Familial Paroxysmal Rhabdomyolysis of the non-exertional variety is a rare but treatable disorder previously not described in Malaysia. We report 3 Malay siblings of a consanguinous marriage who developed myoglobulinuria during a febrile illness. The first 2 died without being investigated, but the last had creatinine kinase levels of 24,800 UIL suggesting acute rhabdomyolysis. Fasting appears to be a major precipitating factor, and glucose infusions combined with alkaline diuresis may be life-saving.
This study aims to determine the mediating effects of coping strategies on the relationships between organizational support (supervisor and coworker support) and work-family conflict. A questionnaire survey approach was conducted with the purposive sampling. This study was contributed to 342 married employees from different organizations in the Luangprabang province, Laos. The gathered data was analyzed by employing the Structural Equation Modeling using SPSS Amos 21.0 software. The findings showed that organizational support (supervisor support and coworker support) was not significantly related to work-family conflict. Problemfocused coping was not significantly related to work-family conflict, whereas emotion-focused coping was significantly related to work-family conflict. This is one of the first studies to provide empirical evidence in terms of the mediating effects regarding coping strategies among married employees in Laos. The organizations should consider the coping strategies and the support from supervisors and colleagues in formulating strategies to minimize work-family conflict. Additionally, problem-focused coping is a more meaningful predictor of work-family conflict than emotion-focused coping. Providing the training of the comprehensive coping program to the employees could help them to be sensitive in coping work-family conflict. This study could serve as an important guideline to develop planning strategies in managing work and family role and promoting work-life balance among the employees.
This study aimed to explore the influence of adult attachment on relationship quality among parents having children with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). A correlational research design was used to achieve the research objectives. Sixty eight parents of children with ADHD participated in this study. Two measures were used in this study: the Experience in Close Relationship (ECR) and the Dyadic Adjustment Scale (DAS). The findings indicated that when the anxiety attachment level of the participants was high, the marital satisfaction was low.The findings of this study can make a contribution to those focusing on conflict resolution and marital quality with a deeper understanding on the interpersonal problems in the relationship from attachment theory perspectives. It is suggested that a longitudinal research be conducted in the future with both groups of clinical and community in order to explore how attachment variables can predict relationship adjustment and child adjustment overtime.
Stress reduces the performance and productivity of employees.
One of the most important stressors originate from organizational factors,
which are decision latitude, psychological demand, social support and job
insecurity. This creates four kinds of jobs: passive, active, low strain and high
strain. The objective of the study is to determine the association between
organizational factors with occupational stress and cortisol level among
lecturers in University Selangor. This cross-sectional study used a purposive
sampling, which involved 45 lecturers from various faculties. The instrument
used in this study was Job Content Questionnaire (JCQ) which is a
Psychosocial Job Assessment Instrument designed by Karasek et al., (1998).
The questionnaire has been translated to Malay version by Edimansyah et al.,
(2006). 10ml of blood sample was collected from each respondent by certified
phlebotomist. Results from the statistical analysis showed that majority of the
respondents were female (75.6%), aged below forty years old (82.2%), married
(77.8%) and hold a master degree (68.9%). Most of the respondents were
found having low decision latitude 35(77.5%). Majority of the respondents
were also found in passive group 13(28.9%) which were having low
psychological job demand and low decision latitude, while others are in low
strain 11(24.4%), high strain 11(24.4%) and active group 10(22.2%)
respectively. There was a significant association between two organizational
factors with occupational stress level, which are decision latitude and
psychological job demand (p0.05). As a
conclusion, two out of four organizational factors, which are decision latitude
and psychological job demand showed a significant association with
occupational stress levels. Cortisol as one of stress biomarkers may not be
significant due to small sample size.
