Objective: Postpartum depression affects around 17% of the women worldwide and has considerable implications for maternal and child health. While some risk factors have been identified, the association between pregnancy and delivery complications and postpartum depression is less well understood. This study aims to determine whether specific pregnancy complications are associated with risk of postpartum depression symptoms (PPDS).
Method: This study analysed a subset of variables collected as part of a larger study exploring pregnancy circumstances and maternal-foetal health outcomes. Mothers residing in Australia provided information on their biological children aged 3-13 years. Pregnancy complications were analysed using bivariate analyses and binary logistic regression.
Results: Mothers (N = 1,926) reported on N = 3,210 pregnancies (mean number of pregnancies = 1.27, SD = 0.97). At the time of childbirth, mothers were on average 30.1 years old (SD = 5.14). Experiencing a pregnancy complication increased the risk of PPDS (X2 = 16.45, df = 1, p < 0.001) However, logistic regression analyses indicated an increased risk of PPDS was associated with the specific pregnancy complications of cytomegalovirus (AOR = 7.06, 95% CI[1.51,32.98]), emergency caesarean (AOR = 1.67, 95% CI[1.31,2.12]), foetal distress before birth (AOR = 1.49, 95% CI[1.16,1.91]), induced labour (AOR = 1.55, 95% CI[1.25,1.91]) and placenta previa (AOR = 2.60, 95% CI[1.44,4.71]).
Conclusion: Specific pregnancy complications were associated with PPDS, suggesting that some complications may pose a greater risk for PPDS than others. This study contributes to the growing understanding of peripartum risk factors for postpartum depression, and suggests that early clinical identification of at-risk mothers and early prophylactic and supportive care may be warranted to reduce that risk.
Objective: The current study explored (1) changes in trust in federal and state governments and scientists across representative Australian national samples from 2003-2020; and (2) the extent to which trust in these sources predicted compliance with COVID-19 prevention measures at the onset of the pandemic.
Method: Using a nationally representative samples (N = 1000), we asked participants to rate their trust in federal and state government and in scientists, their extent of compliance with COVID-19 prevention measures, and to provide demographic information.
Results: We found that trust in federal and state governments had significantly increased, while trust in scientists was at a high level matched by only three other time-points. Higher levels of trust in state government and scientists uniquely predicted greater compliance with COVID-19 prevention measures. Women and older respondents also reported greater compliance.
Conclusion: The current findings reinforce those from Australia and other countries indicating that trust increased during the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, and those identifying trust in government and in scientists as important predictors of compliance. Importantly, our findings highlight the role of trust in state government, which potentially reflects the role played by Australian state governments in enacting and enforcing COVID-19 prevention measures.
Objective: The current study aims to explore the influence of social comparison on risk decision-making for self and for groups in intergroup contexts.
Method: Two experiments with the within-subjects design of 2 (social comparison: upward comparison, downward comparison) × 3 (decision-maker role: for "me", for "us", for "them") were conducted in this study. Experiment 1 focused on the ingroup contexts, and experiment 2 focused on the outgroup contexts.
Results: (1) in outgroup contexts, individuals are more risk-seeking in upward comparison conditions than in downward comparison conditions. However, the difference disappears in ingroup contexts. (2) Making decisions for "them" is riskier than making decisions for "me" and for "us" with no significant differences between the latter two and consistent across intergroup contexts. (3) The difference in risk decisions made amid upward and downward comparisons is amplified for decisions made for groups.
Conclusion: The findings may support the selective accessibility model and provide an interpretation with responsibility alleviation for self-group differences in risk decision-making.
Objective: Social media use is ubiquitous during adolescence, and emerging research suggests an association with anxiety symptoms in some individuals. Two psychological constructs which may moderate this relationship are Fear of Missing Out (FoMO) and self-compassion. Higher FoMO tendencies may exacerbate the link between social media use and anxiety symptoms through greater fixation on social comparison, whereas higher self-compassion may weaken this link. The purpose of this study was to examine whether FoMO and self-compassion independently moderate the relationship between social media use and anxiety symptoms in adolescents.
Method: Participants included 951 adolescents (M age = 13.69, SD = 0.72; 54% male). Online questionnaires assessed frequency of social media use, anxiety symptoms, FoMO, and self-compassion.
Results: FoMO moderated the relationship between social media use and anxiety, ΔR 2 = .022, ΔF(1,945) = 26.26, p < .001. Increased social media use was associated with increased anxiety symptoms in adolescents high in FoMO and reduced anxiety for adolescents low in FoMO. Self-compassion was not a significant moderator.
Conclusion: These findings have implications for social media use, public guidelines and clinical practice and support adoption of a discerning approach to adolescent's social media use.
Objective: Chronic pain is a prevalent and costly public health problem for young people. The associated physical, psychosocial, and psychological burdens, including higher degrees of social isolation, are well documented. Pathways to receive and offer support can be found with online social support (OSS). Research indicates OSS features impact the frequency of use, reach, safety and overall experience for the user.
