A Cross Sectional Study to Explore Factors Affecting Adolescent-Parents Attachment in a Rapidly Developing Society in Malaysia

@#Introduction: Secure attachment to parents prevents adolescents from externalizingbehaviours especially in developing countries. The aim of this study was to identify thecontributors to parental attachment in a developing society. Methodology: This crosssectional study was performed on urban secondary students (aged between 13 and 17 years)based on multistage sampling in Pasir Gudang District, Johor, Malaysia. The depression,anxiety and stress (DASS-21) and Inventory of parent and peer attachment (IPPA)questionnaires were used along with a questionnaire for demographic information. Analysisof covariance (ANCOVA) was used to identify the main effect of study parameters on IPPAscores for father and mother. Results: A total of 2980 students (46.9% male and 53.1%female) participated in this study. Mean and SD for age was 14.39±1.28. Depression scoreand school form had a significant main effect on both paternal and maternal attachment(p<0.05). Age (p=0.003), ethnicity (p=0.01), history of intimate relationship (p=0.03),paternal education level (p=0.006) and maternal education level (p=0.04) had a main effecton paternal attachment, while gender (p=0.02) and stress (p=0.001) were shown to havesignificant main effect on maternal attachment. Discussion: The findings of this studyrevealed different contributors for adolescent attachment with father and mother. Local,cultural and economic structure of the community should be taken into account in order toplan for an intervention strategy to secure adolescent’s relationship with parents.

Psychosocial Problem and its Associated Factors Among Adolescents in the Secondary Schools in Pasir Gudang, Johor

Introduction: Adolescence is a crucial period with impressive emotional changes. Emotional disorders such as depression, anxiety and stress are high among adolescents worldwide; however the psychosocial changes are often neglected. The aim of the current study was to determine the depression, anxiety and stress symptoms and their associated factors among adolescents. Methods: A cross-sectional study using cluster sampling was carried out among school-going adolescents in 10 secondary schools in Pasir Gudang, Johor, Malaysia. Respondents answered a self-administered questionnaire including socio-demographic, Inventory of Parent and Peer Attachment (IPPA), Depression Anxiety Stress Scale-21 (DASS-21) and Strength and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ). Using SPSS-21, chi-square test and binomial logistic regression were conducted to examine the associations between dependent and independent variables. Results: Respondents (52.6% female and 53.9% Malay) had 46.0% prevalence of depression symptoms, 59.1% anxiety, 38.1% stress and 45.6% psychosocial status (internalizing and externalizing problems). Age, father occupation and parental bonding were significantly predicted having moderate to extremely severe depression symptom (p<0.05). Younger adolescents (13-14 years old) were 1.42 times more likely to have anxiety symptom. In addition, respondents with insecure father attachment were 1.5 times more likely to have stress symptom (p<0.05). Respondents with insecure parental attachment were more likely to have psychosocial problem (p<0.05). Conclusions: Depression, anxiety and stress of adolescents were influenced by the sociodemographic of adoleascents and their parents. Age, gender and parental attachment were the significant predictors in the current study which should be the center of attention for the future studies to reduce the psychological disorders among adolescents.

Unhealthy diet practice and symptoms of stress and depression among adolescents in Pasir Gudang, Malaysia.

BACKGROUND/OBJECTIVE: Missing main meals and an unhealthy snacking pattern can lead to poor diet quality and consequently to the presence of chronic diseases among which mental disorder is no exception. Since there is little research on diet, skipping meals and psychological status in Asian countries, this study tries to determine eating behaviour and predicting symptoms of stress and depression of adolescents in Pasir Gudang, Malaysia. SUBJECTS AND METHODS: A cross-sectional study was conducted among Form 1 secondary school-going adolescents (n 1565, response rate: 90%) in southern Malaysia from April to May 2013. A self-administered structured and validated questionnaire (socio-demographic, eating behaviour questionnaire, and depression, anxiety and stress scales (DASS-21)) was used for data collection. RESULTS: Among respondents, 803 (51.3%) were female, 1125 were Malay (71.9%) with a mean age of 13.7 (SD=0.8) years. Logistic regression analysis indicated that students who were underweight (OR=3.07, 95% CI 1.21, 7.76), obese (OR=2.64, 95% CI 1.01, 6.87), used to eat out of home (OR=1.37, 95% CI 1.28, 2.13), eat dinner (>4 days/week) (OR=1.59, 95% CI 1.04, 2.43) were more likely to have depression or stress symptoms. Moreover, participants with 4-7 days/week eating breakfast (OR=0.88, 95% CI 0.21, 0.89) were less likely to be at mild/moderate stress. CONCLUSIONS: Findings underscore the effect of unhealthy eating practices among adolescents on mental health. Targeted education should be implemented to improve psychological well-being.