Assessment of the Perceived Importance of Religion in Couple Relationships in Christians, Muslims, Buddhists, and the Nonreligious.

Couple relationship standards (beliefs about what makes for a satisfying couple relationship) have not included standards held about religion, which is surprising given how important religion is in many parts of the world. In the current study, we developed the Importance of Religion in Couple Relationships Scale (IRCRS) with the aim of having a scale suitable for use across different cultural and religious groups. The IRCRS was administered to three samples: 354 Pakistani residents (178 females, 176 males) who identified as Muslim; 274 Thai residents (157 females, 117 males) who identified as Buddhist; and 165 Westerners (resident in Australia or the United States, 60 males, 105 females) who identified as either not religious (n = 74) or Christian (n = 91). We developed a 13-item measure with a two level structure yielding an overall importance of religion score. The items in the IRCRS had acceptable cross-cultural structural invariance in a multi-group confirmatory factor analysis of the Pakistani Muslims, Thai Buddhists, and Westerners. Pakistani Muslims endorsed IRCRS standards most strongly, Western Christians next most strongly, Thai Buddhists next, and Westerners with no religion least strongly. There were no gender differences, and only very small differences by relationship status. The IRCRS can be used in future research to investigate the association of religious relationship standards with couple relationship satisfaction and might be a useful clinical tool to assess the importance of religion to couples.

Los estándares de las relaciones de pareja (las creencias acerca de lo que conduce a una relación de pareja satisfactoria) no han incluido los estándares relacionados con la religión, lo cual es sorprendente teniendo en cuenta cuán importante es la religión en muchas partes del mundo. En el presente estudio desarrollamos la Escala de la Importancia de la Religión en las Relaciones de Pareja (IRCRS, por sus siglas en inglés) con el objetivo de tener una escala apta para el uso en diferentes grupos religiosos y culturales. Se administró la IRCRS a tres muestras: 354 residentes pakistaníes (178 mujeres, 176 hombres) que se identificaron como musulmanes; 274 residentes tailandeses (157 mujeres, 117 hombres) que se identificaron como budistas; y 165 occidentales (residentes en Australia o en EE. UU., 60 hombres, 105 mujeres) que se identificaron como irreligiosos (n = 74) o como cristianos (n = 91). Desarrollamos una escala de 13 ítems con una estructura de dos niveles que da un puntaje de la importancia general de la religión. Los ítems de la IRCRS tuvieron una invarianza estructural intercultural aceptable en un análisis factorial confirmatorio multigrupo de los musulmanes pakistaníes, los budistas tailandeses y los occidentales. Los musulmanes pakistaníes confirmaron los estándares de la IRCRS más marcadamente, luego le siguieron los cristianos occidentales, los budistas tailandeses y finalmente los occidentales irreligiosos. No hubo diferencias de género y solo muy pequeñas diferencias según el estado civil. La IRCRS puede utilizarse en investigaciones futuras para averiguar la asociación de los estándares religiosos de las relaciones con la satisfacción con la relación de pareja, y podría ser una herramienta clínica útil para evaluar la importancia de la religión para las parejas.

Role of HbA1c in diagnosis of gestational diabetes mellitus.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate glycated haemoglobin as a biomarker for diagnosing gestational diabetes mellitus while keeping the oral glucose tolerance test as the gold standard. METHODS: The cross-sectional study was conducted from Januray, 2016, to January, 2018, at PNS Hafeez Hospital, Islamabad, Pakistan and comprised of pregnant subjects who were first subjected to 2-hour oral glucose tolerance test along with the first evaluation of glycated haemoglobin. Clinical evaluation, including history and measurements of anthropometric indices and blood pressure, were also done. On the basis of the results, the subjects were grouped as those having gestational diabetes mellitus (group A) and those without it (group B). Data was analysed using SPSS 15. RESULTS: Of the 280 subjects, gestational diabetes mellitus was found in 50(17.85%). Differences in glycated haemoglobin between the groups was significant (p<0.002). Glycated haemoglobin test provided sensitivity of 70% and specificity of 84.78%. CONCLUSIONS: With due adjustments, glycated haemoglobin testing can help in reducing the frequency of oral glucose tolerance test.

"Our Country Needs a Strong Leader Right Now": Economic Inequality Enhances the Wish for a Strong Leader.

Societal inequality has been found to harm the mental and physical health of its members and undermine overall social cohesion. Here, we tested the hypothesis that economic inequality is associated with a wish for a strong leader in a study involving 28 countries from five continents (Study 1, N = 6,112), a study involving an Australian community sample (Study 2, N = 515), and two experiments (Study 3a, N = 96; Study 3b, N = 296). We found correlational (Studies 1 and 2) and experimental (Studies 3a and 3b) evidence for our prediction that higher inequality enhances the wish for a strong leader. We also found that this relationship is mediated by perceptions of anomie, except in the case of objective inequality in Study 1. This suggests that societal inequality enhances the perception that society is breaking down (anomie) and that a strong leader is needed to restore order (even when that leader is willing to challenge democratic values).

Factors contributing to the mental wellbeing of Afghan migrants in Iran during the COVID-19 pandemic.

