Agreement on Reporting Intimate Partner Violence Among Nepalese Couples: A Cross-Sectional Study.

When intimate partner violence (IPV) data are collected from only one partner, they are often subject to considerable reporting bias. However, it is not easy to collect such data from couples, and inaccuracies might result in discrepancies, which needs a resolution. We assessed the concordance on reports of lifetime and previous year physical, sexual, and emotional IPV against wives, as reported by both Nepalese wives and husbands. The association of possible risk factors with discordant reporting of IPV was also analyzed. We conducted a cross-sectional study in two areas in Nepal between August and September 2011. We collected data from 717 randomly selected couples on lifetime and previous year experience of physical, sexual, and emotional IPV against wives, as well as their sociodemographic characteristics. We calculated the kappa coefficients and agreement percentage to assess the concordance on wives' reports of IPV victimization and husbands' reports of IPV perpetration. We also performed multiple logistic regressions to identify the factors associated with discordant reporting of IPV among couples. Levels of concordance between wives' and husbands' reports of IPV were significantly low, as indicated by kappa coefficients, ranging from .20 (sexual and emotional IPV) to .24 (physical IPV) in lifetime experience and from .15(sexual IPV) to .18 (physical IPV) in previous year experience. Wives' caste, husbands' age and education, household income, and place of residence were significantly associated with discordance in IPV reports among Nepalese couples. Discordant reporting about IPV is common among Nepalese couples. Collecting information from both partners might be important to obtain more reliable data on IPV in the Nepalese context.

Mental health disorders and substance use among people living with HIV in Nepal: their influence on non-adherence to anti-retroviral therapy.

People living with HIV often experience mental health disorders and engage in substance use. Evidence, however, is limited about the influence of mental health disorders and substance use on non-adherence to ART. We conducted a cross-sectional study among 682 HIV-positive people on ART in Nepal. We measured their depressive symptoms, anxiety, stress levels, substance use, and non-adherence to ART. We developed logistic regression models to examine the association of mental health disorders and substance use with non-adherence to ART. Experiencing depressive symptoms was positively associated with ART non-adherence among HIV-positive people (men: AOR = 2.77, p = .001; women: AOR = 3.69, p = .001). Additionally, both men and women were more likely to have non-adherence to ART when they had anxiety (men: AOR = 2.19, p = .022; women AOR = 2.83, p = .001) and higher stress scores (men: AOR = 1.11, p = .001; women: AOR = 1.08, p = .001). While substance use was associated with non-adherence only in HIV-positive men (AOR = 3.12, p < .001). Depressive symptoms, anxiety, and high level of stress had negative roles on adherence in HIV-positive men and women. While substance use had a negative role on ART adherence among men only. Results highlight that the HIV-positive people should be screened and provided treatment and psychosocial support while providing ART services to improve their medication adherence.

Unnecessary Dieting Intention and Behavior among Female Students in Naha City, Japan.

Weight concerns and dieting are prevalent among female adolescents both in Western and Asian countries. They can result in negative psychological and physiological consequences. This study aimed to examine the relative importance of social and personal factors in the decision to diet among female adolescent students in Japan, applying the Theory of Planned Behavior. Data were collected from five junior high schools and three high schools in Naha City, Okinawa Prefecture, in 2010, through self-administered questionnaires. The data of 756 female students were assessed. The independent variables included social factor variables (norms) and personal factor variables (attitude to dieting, perceived behavior control, body esteem, body-figure discrepancy and past dieting). The dependent variables were dieting intention and behavior. Hierarchical multiple regression analyses were performed to examine three models: model 1 (age and obesity index), model 2 (social factor variables with age and obesity index) and model 3 (all variables). Although model 2 failed to explain a substantial proportion of the variance, model 3 explained approximately a half of the variance for intention (R(2) = 0.507) and more than one third of the variance for behavior (R(2) = 0.376). Past experience of dieting was the best predictor of both dieting intention and behavior. Body esteem was the second best predictor for dieting behavior. In conclusion, personal factors are more likely than social factors to drive the dieting decision. Diet education programs should consider targeting frequent dieters and those with poor body esteem.