Commonly, teenage marriage affects schooling and being gainfully employed to support the family in later life. Most studies focused on the effects of marriage at the young age. However, less research is focusing on the experience of marriage from the perspective of the teenagers who get married at the teen age. This article aims to answer the following questions: (1) what are the experiences of teenage marriages, and (2) what are their views on teenage marriage. The article is based on semi-structured interviews with seven girls recruited by snowball technique, aged 15 to 23 years, married and living in Kuching, Sarawak. Data were analyzed by thematic analysis. Seven themes emerged on marriage experiences: being independent, nourishing patience, maintaining social boundaries, developing responsible behaviour, being inspired, staying positive and doubting their ability as a husband or wife. Moreover, four main themes described informants' views on teenage marriage: to avoid immorality, immaturity, making decisions wisely and accountability. It can be concluded that a person who gets married at the teen age is in need of help from various parties, especially parents and friends as well as community not to be stigmatized for being married at the teen age.
Introduction: Hanging is one of the most common methods of suicide in Malaysia, and to date, there is a rise in the number of deaths by hanging among adults. The purpose of this study was to determine the pattern of hanging in Malaysia from the year 2000 till 2009. Methods: The sample comprised 108 cases received at the Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia Medical Centre, and five parameters, namely, age, sex, racial affiliation, marital status, and medical history were studied. Results: Of the 108 cases, 56% was reported to be Chinese. Suicide by hanging was more predominant in males (81%), and a high number of cases were seen in age groups of 21 to 30, 31 to 40 and 41 to 50 years. Of the cases studied, half of them were married, and previous history of physical and mental illness and alcohol intoxication were reported. Conclusions: In brief, this data would help the higher authorities in detecting the causes of suicide by hanging, as well as detecting the high risk groups with suicidal tendencies. In this way, suicide can be prevented and thus, the rate of suicide by hanging could be reduced in Malaysian.
A wide range of literature connects sex ratio and mating behaviours in non-human animals. However, research examining sex ratio and human mating is limited in scope. Prior work has examined the relationship between sex ratio and desire for short-term, uncommitted mating as well as outcomes such as marriage and divorce rates. Less empirical attention has been directed towards the relationship between sex ratio and mate preferences, despite the importance of mate preferences in the human mating literature. To address this gap, we examined sex ratio's relationship to the variation in preferences for attractiveness, resources, kindness, intelligence and health in a long-term mate across 45 countries (n = 14 487). We predicted that mate preferences would vary according to relative power of choice on the mating market, with increased power derived from having relatively few competitors and numerous potential mates. We found that each sex tended to report more demanding preferences for attractiveness and resources where the opposite sex was abundant, compared to where the opposite sex was scarce. This pattern dovetails with those found for mating strategies in humans and mate preferences across species, highlighting the importance of sex ratio for understanding variation in human mate preferences.
Father absence is consistently associated with children's reproductive outcomes in industrialized countries. It has been suggested that father absence acts as a cue to particular environmental conditions that influence life history strategies. Much less is known, however, about the effects of father absence on such outcomes in lower-income countries. Using data from the 1988 Malaysian Family Life Survey (n = 567), we tested the effect of father absence on daughters' age at menarche, first marriage, and first birth; parity progression rates; and desired completed family size in Malaysia, a country undergoing an economic and fertility transition. Father absence during later childhood (ages 8 to 15), although not during earlier childhood, was associated with earlier progressions to first marriage and first birth, after controlling for other confounders. Father absence does not affect age at menarche, desired family size, or progression from first to second birth. The patterns found in this transitional population partly mirror those in developed societies, where father absence accelerates reproductive events. There is, however, a notable contrast between the acceleration in menarche for father-absent girls consistently found in developed societies and the lack of any association in our findings. The mechanisms through which father absence affects reproduction may differ in different ecological contexts. In lower-income contexts, direct paternal investment or influence may be of more importance in determining reproductive behavior than whether fathers act as a cue to environmental conditions.
During the last few decades, marital tensions and stresses have influenced various dimensions of life. The objective of the current study was to examine the effects of combined psycho-physiological therapy (stretching therapy combined with breathing exercise) on sexual satisfaction among heterosexual men.
