Male gender preference, female gender disadvantage as risk factors for psychological morbidity in Pakistani women of childbearing age - a life course perspective

BMC Public Health

Research Article

Girmay Medhin¹  Farah Qadir²  Murad M Khan³  Martin Prince⁴ 

[1] Aklilu Lemma Institute of Pathobiology, University of Addis Ababa, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia;Department of Behavioural Sciences, Fatima Jinnah Women University, 46000, Rawalpindi, Pakistan;Department of Psychiatry, Aga Khan University, Stadium Road, 74800, Karachi, Pakistan;Institute of Psychiatry, King's College London, De Crespigny Park, SE5 8AF, London, UK;

关键词: Intimate Partner Violence;    Married Woman;    Marital Satisfaction;    Psychological Morbidity;    Parental Preference;   

DOI  :  10.1186/1471-2458-11-745

 received in 2011-03-12, accepted in 2011-09-29,  发布年份 2011

来源: Springer

【 摘 要 】

BackgroundIn Pakistan, preference for boys over girls is deeply culturally embedded. From birth, many women experience gendered disadvantages; less access to scarce resources, poorer health care, higher child mortality, limited education, less employment outside of the home and circumscribed autonomy. The prevalence of psychological morbidity is exceptionally high among women. We hypothesise that, among women of childbearing age, gender disadvantage is an independent risk factor for psychological morbidityMethodsA cross-sectional catchment area survey of 525 women aged 18 to 35 years living in Islamabad and Rawalpindi. The effect of gender disadvantage was assessed as a latent variable using structural equation modelling. Indicators were parental gender preference, low parental care, parental overprotection, limited education, early age at marriage, marital dissatisfaction and low autonomy. Psychological morbidity was assessed using the 20 item Self Reporting Questionnaire (SRQ).ResultsGender disadvantage was independently predictive of psychological morbidity. Among married women, socio-economic status did not predict psychological morbidity, and the effect of education was mediated through gender disadvantage rather than socioeconomic status (SES). The women's own preference for a male child was strongly predicted by their perceptions of having been disadvantaged by their gender in their families of origin.ConclusionsThe high prevalence of psychological morbidity among women in Pakistan is concerning given recently reported strong associations with low birth weight and infant stunting. Social action, public policies and legislation are indicated to reduce culturally embedded preferences. Neglect of these fundamentals will entrench consequent inequities including gender bias in access to education, a key millennium development goal.

【 授权许可】

CC BY   
© Qadir et al; licensee BioMed Central Ltd. 2011