Domestic violence (DV), also commonly referred to as intimate partner violence or spousal abuse, is a global public health issue that affects the physical, psychological, sexual, and reproductive health of women. We examined the sociocultural factors associated with the attitude toward DV perpetrated against women in Afghanistan. We used data from the 2015 Afghanistan Demographic and Health Survey, consisting of an ever-married sample of 29,461 women and 10,760 men aged 15 to 49 years. Our dependent variable, attitude toward DV, was determined from responses on acceptance of wife-beating in five scenarios, and the group of socio cultural factors was selected based on evidence from previous studies. Our main analytical method was logistic regression, using the survey design. Our findings indicated that factors such as an increase in years of education and living in a wealthier household reduce the likelihood of acceptance of DV among men and women. Ethnicity was also associated with the attitude toward DV, but the magnitude varied across ethnic groups and gender. Furthermore, an increase in age and living in the urban area were associated with nonjustification of DV among women, but not among men. On the other hand, frequent exposure to the media increases the likelihood of acceptance of DV among men, but not for women. The result of the present study suggests that there are economic, social, and cultural aspects to the attitude toward DV among men and women in Afghanistan. Therefore, policies designed at changing the socio cultural perception of the people are of importance in other to bring about a change in attitude, and even combat the prevalence of DV.

There is little research on the utilization of non-medical community healthcare services among the elderly, compared with that of medical community healthcare services. From the perspective of both supply and demand, based on the survey data from Shaanxi province, this study examined supply-related factors (including service supply, service quality, service charge and service accessibility) and demand-related factors (including service need, individual financial status, family care support and knowledge of service) affecting the utilization of non-medical community healthcare services among the elderly in China by using Poisson regression. The findings show that service supply, service quality, service need and knowledge of service are positively associated with the utilization of non-medical community healthcare services among elderly Chinese, but the other factors identified in previous studies are not significant predictors for the utilization of the services among the elderly in the context of China. To our knowledge, this is the first study to examine both supply-related factors and demand-related factors affecting the utilization of non-medical community healthcare services among elderly Chinese.

A large body of literature has examined the relationship between social isolation and mental health in older adults. However, only a few studies have examined the mediating effects of aging attitudes on this relationship. This study investigated the impact of objective isolation (family isolation, friend isolation, and community isolation), and subjective social isolation (perceived isolation) on the mental health of Chinese older adults, and the mediating effect of aging attitudes. Mental health was assessed through depressive symptoms, using the Epidemiological Studies Depression Scale. The research sample comprising 7,024 elderly adults (60 years old), was obtained from the nationally representative 2014 Chinese Longitudinal Aging Social Survey. The regression analysis indicated that objective social isolation and subjective social isolation are independently related to mental health among older adults. Furthermore, in the mediation analysis, aging attitude was found to play a significant mediating role between social isolation and mental health. Our study concludes that though, objective and subjective social isolation are issues affecting mental health in older people, however, aging attitude also needs to be factored in that relationship as we have shown that there is a significant mediating effect.

Background: Existing knowledge on the relationship between intimate partner violence (IPV) and exclusive breastfeeding (EBF) in the context of Nigeria is minimal and limited to a lifelong measure of IPV experience. An abuse experienced a long time ago may not have as much negative effect as that encountered at a more proximal time to the breastfeeding phase. To this effect, we examined this relationship with maternal IPV experienced around the time of pregnancy and postpartum. Method: We analyzed data from the 2013 Nigeria Demographic and Health Survey. The sample includes 2668 breastfeeding mothers having a child aged under 6 months. The outcome variable was EBF or mixed-feeding (24 h recall). The exposure variables were: the maternal experience of psychological, physical, and sexual intimate partner violence. Also, there was an experience of any form of IPV and frequency score of intimate partner violence. Analysis includes chi-square and t-test bivariates, complete case and imputed logistic regressions for binary outcome. Results: In the imputed analysis, compared to mothers who experienced no IPV, those who experienced IPV had a 26% reduced likelihood of EBF practice (AOR 0.74; 95% CI 0.55, 1.00). Also, a unit dose of maternal IPV experience was associated with a 5% reduced likelihood of EBF practice (AOR 0.69; 95% CI 0.49, 0.98). Among the three forms of IPV, physical IPV had the highest effect size. Physical IPV was associated with a 37% reduced likelihood of EBF practice (AOR 0.63; 95% CI 0.44, 0.90), while psychological IPV was associated with a 34% reduced likelihood of EBF practice (AOR 0.66; 95% CI 0.47, 0.92), when compared to the respective reference groups. On the other hand, those who reported sexual IPV were just as likely to breastfeed as those who did not (AOR 0.94; 95% CI 0.62, 1.41). Conclusions: In this study, maternal IPV is associated with EBF practice. Policies aimed at promoting EBF should also be framed to combat IPV against pregnant women and nursing mothers.

Objective: This study examines the impact of caregiving on older people’s life satisfaction, focusing on the role of caring for grandchildren. The study considers individual characteristics (aging attitudes) and situational factors (intergenerational support) and aims to identify the mediating roles of aging attitudes and intergenerational support in the relationship between caregiving and life satisfaction. Method: The study analyzed data from the 2014 China Longitudinal Aging Social Survey (CLASS), focusing on 5363 grandparents who reported providing care for their grandchildren in the 12 months before the survey. Life satisfaction was subjectively measured. The data was analyzed using multiple linear regression, propensity score matching, and mediation analysis. Result: The study found that grandparents who cared for their grandchildren have higher levels of life satisfaction. Self-aging attitudes, general aging attitudes, intergenerational economic support, intergenerational instrumental support, and intergenerational emotional support fully mediated the relationship between grandchild care and life satisfaction. Conclusion: This study demonstrates that caring for grandchildren is a vital activity for older people that helps them develop positive aging attitudes and strengthens intergenerational support, thereby improving their quality of life. Hence, the government, society, families, and communities should provide more social support to older adults caring for grandchildren. This would not only benefit the health of the older people themselves but also promote intergenerational harmony and family development.

Objective Armed conflicts and intimate partner violence (IPV) impose a burden on individual and societal well-being. Given the history of armed conflict in Afghanistan and the high prevalence of IPV, this study aims to examine the influence of armed conflicts on IPV among Afghan women. Methods Multilevel logistic regression models were applied to the 2015 Afghanistan Demographic and Health Survey (N=10 414 women aged 15–49). Armed conflict severity was measured using the conflict index issued by the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, IPV was measured by three types of violence, including emotional, physical and sexual violence. All analyses were conducted by using STATA V.15.1. Results Over 52% of women experienced at least one type of IPV, with 33.01%, 49.07%, and 8.99% experiencing emotional, physical, and sexual violence, respectively. The regression results show that armed conflicts were significantly and positively associated with the experience of all types of IPV. In addition, the association between armed conflicts and the experience of emotional IPV was positively moderated by women’s attitudes towards IPV. Conclusion Our findings suggest that women living in high-conflict regions were more prone to experience IPV, particularly women with positive attitudes towards IPV. Promoting progressive gender roles, women’s empowerment, awareness of IPV and inclusion of women in conflict resolution will help deal with the issue of IPV.