The continuing decline in fertility despite a contraction in contraceptive use in Peninsular Malaysia since the mid-1980s has triggered considerable interest in the reasons behind this phenomenon, such as increase in abortion, sterility, and out-of-wedlock pregnancy. Fertility decline has been attributed to rapid socioeconomic development, which can only influence fertility through the intermediate variables. Application of vital statistics, population census, and survey data of Peninsular Malaysia on Bongaarts's model vindicates that marriage postponement and contraceptive use are the 2 most important proximate determinants of fertility, but the effects are not uniform across the ethnic groups. For instance, the predicted total fertility rate for Chinese and Malays are 2.9 and 1.6, respectively, compared with the observed level of 3.0 and 1.9. Postpartum infecundability and abortion also play a part in explaining ethnic fertility differentials. The fertility inhibiting effects of these proximate determinants have significant implications on reproductive health and future population growth.
A household survey was carried out in Peninsular Malaysia to determine the prevalence rate of depressive symptoms in middle-aged women and to explore its associated factors. Women aged 45 to 60 years were assessed on sociodemographic profiles, menopausal status, depressive symptoms, marital dissatisfaction, and coping strategies. A total of 3934 women participated, and the mean age was 51 years. The prevalence rate of depressive symptoms was 54.2%. Of the married women, 38.4% had poor to very severe problems in their marriage. Depressive symptoms were significantly associated with marital status (P < .001), ethnicity (P < .001), educational levels (P < .001), occupational status ( P < .001), domicile (P < .001), and menopausal status ( P < .05). Depressive symptoms were correlated with marital dissatisfaction scores. Women who consulted professionals, shared with relatives, kept problems to themselves, or consulted parents/siblings had higher mean scores on depressive symptoms compared with those who did not use these coping strategies.
There is currently no published information on the validity and reliability of the Golombok Rust Inventory of Sexual Satisfaction in the Asian population, specifically in patients with stress urinary incontinence, which limits its use in this region. Our study aimed to evaluate the psychometric properties of this questionnaire in the Malaysian population. Ten couples were recruited for the pilot testing. The agreement between the English and Chinese or Malay versions were tested using the intraclass correlation coefficients, with results of more than 0.80 for all subscales and overall scores indicating good agreement. Sixty-six couples were included in the subsequent phase. The following data are presented in the order of English, Chinese, and Malay. Cronbach's alphas for the male total score were 0.82, 0.88, and 0.95. For the female total score, Cronbach's alphas were 0.76, 0.78, and 0.88. Intraclass correlation coefficients for the male total score were 0.93, 0.94, and 0.99, while intraclass correlation coefficients for the female total score were 0.89, 0.86, and 0.88. In conclusion, the English, Chinese, and Malay versions each proved to be valid and reliable in our Malaysian population.
"The impact of family migration on women's economic position in a developing country setting is an area that has received relatively little research attention. Incorporating a lifetime perspective, this study makes use of the retrospective migration histories of husbands and wives from the second round of the Malaysian Family Life Survey to estimate how joint migration with the husband affects women's socioeconomic achievement. The findings show that family migration depresses the chances of working, but it does not significantly reduce socioeconomic attainment of those who do work. However, when a woman migrates with her husband she does forgo the substantial advantage she could have derived had she moved alone."
Data from the 1984 Malaysian Population and Family Survey were matched with birth registration records for 1985-87 to determine the accuracy of statements regarding desired family size that were reported in a household survey in predicting subsequent reproductive behavior. The findings of this study were that stated fertility intention provides fairly accurate forecasts of fertility behavior in the subsequent period. In other words, whether a woman has another child is predicted closely by whether she wanted an additional child. Informational, educational, and motivational activities of family planning programs would, therefore, have greater success in reducing family size if fertility intentions were taken into account.
"This paper estimates a proportional hazards model for the timing of age at marriage of women in Malaysia. We hypothesize that age at marriage responds significantly to differences in male and female occupations, race, and age. We find considerable empirical support for the relevance of economic variables in determining age at marriage as well as evidence of strong differences in marriage patterns across races."