Methods: We conducted a rigorous internet search to identify and appraise the available English-language OSS worldwide for young people with chronic pain. Through Google, two complementary search strategies were used to identify the available OSS. The general characteristics and features of the available OSS were then extracted.
Results: The search strategies produced a total yield of 1319 websites of which 11 OSS websites were identified as meeting inclusion criteria. Characteristics of OSS varied significantly, such as moderation, site access requirements and safeguarding features. Only two of the OSS sites, both being affiliated with a hospital, offered all of the features suggested by the literature to mitigate the potential for harm.
Conclusions: Despite the prevalence of chronic pain in young people and clear benefits to utilise support online, there is a paucity of available high-quality OSS available for access and support. When young people do go online with the hope to receive support, a safe space to share experiences may not be easily found. It appears an important opportunity is being missed for this group to foster social connections that may be unavailable offline.
Objective: The contribution of women's leadership programs to gender change in organisations is controversial, and evidence of programs' effectiveness is siloed across countries, sectors and industries. This systematic review aimed to provide a summary of current global efforts to evaluate women's leadership programs.
Method: A systematic review protocol was registered with Open Science Framework prior to data extraction. Eight databases from multidisciplinary fields including (but not limited to) behavioural, social, physical, health and life sciences, management and business, and gender and women's studies were searched for academic papers examining the outcomes of women's leadership programs. Twenty-four studies were appraised for methodological quality using Joanna Briggs Institute guidelines and 16 studies (11 peer reviewed articles and five theses) were included in the review.
Results: Data were synthesized using an updated Kirkpatrick typology with seven categories used to classify evaluation outcomes. Subjective outcome levels were addressed more frequently than objective levels. Promotion to a leadership position was the sole objective outcome addressed, but methodological limitations of the included studies mitigate a link between programs and women's career advancement.
Conclusions: Currently, the global evidence of women's leadership programs' impact on individuals and organisations is inconclusive. This systematic review emphasises the need for enhanced methodological and theoretical rigour to guide the development of future women's leadership programs and their evaluation.
Objective: To determine if psychological distress has increased during the COVID-19 pandemic, and to identify predictors of distress.
Method: Kessler Psychological Distress Scale (K10) scores from nationally representative Australian samples before (n = 955) and during (n = 1173) the pandemic were compared. The pandemic sample also completed additional COVID-19 attitudinal scales.
Results: The pandemic sample reported significantly higher distress than the pre-pandemic sample, especially among Melbourne residents, women, and younger and older Australians. Stress attributed to COVID-19, feeling the pandemic management is out of control, and an unwillingness to vaccinate were also predictive of psychological distress.
Conclusions: Women, youth, and Melbourne residents were most vulnerable to the negative effects of COVID-19 on wellbeing, while feelings related to a loss of control, stress about the virus, and vaccine hesitancy may have also contributed to psychological distress.
Objective: Existing theoretical models and research findings highlight individual parent characteristics as contributors to coparenting relationship quality. Yet less is known about how indices of parental personality, beliefs, and mental health symptoms relate to coparenting perceptions among parents of preschoolers. This study examines direct and indirect paths connecting parents' Big Five personality traits, fear of happiness, and depression and anxiety symptoms with perceived coparenting quality.
Method: Using an online survey design, 160 parents (81 mothers; 79 fathers) of preschoolers (age 2-5 years) completed the Ten-Item Inventory of Personality, Fear of Happiness Scale, Patient Health Questionnaire-4, and Coparenting Relationship Scale - Brief Form.
Results: Parental Emotional Stability negatively related to anxiety and depressive symptoms and to fear of happiness. Anxiety symptoms and fear of happiness directly, and negatively, related to coparenting quality. Emotional stability was indirectly, positively related to coparenting quality via lower levels of parental anxiety and fear of happiness. Although parental depressive symptoms were unrelated to coparenting quality, parents' Openness to Experience and fear of happiness positively predicted depressive symptoms.
Conclusion: Findings suggest parents' anxiety symptoms and fear of happiness may underlie the processes by which parental Emotional Stability relates to perceived coparenting quality among parents of preschoolers.
Objective: Job candidates are attracted to companies where they see their values fit in based on clues from recruitment materials. Safety-critical companies may aim to attract safety-minded applicants, through signals indicating that the organisation prioritises safety. Research shows that language related to safety outcomes (versus other outcomes) in recruitment materials can inform the preferences of safety-minded applicants. Rooted in theorising that high reliability organisations (HROs) are highly safety-focused and have low masculinity values, this study investigates the extent to which the relationship between company attractiveness and safety-focused and femininity-focused language used to describe the company, is moderated by potential applicants' safety attitudes.
Method: In a within-subjects vignette study, participants (N = 197) rated the attractiveness of four fictitious companies, based on company webpages, and reported on their individual safety attitudes.
Results: Participants with higher safety attitudes rated companies as more attractive when language used in company descriptions focused on safety (and not business). This effect was amplified when the company description also emphasised low masculinity (i.e., feminine) values.
Conclusions: To attract applicants with higher safety attitudes, companies may benefit from using language that is focused on femininity, in addition to safety.

