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BACKGROUND: Mounting evidence is revealing disparities in cognitive function and heightened dementia risk among refugees, yet research in this area remains scant. Despite bearing most of the worlds refugee burden, limited-resource countries like Jordan are facing challenges when dealing with refugee health. There is a lack of research on the attitudes toward dementia and the cognitive healthcare gaps among refugees in Jordan. METHODS: 32 older (≥ 55 years) Syrian refugees resettled in Jordan were recruited through a local community-based organization and interviewed in four focus groups (2 female and 2 male groups). Interviews were transcribed and translated, then coded using inductive thematic analysis. RESULTS: Mean age of the sample was 60.1 years and 53.1% were female. Only 34.4% rated their memory as good or excellent. Themes were organized using the socioecological model: 1) At the individual level, participants believed high levels of stress, including low socioeconomic status, poor health, and traumatic history from their refugee experience increased their dementia risk. 2) Interpersonally, there is a fear of dementia due to the possible impact and burden on loved ones, particularly with the stigma surrounding dementia. 3) At the community level, participants noted that resettlement in Jordan - with a shared language, religion, and culture - offered protective effects due to facilitated access to social connection, information, and mental health self-care. 4) At the institution and policy level, participants believed older refugees faced restrictive policies for economic aid, healthcare, and employment, presenting a significant barrier to healthy aging. CONCLUSIONS: Findings from this study are the first to examine the attitudes of Syrian refugees in Jordan toward dementia and cognitive aging. These results could provide essential data inclusive of refugees as Jordan develops its National Dementia Plan. Investing in dementia awareness interventions and age-friendly neighborhoods may benefit aging refugees in limited-resources settings.

The purpose of this study is to evaluate the research output and status of women academics in science fields in Jordan. The rationale is to identify trends as well as challenges to advise policy makers and university administrators on how to promote more involvement of women academics within the university. A survey of two sections was developed. The first section included 36 items that measure demographics and challenges in academic, research, administrative, and family contexts. The second section included questions regarding motivators and barriers to academic research. Participants were prompted to respond per the Likert's Scale, where the responses were later categorized to a dichotomous variable (e.g., yes/no responses). The tools' reliability and validity were tested in a pilot study conducted among 36 participants as well as from feedback from experts in the field. A description of the profile of women scientists in Jordan is presented. There was no significant difference between married and unmarried academics and their responses regarding opportunities and challenges faced in research. Additionally, there was no significant difference in responses between those who are married to academics and those married to non-academics. Furthermore, the t-test showed that those who expressed dissatisfaction with promotion rules in their universities significantly expressed facing more challenges than those satisfied with promotion regulations. This is the first comprehensive study investigating women academics in Jordan in specific and in the Middle East region in general. Whereas previous research in the literature focused on comparing women academics' progress and achievements with that of men academics, the novelty of this study lies in investigating sub-populations of women academics and identifying factors that affect academic achievement among women themselves. The article also offers suggestions for tailored intervention to improve the professional growth of women scientists in Jordan. Keywords: Academia, Jordanian women, Scientific research, Promotion, Introduction Many women choose academia as a career because they simply find themselves in it. Others choose it for its flexibility and high job security which helps in relieving the [...]

All over the world, great strides have been made in conquering illiteracy. Yet, many adults and children do not spend sufficient time reading to benefit from the well-documented rewards of reading for pleasure. In many countries, literacy achievements have not inherently solved the problems of low reading comprehension and limited engagement with literature. Reading for pleasure is lacking in today's society, for multifactorial and complex reasons. Modeling a love for reading is the most engaging way to ensure young people are on the pathway to learning and all the opportunities it offers. This article discusses the We Love Reading model, which promotes and harbors a love of reading that goes beyond the sphere of formal education and enters the everyday psychology and experience of children.

Greater transcultural and transdisciplinary engagement within Muslim contexts and deliberate inclusion of diverse Muslim voices in the development of international guidelines is required to improve understanding of the state of stem cell science, strengthen thinking about attendant ethical complexities, enhance compliance, deepen public deliberation, increase trust, and strengthen practice standards.

This study of 52 predominantly lower income Jordanian and Syrian families with young children (31 girls; Mage  = 53.37 months, SD = 3.53) in Jordan began in 2019, before the pandemic. Families were followed to explore stress physiology, family functioning, and mental health over the first 9 months of the pandemic. Mothers reported less adaptive coping and more negative changes to family life in June 2020 when their children had poorer behavioral self-regulation and more behavior problems, and when families had lower income, in 2019. More negative changes to family life predicted greater hair cortisol concentrations in children in June 2020, and more negative changes and less adaptive coping predicted worse child and mother psychosocial adjustment in December 2020.

