non-traumatized adolescents. Similarly, adolescents with PTSD symptoms significantly used immature defence style, mature style and neurotic style. Conclusion: Traumatized adolescents demonstrate a greater use of avoidance coping style, whereas non-traumatized adolescents tends to use rational coping strategies

Reliability, Concurrent Validity, and Cutoff Score of PTSD Checklist (PCL-5) for the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fifth Edition Among Malaysian Adolescents

Several changes have been made to the diagnostic criteria for posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in the fifth edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders. The present study attempts to establish the validity and reliability of the new PTSD Checklist for the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fifth Edition (PCL-5). A group of 597 Malaysian adolescents (Mage 16.9, SD 1.30) completed the PCL-5, Harvard Trauma Questionnaire, and Patient Health Questionnaire for depression (PHQ-9). The results showed the PCL-5 has good internal consistency ( .91), test–retest reliability (r .61), and concurrent, convergent, and discriminant validity with the Harvard Trauma Questionnaire (r .69) and the Patient Health Questionnaire for depression (r .56). Results from the receiver operating characteristic curve and kappa coefficient analysis suggest that a PCL-5 cutoff score of 33 is feasible for use among Malaysian adolescents with 72% sensitivity and 92% specificity. Thus, the PCL-5 appears psychometrically sound, and a cutoff of 33 is recommended for PTSD screening among the Malaysian adolescent population

Alternative models of DSM-5 PTSD: Examining diagnostic implications

The factor structure of DSM-5 posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) has been extensively debated with evidence supporting the recently proposed seven-factor Hybrid model. However, despite myriad studies examining PTSD symptom structure few have assessed the diagnostic implications of these proposed models. This study aimed to generate PTSD prevalence estimates derived from the 7 alternative factor models and assess whether pre-established risk factors associated with PTSD (e.g., transportation accidents and sexual victimisation) produce consistent risk estimates. Seven alternative models were estimated within a confirmatory factor analytic framework using the PTSD Checklist for DSM-5 (PCL-5). Data were analysed from a Malaysian adolescent community sample (n = 481) of which 61.7% were female, with a mean age of 17.03 years. The results indicated that all models provided satisfactory model fit with statistical superiority for the Externalising Behaviours and seven-factor Hybrid models. The PTSD prevalence estimates varied substantially ranging from 21.8% for the DSM-5 model to 10.0% for the Hybrid model. Estimates of risk associated with PTSD were inconsistent across the alternative models, with substantial variation emerging for sexual victimisation. These findings have important implications for research and practice and highlight that more research attention is needed to examine the diagnostic implications emerging from the alternative models of PTSD. © 2017 Elsevier B.V

Perspective on Marriage Among Young Chinese Women in Malaysia

Aims: This paper is based on the subjective views of young Chinese women in Malaysia. The percentage of 30 to 34-year-olds who had never been married doubled, rising from 6% to 12% for women and from 12% to 25% for men over three decades from the 1970s to the 2000s. The aim of this survey is to shed light on young Chinese Malaysian ladies’ perspectives and challenges related to marriage. Methods: Forty participants between the age of 25 to 40 participated in this study using a selective sampling and snowball method. The data was collected using an online questionnaire consisting of both qualitative and quantitative elements. Results: The findings demonstrated that 61% of participants felt it is not necessary to get married at a specific age. Most of them believed that marriage is an option in life and it does not symbolize the completeness of self. Among the more common reasons for getting married are companionship, the formation of a family that symbolized the continuity of a family line, and practical benefits such as legal protection and financial support. Contrary to most western studies in which love is a major factor in facilitating their decision to get married, Malaysian Chinese ladies cited companionship being a crucial reason. Most women hesitated to commit to a marriage mainly because of fear and failed to find a partner that meets their expectations (the right person). The fears include fear of uncertainties, fear of bad outcomes (a preference for monogamy), fear of unmet family expectations, and fear of commitment to potential unhealthy family dynamics especially those with previous traumatic experiences from original or other known families. They preferred to avoid involving in such vicious cycles, e.g., the strained relationship between two families or extended families. Having limited social circles and perceiving that marriage is not the top priority in present life had hindered the ladies from actively seeking a life partner for marriage. Participants also suggested ways to improve their situation if they were to get engaged in marriage. One of the possible practicable steps is to expand their social circle. This could be done by attending some love matching activities or with the use of social apps. An increase in personal willingness and readiness to grab the opportunity, and practice more self-love and self-care are other important steps. Approximately 12% of them were clueless about how to involve themselves in a relationship in the future. Discussion and Suggestions: Marriage is perceived as a not-the-only option and is obligatory for young Malaysian Chinese ladies in the age range of 30s. The authors opined that young Malaysian Chinese ladies are more concerned about quality of living rather than marriage, and preferred to be self-dependent, mainly due to the exponential growth of the economic and educational system, in addition to the advocacy for the women rights in recent years. This is contrary to the traditional Chinese culture of male superiority. The current study only allows us to have an overview of the group’s perspective and an in-depth interview shall be conducted for further understanding

Pulsed laser deposition of nanostructured indium-tin-oxide films

Effects of O2, N2, Ar and He on the formation of micro- and nanostructured indium tin oxide (ITO) thin films were investigated in pulsed Nd:YAG laser deposition on glass substrate. For O2 and Ar, ITO resistivity of ≤ 4 × 10-4 Ωcm and optical transmittance of \u3e 90% were obtained with substrate temperature of 250 °C. For N2 and He, low ITO resisitivity could be obtained but with poor optical transmittance. SEM images show nano-structured ITO thin films for all gases, where dense, larger and highly oriented, microcrystalline structures were obtained for deposition in O2 and He, as revealed from the XRD lines. EDX results indicated the inclusion of Ar and N2 at the expense of reduced tin (Sn) content. When the ITO films were applied for fabrication of organic light emitting devices (OLED), only those deposited in Ar and O2 produced comparable performance to single-layer OLED fabricated on the commercial ITO. © 2010 SPIE