This study aims to explore the factors contributing mental health of Afghan migrants residing in Iran during the COVID-19 pandemic. With a deep understanding of the unique challenges encountered by migrants, especially during times of crisis, this research delves into the influential factors of experienced anxiety, social cohesion, and stress and their significant contribution to the development of depression among Afghan migrants. The study included a sample of 469 individuals from the Afghan migrant community, aged 15 to 80 years. Data collection took place from December to March 2022 in Iran. The study revealed that anxiety and the burden of the COVID-19 pandemic significantly influenced the occurrence of depression among Afghan migrants. Furthermore, the relationship between these factors and depression was mediated by the experience of stress. Conversely, higher levels of perceived social cohesion in the host country were linked to reduced stress and depression among the migrants. As Afghan migrants in Iran face a heightened risk of developing depression, the importance of social support and integration is underscored by the association between higher levels of perceived social cohesion in the host country and reduced levels of stress and depression. Recognizing the vulnerabilities of this population, it becomes evident that fostering social support networks and promoting integration can play a crucial role in mitigating the negative impact of migration-related stressors and enhancing mental wellbeing among this population.

Couples relationship standards and satisfaction in Pakistani couples.

Relationship standards are beliefs about what is important in a satisfying couple relationship, which vary considerably between cultures, and might mean that what couples seek from couple therapy differs across cultures. We assessed the standards of n = 49 Pakistani couples and whether those standards predicted couple satisfaction. To provide referents for the Pakistani standards, we also assessed selfreported relationship standards in n = 33 Western couples and n = 30 Chinese couples. Pakistani couples endorsed couple bond standards (e.g., expressions of love) as similarly important, and family responsibility (e.g., extended family relations) standards as more important, than Western or Chinese couples. In Pakistani couples, Couple Bond predicted couples' relationship satisfaction, but family responsibility and Religion predicted only wives' satisfaction. Modest sample sizes necessitate caution in interpreting results but suggest existing couple therapies might need modification to address the distinctive relationship standards of Pakistani couples.

Revisiting the Measurement of Anomie.

Sociologists coined the term "anomie" to describe societies that are characterized by disintegration and deregulation. Extending beyond conceptualizations of anomie that conflate the measurements of anomie as 'a state of society' and as a 'state of mind', we disentangle these conceptualizations and develop an analysis and measure of this phenomenon focusing on anomie as a perception of the 'state of society'. We propose that anomie encompasses two dimensions: a perceived breakdown in social fabric (i.e., disintegration as lack of trust and erosion of moral standards) and a perceived breakdown in leadership (i.e., deregulation as lack of legitimacy and effectiveness of leadership). Across six studies we present evidence for the validity of the new measure, the Perception of Anomie Scale (PAS). Studies 1a and 1b provide evidence for the proposed factor structure and internal consistency of PAS. Studies 2a-c provide evidence of convergent and discriminant validity. Finally, assessing PAS in 28 countries, we show that PAS correlates with national indicators of societal functioning and that PAS predicts national identification and well-being (Studies 3a & 3b). The broader implications of the anomie construct for the study of group processes are discussed.

Self-esteem: a comparative study of adolescents from mainstream and minority religious groups in Pakistan.

The present study aimed to investigate the level of self-esteem among religious minority adolescents (Christians and Hindus) by making a comparison with their dominant counterparts (Muslims) in Pakistan. It was hypothesized that adolescents of religious minorities would have lower level of self-esteem than their dominant counterparts. In the present study 320 adolescents participated, in which 160 adolescents belonged to minority religious groups (i.e. 76 Christians and 84 Hindus) and 160 adolescents belonged to dominant religious group i.e. Muslims. To assess self-esteem of the participants, Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale (Rosenberg in Society and the adolescent self image, Princeton University Press, Princeton, NJ, 1965) was used. One Way Analysis of Variance reveals that religious minority adolescents (Christians and Hindus) inclined to have lower self-esteem as compared to their dominant counterpart (Muslim adolescents).

Level of depression among adolescents of religious minorities and their dominant counterparts in Pakistan.

OBJECTIVE: This study investigated the level of depression among religious minority adolescents (Christians and Hindus) in comparison with their dominant counterparts (Muslims) in Pakistan. For this purpose, based on literature available, we hypothesised that adolescents of religious minorities would have a higher level of depression than their dominant counterparts. DESIGN: Between-group design was used as it was considered most appropriate for this study where a religious minority adolescent group was compared with its dominant counterpart. METHOD: A total of 320 adolescents participated in this study of whom 160 belonged to the minority religious groups (i.e. 76 Christians and 84 Hindus) and 160 to the dominant religious group, i.e. Muslims. To assess the level of depression in the participants, Reynolds Adolescents Depression Scale (2nd ed., Reynolds 2002) was used. RESULTS: One-Way Analysis of Variance was used to analyse the data in statistical terms to reveal any significant difference or differences between these two groups. CONCLUSIONS: The findings of the study suggest that religious minority adolescents (Christians and Hindus) in Pakistan are inclined to have higher levels of depression than their dominant counterparts (Muslim adolescents).