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This research investigated the relationship between smartphone addiction (SA) and autism quotient, considering the indirect effect of theory of mind (ToM). This research successfully recruited 399 smartphone users to complete self-reported measures for SA, ToM, and autism quotient. Initial results with Pearson's correlation revealed a significant negative relationship between excessive smartphone use and ToM. A significant negative correlation was observed between ToM and the gauged autism quotient. However, the measured SA did not correlate significantly with the autism quotient. From the path analysis, the measured SA did not predict autism quotient and ToM significantly, whereas the measured ToM significantly predicted autism quotient. The negative relationship supports that individuals with established ToM are less likely to develop characteristics of autism. The estimated indirect effect was not significant, implying that ToM did not mediate the direct effect of SA on autism quotient. Implications and limitations are further discussed in this manuscript.

Purpose This study aims to examine how demographic and psychological predictors of free and paid vaccine acceptance operate within an infectious environment. The psychological predictors were derived from the protection motivation theory (PMT), including the appraised effectiveness of vaccine in containing the pandemic and the fear of COVID-19. Design/methodology/approach A representative data set that consists of responses from 2,850 Malaysians was used in this study. Multi-level modelling was used to analyse the data. Findings Results indicated that the acceptance of free and paid vaccination did not differ by region. This suggests that the effects of the included psychological predictors on vaccine acceptance are independent from the environment. Malaysians are more likely to endorse both free and paid vaccination when it is perceived as effective in controlling the pandemic. When the vaccine is deemed as an effective preventive of COVID-19, Malaysians tend to seek free vaccination. Although fear of COVID-19 did significantly predict the endorsement of vaccination, it is a weaker predictor than the perceived effectiveness of vaccine. Originality/value This research used a large representative data set and the PMT framework in addressing vaccine acceptance in Malaysia.

This research investigated the relationships of the Dark Triad, impulsiveness, and social network sites (SNS) addiction with adolescents. In particular, this research examined the indirect effects of the measured motor, attentional, and nonplanning impulsiveness on the relationship of the Dark Triad and SNS addiction. To examine the possible antecedents of SNS addiction, 169 adolescents aged 14-17 were recruited for this research. After obtaining informed consents from their legal guardians, these adolescents completed the Dirty Dozen, the modified Bergen Facebook Addiction Scale, and the Barratt Impulsiveness Scale – version 11. Results showed that the Dark Triad composite score was positively correlated with SNS addiction and the different aspects of impulsiveness, while SNS addiction was positively correlated with motor impulsiveness. The indirect effect of motor impulsiveness on the relationship of the Dark Triad and SNS addiction was significant. The present findings provide theoretical insights to the development of SNS addiction.

The present research was conducted to systematically review existing research that examined the relationships of the aspects of self-construal and social network sites (SNS) usages. A total of 12 research articles met the inclusion criteria for the present review. The reviewed research articles mainly supported the significant relationship of the interdependent self-construal and SNS-related outcomes. The present review highlighted that the reviewed relationships differed. Some findings supported the direct effect of self-construal on SNS-related outcomes, whereas some supported the indirect effects of intervening variables on these relationships. The reviewed findings supported the influence of self-construal on cognition, emotion, and motivation. Implications of the present systematic review were discussed in the manuscript.

This study examined the perceptions of parental bonding, depressive experiences of self-criticism and dependency, and the current level of depressive symptomology among 212 college students from Sabah, Malaysia. The participants completed the brief version of the Parental Bonding Instrument, the Reconstructed Depressive Experiences Questionnaire, and the Patient Health Questionnaire. The results showed significant direct effects of maternal care, maternal overprotection, paternal care, self-criticism, and dependency on depressive symptomology. In contrast, the indirect effects of self-criticism and dependency on the relationship between parental bonding and depressive symptomology were not significant. These findings were in line with previous studies that have highlighted the significance of parent-child bonding, self-criticism, and dependency in the development of depressive symptomology. However, they contradicted previous results on the significant indirect effects of self-criticism and dependency. This study highlights the importance of parental care and overprotection, as they can predict the manifestation of depressive symptomology at a later stage in life.

Social media posts expressing mental illness such as depression are trending in today's society. The aesthetics of dark and depressing posts are highlighted in blogs or social media accounts of young individuals. Consequently, this study investigated why young people use mental illness as an aesthetic on social media. On top of that, this study contributes to the limited body of research on this subject. This study applied a method known as netnography, an analysis of social interactions online. Furthermore, the actor-network theory (ANT) was employed as an analytical tool to explore insights and draw conclusions. Seven mediators were identified as possible causes that prompted mental illness aesthetic use, including Tumblr, media, attention seekers, coping mechanism, victimhood, emo culture, and mental health awareness. These findings provided insights into developing interventions and systematic methods to discuss mental illness properly. This study also identified current challenges in social media research regarding mental illness detection.

The present research was conducted to systematically review existing research that examined the relationships of the aspects of self-construal and social network sites (SNS) usages. A total of 12 research articles met the inclusion criteria for the present review. The reviewed research articles mainly supported the significant relationship of the interdependent self-construal and SNS-related outcomes. The present review highlighted that the reviewed relationships differed. Some findings supported the direct effect of self-construal on SNS-related outcomes, whereas some supported the indirect effects of intervening variables on these relationships. The reviewed findings supported the influence of self-construal on cognition, emotion, and motivation. Implications of the present systematic review were discussed in the manuscript.

