Tham Sin Wan, Wong Min Fui, Ismail Maslinor Binti, Ismail Bukhary Noriklil Bukhary Binti
Centre for Burden of Disease Research, Institute for Public Health, National Institutes of Health, Blok B2, Kompleks Institut Kesihatan Negara (NIH), No.1, Jalan Setia Murni U13/52, Seksyen U13 Setia Alam, Shah Alam, Selangor, 40170, Malaysia.
Centre for Health Policy Research, Institute of Health System Research, National Institute of Health, Kompleks Institut Kesihatan Negara (NIH), No.1, Jalan Setia Murni U13/52, Blok B2, Seksyen U13 Setia Alam, Shah Alam, Selangor, 40170, Malaysia.
BMC Psychol. 2025 Jan 9;13(1):25. doi: 10.1186/s40359-024-02279-3.
Child maltreatment in daycare is a public health issue. As childcare is stressful, high care provider negativity independently predicts more internalizing behaviour problems, affecting children's psycho-neurological development. This study aimed to determine psychosocial factors associated with the mental health of preschool care providers in Kuala Lumpur.
A random cluster sampling cross-sectional survey was conducted in 2019. The study involved registered care providers for preschoolers under four years old without acute psychiatric illness. The Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale (Malay-CES-D) and Karasek's Job Content Questionnaires (Malay-JCQ) were used to assess depression symptoms and psychosocial job-related risks. Logistic regression (p < 0.05) guided by the Hosmer-Lemeshow strategy was used for analysis, with the final model evaluated for assumptions and goodness-of-fit.
A total of 247 providers were recruited from 36 preschools. All respondents were females, with a mean age of 32.1 years old, Malays (70.4%), married (55.0%), attained a diploma and above (50.6%) and had low income (80.1%). The prevalence of depressive symptoms and job strain was 28.7%. Final logistic regression revealed individual factors (married, stressful life events: assault and marital issues), job strain (AOR = 2.33, CI = 1.22, 4.44), and job insecurity (AOR = 1.29, CI = 1.07, 1.56) determine depressive symptoms. Good supervisor support was inversely associated with depression.
Job strain and insecurity contribute significantly to depressive symptoms among preschool care providers in Kuala Lumpur. The Social and Welfare Department can promote supportive supervision through skill training for supervisors, fostering a positive mental health environment for improving workers' mental health.
日托机构中的儿童虐待是一个公共卫生问题。由于照顾孩子压力很大，照顾者的高度消极情绪会独立预测出更多内化行为问题，影响儿童的心理神经发育。本研究旨在确定与吉隆坡学龄前儿童照顾者心理健康相关的社会心理因素。
2019年进行了一项随机整群抽样横断面调查。该研究纳入了没有急性精神疾病的4岁以下学龄前儿童的注册照顾者。使用流行病学研究中心抑郁量表（马来语版CES-D）和 Karasek工作内容问卷（马来语版JCQ）来评估抑郁症状和与工作相关的社会心理风险。采用以Hosmer-Lemeshow策略为指导的逻辑回归（p < 0.05）进行分析，并对最终模型进行假设和拟合优度评估。
从36所幼儿园招募了247名照顾者。所有受访者均为女性，平均年龄32.1岁，马来人（70.4%），已婚（55.0%），拥有大专及以上学历（50.6%）且收入较低（80.1%）。抑郁症状和工作压力的患病率为28.7%。最终逻辑回归显示个体因素（已婚、生活压力事件：攻击和婚姻问题）、工作压力（优势比 = 2.33，置信区间 = 1.22，4.44）和工作不安全感（优势比 = 1.29，置信区间 = 1.07，1.56）决定抑郁症状。良好的上级支持与抑郁呈负相关。
工作压力和不安全感是吉隆坡学龄前儿童照顾者抑郁症状的重要促成因素。社会福利部可以通过为上级提供技能培训来促进支持性监督，营造积极的心理健康环境以改善员工的心理健康。