Humanitarian research with Syrian refugees can be difficult to conduct in-person, due to COVID-19 containment, security, and logistics issues. We assessed whether the online implementation of a brief, culturally grounded resilience measure would yield reliable responses for use with children and adolescents in the Middle East region. We implemented an online survey screening for socio-economic status, insecurity, prosocial behaviour, and resilience (using the Child Youth Resilience Measure, CYRM) with 119 Syrian refugees (14-18 years old; 74 male, 45 female) living in Jordan. Responses were compared with in-person data, available for a separate cohort of 324 Syrian refugees, previously sampled in Jordan with the same survey instruments. The online CYRM produced reliable and valid responses, as shown by analyses of internal reliability, convergent and divergent validity, and 7-day test-retest consistency. We reflect on logistic, ethical, and methodological challenges of online surveys, and suggest ways to plan and execute online research with hard-to-reach, crisis-affected communities.

Experiences of war and displacement can have profound effects on children's affective development and mental health, although the mechanism(s) underlying these effects remain unknown. This study investigated the link between early adversity and attention to affective stimuli using a free-viewing eye-tracking paradigm with Syrian refugee (n = 31, M[subscript age] = 9.55, 12 female) and Jordanian non-refugee (n = 55, M[subscript age] = 9.98, 30 female) children living in Jordan (March 2020). Questionnaires assessed PTSD, anxiety/depression, insecurity, distress, and trauma. Refugee children showed greater initial avoidance of angry and happy faces compared to non-refugee children, and higher trauma exposure was linked to increased sustained attention to angry stimuli. These findings suggest that war-related trauma may have differential effects on the early and later stages of affective processing in refugee children.

Background: We Love Reading (WLR) is a community-based reading intervention aimed at cultivating an interest in reading for pleasure among children through mobilising local community members to establish informal libraries and organise read-aloud sessions in public spaces. The programme targets primarily children between the ages 4-10 but is also open to older children. The present study investigated the effect of the WLR programme on children's practices and attitudes related to reading for pleasure. Methods: Participants were 1,718 children recruited from different regions in Jordan. Children were, on average, 7.52 years old (SD = 2.12). The treatment group comprised 1,304 children (59% girls; M[subscript age] = 7.18 years, SD = 2.16) who received the WLR programme over 4 months. The comparison group comprised 414 children (59% girls; M[subscript age] = 8.50 years, SD = 1.67) who did not attend any reading programme. Two assessment tools, adapted from previous literature, assessed reading attitudes and reading practices. The structural equation modelling framework was used to analyse the data. Results: Results showed a small but significant increase in reading attitude scores and reading practice scores among children who participated in the WLR programme. The positive effect was found for children of all ages and for boys and girls alike. Conclusion: A comparison of scores between the WLR group and the comparison group showed a small advantage for the WLR group. The results provide initial support for the WLR programme as a promising community-based reading intervention for promoting reading for pleasure among children.

Women in STEM are underrepresented and face challenges in balancing work and family. Therefore, mentoring is an important career intervention that focuses on individual's well-being and professional career. This study introduces a voluntary, flexible, context-sensitive and informal peer-based mentoring model. Twenty-six female STEM professors from Jordanian universities participated in the program for an academic year, self-identifying as mentors/mentees, creating a unique mentoring network across institutions. This case study uses multiple data sources to illustrate opportunities and challenges inherent in the model. Most participants found the program enriching, exciting and a challenging learning experience. Mentors reported increases in self-confidence and satisfaction derived from contributing to the academic community. Mentees emphasized their continuous learning and improved prioritisation skills. Both reflected on the importance of peer-mentoring for women in academia. The flexibility and organic growth possibility of the model is promising and holds important implications for policy makers and practitioners for future implementation.

Displaced communities are at increased risk of poor mental health with limited resources for treatment. Self-compassion moderates the impacts of stressors on mental health in high-income country general population samples, but its impact has not been described among people who have experienced displacement and associated trauma. The aim of this study was to characterize the associations between self-compassion, mental health, and resilience in a sample of displaced Syrian adults living in Jordan. This is a cross-sectional study using four validated survey tools measuring self-compassion, resilience, mental health, and traumatic exposure. Syrian adults who presented to four different community organizations serving refugees within Amman, Jordan were invited to participate. A total of 272 displaced Syrians were included in the final analysis. A majority of those surveyed were positive for emotional distress (84.6%), depression (85.7%), and anxiety (76.5%). In univariate analysis there was a significant lower risk of emotional distress, depression, and anxiety, with both higher resilience and self-compassion. However, in the multivariate model only self-compassion remained significantly associated with less emotional distress, depression, and anxiety, independent of resilience and other covariates. Female gender, poor financial stability, and high levels of traumatic exposure were also identified as persistent predictors of mental health morbidity. The findings of this study suggest that self-compassion is associated with less distress, depression, and anxiety in displaced individuals; suggesting it might be protective against poor mental health. Self-compassion is a modifiable factor that can be utilized as a tool by healthcare professionals and communities caring for refugees to promote positive mental health outcomes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The impacts of war and displacement on executive function (EF)--what we might call the cognitive signatures of "minds under siege"--are little known. We surveyed a gender-balanced sample of 12- to 18-year-old Syrian refugees (n = 240) and Jordanian non-refugees (n = 210) living in Jordan. We examined the relative contributions of poverty, trauma exposure, posttraumatic stress, and insecurity to variance in inhibitory control and working memory. We observed associations between poverty and WM, suggesting that, even in populations exposed to substantial violence and fear, poverty is a specific pathway to WM deficit. We did not, however, find associations between EFs and exposures to trauma. Careful distinction between childhood adversities may illuminate which neurocognitive pathways matter for measures of cognitive function.

