The association of parental involvement with adolescents’ well-being in Oman: evidence from the 2015 Global School Health Survey

Abstract

Background The parent-adolescent relationship plays a key role in adolescent development, including behaviour, physical health, and mental health outcomes. Studies on the parental factors that contribute to an adolescent’s dietary habits, exercise, mental health, physical harm and substance use are limited in the Middle East and North Africa region, with none in Oman. This study aims to investigate the association between parental involvement and adolescent well-being in Oman. Methods Cross-sectional data from the 2015 Global School Health Survey for Oman was analysed. The dataset consisted of 3468 adolescents. Adolescents reported on their parental involvement (checking to see if they did their homework, understanding their problems, knowing what they are doing in their free time and not going through their things without permission). Parental involvement was scored on a 20-point scale. Associations with the following dependent variables: nutrition, exercise, hygiene, physical harm, bullying, substance use, tobacco use and mental health well-being were done using Spearman’s correlations, linear and logistic regressions. Results The surveyed population was 48% male, 65% aged 15 to 17 years old and 5% reported that they “most of the time or always” went hungry. Parental involvement was positively correlated with each of the dependent variables. Adolescents with higher parental involvement had significantly higher odds of good nutrition (1.391), hygiene (1.823) and exercise (1.531) and lower odds of physical harm (0.648), being bullied (0.628), poor mental health (0.415), tobacco use (0.496) and substance use (0.229). Conclusions Parental involvement plays a positive role in all aspects of adolescents’ well-being in Oman. Awareness campaigns and interventions aimed to help improve the well-being of adolescents should incorporate such positive role in their designs.

The study of the relationship between social capital and mental disorders in children and adolescents in Kohgiloyeh and Boyer Ahmad province, Iran

“…As shown in Table 2, better relationships have the most important impact on mental health of children, and this is in agreement with studies that show a meaningful relationship with family members bridge individuals to wider social resources. Also other important factors such as parental monitoring and family structure could affect the mental health of children and adolescents and further investigations should be conducted in order to examine the relationship of family structure and parenting to social capital (29,30). The idea of family structure impact on development of psychiatric disorders in children and adolescent could be inferred from our results which indicate that better relationship, cooperation, mutual understanding and commitment have significant effect on their mental health.…”

Associations of psychological factors, parental involvement, and adverse health behaviors with bullying among tunisian middle school students

“…However, parental involvement in the adolescent’s life has been identified as a protective factor from being harassed by many researchers [ 29 , 33 ]. Recent studies using GSHS in Oman and Vietnam identified parental involvement as a protective factor from bullying victimization [ 45 , 46 ]. This might be explained by a healthy parent–child relationship, allowing a protective environment against the peer pressure influences [ 45 , 47 ].…”

“…Recent studies using GSHS in Oman and Vietnam identified parental involvement as a protective factor from bullying victimization [ 45 , 46 ]. This might be explained by a healthy parent–child relationship, allowing a protective environment against the peer pressure influences [ 45 , 47 ]. Indeed, modern trends highlighted adolescent’s needs for independence, but parental support plays a key role in guiding children to the next level of social skills and promoting their mental health [ 48 ].…”

Prevalence of Depression, Anxiety, and Stress among High School Students during the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Survey Study in Western Mexico

“…A topic for future research, this may ultimately be explained by paternal frustration, self-criticism, and rage, manifesting as violent, abusive, or neglectful child maltreatment. Because societal conventions create expectations that fathers will work outside the home, these outcomes occur more frequently in homes with an unemployed father than in those with an unemployed mother, resulting in child maladjustment [ 35 , 36 , 37 ].…”