Evidence map›Paper›PMID 41661769›Full record

ArticlePLOS mental health2025

The association of diminished quality of life of Afghan adults' psychosocial wellbeing, in the era of the Taliban 2.0 government.

Jessi Hanson-DeFusco, Anton Sobolov, Sami Stanekzai, Alexis McMaster, Hamid Popalzai, Heer Shah, Min Shi, Nandita Kumar

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in PLOS mental health, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1 paper.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
1citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

1 citing paper in PubMed.

  1. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

8 authors.

Jessi Hanson-DeFuscoHumanities, Social Sciences and Communication Department, Lawrence Technological University, Southfield, Michigan, United States of America.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1265-8403
Anton SobolovSchool of Economic, Political and Policy Sciences (EPPS), University of Texas at Dallas, Richardson, Texas, United States of America.
Sami StanekzaiEPPS, University of Texas at Dallas, Richardson, Texas, United States of America.
Alexis McMasterGraduate School of Public and International Affairs, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States of America.
Hamid PopalzaiAfghanistan Technical Vocational Institute (ATVI), AIT Compound-MoHE, Kart-e Char, Kabul, Afghanistan.
Heer ShahDepartment of Biological Sciences, University of Texas at Dallas, Richardson, Texas, United States of America.ORCID https://orcid.org/0009-0007-9321-2174
Min ShiEPPS, University of Texas at Dallas, Richardson, Texas, United States of America.
Nandita KumarEPPS, University of Texas at Dallas, Richardson, Texas, United States of America.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

After the 2021 US withdrawal, a drastic transition of power coupled with international sanctions and the Islamic State-Taliban conflict led to growing issues of widespread economic hardships, food insecurity, stricter social policies, and changes to daily life. This 2023 study examines the association of diminished quality of life (DQOL) on the psychosocial wellbeing of Afghan adults living in-country under the Taliban- Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan. Applying Solar & Irwin's social determinants of health framework, we present the quantitative analysis of data collected from 873 Afghan respondents (ages 18-65) of a digital survey, using snowball sampling over social media. Data analysis examines the association between individual self-reported quality of life hardships and psychosocial stress symptoms (disaggregated and aggregated), disaggregated by demographics. Approximately nine-in-ten Afghans face DQOL correlates related to higher psychosocial stress (PSS). 72.9% (CI95% 69.8-76.0) of respondents self-report suffering food insecurity; 71.6% (CI 95% 68.3-74.8) poor access to needed healthcare. The extent to which Afghan men face limited household healthcare access is linked to higher PSS levels (χ2 = 117.10, p<0.001). A matching analysis of survey data indicates that Marginal Effects that lack of healthcare access increases the probability of stress by approximately 8%; experiencing the loss of loved ones also has a significant effect ranging from 9% to 11%; and experiencing threats of violence leads to a substantial increase in the probability of PSS, ranging from 34% to 36%. Qualitative data triangulate the statistical findings, provides intrinsic insight into Afghans' daily experiences, and inform causal mechanisms related to share trauma experiences. The 2021 US withdrawal marked a turbulent political shift in Afghanistan that disrupted previous structural determinants of health, like gender and age. The political shift, international sanctions, and internal crises have worsened the humanitarian conditions affecting most Afghans, negatively impacting their physical and psychosocial wellbeing.

Identifiers

PMID41661769
PMCPMC12798289

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.