Introduction: Volunteering in the community is thought to provide unique benefits to people who experience limited engagement in society. In the global South, volunteer programs are often framed as empowering women and benefiting the poor, without empirical evidence or systematic investigation of what this means from a local perspective. For this reason, it is critical to represent stakeholder knowledge, understand how change happens systemically, and reduce cultural bias in scientific inquiry and public policy. As such, efforts to respect diverse narratives and problem-solving approaches are key to science diplomacy - they help us understand cultural relevance, program efficacy, and for whom a program is considered transformative. Methods and results: This study shows how Syrian refugee and Jordanian women, living in resource-poor families, articulated (i) concepts of empowerment and life satisfaction and (ii) the benefits of engaging in community-based volunteering programs. Through engaging in a participatory methodology known as Fuzzy Cognitive Mapping, women generated visual representations of these constructs and cause-and-effect reasoning. They identified several dimensions of empowerment (e.g., cultural, financial, and psychological empowerment) and several meanings of life satisfaction (e.g. adaptation, acceptance, and contentment). They also mapped connections between variables, identifying those that might catalyze change. We were specifically interested in evaluating understandings of We Love Reading, a program that trains volunteers to become changemakers in their local community. In simulations, we modelled how employment, education, money, and volunteering would drive system change, with notable results on cultural empowerment. Discussion: Through visual maps and scenarios of change, the study demonstrates a participatory approach to localizing knowledge and evaluating programs. This is key to improving scientific enquiry and public policy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Understanding executive functions (EFs) development is of high value to global developmental science. Recent calls for a more inclusive and equitable developmental science argue that tasks and questionnaires that are developed using only a subset of the population are not likely to be appropriate for EFs measurement in global contexts unless explicitly tested . Here, we examined a task commonly used to assess EFs in Western populations in a non-Western sample of Jordanian children. We used the Hearts and Flowers (HF) task to examine (a) its value for assessing EFs development in Jordanian children, and (b) whether task performance was associated with socioeconomic variables and parent report of academic achievement, internalizing, and externalizing behaviors measured with the Arabic Child Behavior Checklist. We report data from N = 93 5.5-8.5 year-old Jordanian children. We found the task to be valuable for distinguishing performance among EFs constructs (working memory, inhibitory control, cognitive flexibility) in this cohort. However, there were no age differences in EFs performance, nor any EFs-specific relationship to any of the parentreport measures of EFs-related constructs. Instead, EFs were related to paternal education and location of residence (Jordanian governorate). We discuss these findings in the context of the expansion of developmental science into global contexts and call for special consideration of measurement and generalizability biases in investigations with human subjects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Traditionally, education in various forms has been used as a tool to change values and behavior in children regarding the environment. This study reports findings from the We Love Reading Program that utilizes the reading of Social Stories in various communities in Jordan to address the environmental problems of Jordan. Results indicated the effectiveness of this informal educational intervention showing a significant increase in children's knowledge about environmental issues and a positive change in behavior related to electricity and water consumption and littering, as reported by parents. The authors provide several recommendations on how Social Stories and appropriate curriculum can be used in schools and community to create awareness in students regarding environmental issues.

The purpose of this study is to evaluate the research output and status of women academics in science fields in Jordan. The rationale is to identify trends as well as challenges to advise policy makers and university administrators on how to promote more involvement of women academics within the university. A survey of two sections was developed. The first section included 36 items that measure demographics and challenges in academic, research, administrative, and family contexts. The second section included questions regarding motivators and barriers to academic research. Participants were prompted to respond per the Likert's Scale, where the responses were later categorized to a dichotomous variable (e.g., yes/no responses). The tools' reliability and validity were tested in a pilot study conducted among 36 participants as well as from feedback from experts in the field. A description of the profile of women scientists in Jordan is presented. There was no significant difference between married and unmarried academics and their responses regarding opportunities and challenges faced in research. Additionally, there was no significant difference in responses between those who are married to academics and those married to nonacademics. Furthermore, the t-test showed that those who expressed dissatisfaction with promotion rules in their universities significantly expressed facing more challenges than those satisfied with promotion regulations. This is the first comprehensive study investigating women academics in Jordan in specific and in the Middle East region in general. Whereas previous research in the literature focused on comparing women academics' progress and achievements with that of men academics, the novelty of this study lies in investigating sub-populations of women academics and identifying factors that affect academic achievement among women themselves. The article also offers suggestions for tailored intervention to improve the professional growth of women scientists in Jordan. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]