Background This research aimed to demonstrate a significant suppressor effect between Facebook usages (Facebook intensity and Facebook addiction) on obsessive beliefs (threat, perfectionism, inflated responsibility, control of thoughts). Subjects and Methods Participants were 204 university students who completed self-reported measures of Facebook intensity, Facebook addiction, and obsessive beliefs. To examine the significance of the suppressor effect, the conceptual models were analyzed using GSCA Pro. Results Results indicated that the suppressor effect was not significant. Facebook intensity, which refers to regular Facebook use, did not significantly predict the facets of obsessive beliefs. Facebook addiction, which represents the maladaptive use of Facebook, significantly predicted these facets. Conclusions Results indicated that Facebook intensity did not increase the relationship between Facebook addiction and obsessive beliefs. Facebook addiction increases the saliency of obsessive beliefs, which possibly increases the risk of OCD. Acknowledgements This research received no specific grant from any funding agency in the public, commercial, or not-for-profit sectors.

This research examined the relationship between social network site (SNS) intensity, SNS addiction, and the severity of obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), alongside its factors of obsession and compulsion. The overlap of SNS intensity and SNS addiction was controlled in the study to predict the measured severity of OCD. In this study, 204 Malaysian undergraduate students were recruited to complete the revised Facebook Intensity Scale, the revised Bergen Facebook Addiction Scale, and the self-report version of the Yale-Brown Obsessive-Compulsive Scale. The overlap of SNS intensity and SNS addiction was supported by their significant positive correlation. Furthermore, SNS addiction significantly correlated with the measured OCD and its corresponding factors. The hierarchical regression analysis revealed that the entry of SNS intensity enhanced the facilitative effect of SNS addiction on OCD and its factors. Therefore, the role of SNS intensity as a suppressor was supported. In the same regression model, SNS intensity predicted the severity of OCD and its compulsion subscale negatively. Implications and directions for future research were also discussed in this manuscript.

A considerable amount of literature has widely discussed the issue in regard to the prediction of social networking sites (SNS) addiction with personality traits. One of the existing issues is the small effect sizes that showed that the traits outlined by the Five-Factor model are lacking the required specificity to predict specific behaviours such as SNS addiction. In light of this issue, the present research attempted to predict SNS addiction with the Dark Triad traits that have been linked to impulsivity that is central to the development of SNS addiction. In this study, a sample of 204 (Male = 77, 38%; Female = 124, 60%; Not mentioned = 3, 2%; Mage = 22.94, SDage = 3.43) university students in Malaysia completed the Big Five Inventory, the Short Dark Triad, and the adapted Bergen Facebook Addiction Scale. Results indicated that SNS addiction was significantly predicted by the measured psychopathy of the Dark Triad. In predicting SNS addiction, the inclusion of the Dark Triad traits contributed significant amount of variance after controlling the Five-Factor model. Finally, the implications of the results were discussed in this manuscript.

Although impulsive buying remains one of the most important topics in understanding customers' behavior, limited studies have provided theoretical and empirical developments in the tourism and hospitality area. This study addresses this gap and provides an updated systematic review of impulsive buying research until 2018 in leading hospitality and tourism academic journals. Previous studies have provided an understanding of the possible antecedents (e.g., marketing factors, environmental factors, social factors, and individual characteristics) and consequences (e.g., perceived value, brand attachment, word of mouth, revisit intention, and willingness to pay more) of an impulsive purchase. However, they did not expound on the underlying mechanism of impulsive buying behavior. This review provides future directions for research in terms of topics, contexts, and research methodologies.

This research was carried out to understand the productivity of academic psychologist in ASEAN countries. This research includes total publication and citation from ASEAN country, universities and researchers from ASEAN countries. Four ASEAN countries were excluded as their total publications and citations were less than 10. Other than total numbers of publication and citation, this research was conducted on the most common subject areas and keywords from ASEAN research. This study found that Singapore in ASEAN had the highest total publications and citations from 2007 till 2011. Singapore in ASEAN’s university has the highest publications and citations as well. The most productive researcher is Viren Swami from Malaysia while the most influential researcher is Chiyue Chiu from Singapore.

Despite the widespread use of social networking sites (SNS) such as Facebook, an adequate understanding of their impact on the users’ mental health is still lacking. The present study intends to expand on the current understanding of the linkage between social networking site use and mental health. Our study explored how Facebook use may be associated with obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), with the inclusion of obsessive-compulsive beliefs as a mediator. One hundred and fifty-six undergraduate students completed the questionnaire given. Overall, Facebook use contributed to OCD severity through obsessive-compulsive beliefs as the mediator. The present study also yielded other relevant results for cyberpsychology that may help pave the way for future studies.

The present study investigated the mediating role of depressive symptom severity in the relationship betweenOCD severity and quality of life (QoL) with Malaysian sample. A total of 126 Malaysians were required tocomplete the questionnaires given, which measure for different aspects of QoL, OCD and depression severity.The results revealed that depression severity and OCD severity were positively correlated. OCD severity wasnegatively correlated with physical functioning, emotional well-being, social functioning and general health. Inaddition, depression severity mediated the relationship between OCD severity and emotional well-being andsocial functioning.