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This article explores subjective experiences related to non-suicidal self-injury (NSSI) through a qualitative analysis of interviews with 7 Malaysian university students who had recently en...

The national school uniform remained a requirement for all primary and secondary school students in Malaysia since its first introduction by the British missionaries in the nineteenth century. Although it is commonly thought that wearing uniforms improve cohesion among students, little research has been done to investigate the perception of national school uniforms and perceived cohesion among Malaysian students. The aim of the current study is to explore the experiences of former students, teachers and school counselors in relation to Malaysia’s national school uniform policy, their influence on student life, and their relationship to school and national cohesion. Three studies were conducted. In Study 1, Malaysian secondary school graduates (N = 192) completed a self-report questionnaire with close and open-ended questions. In Study 2 and study 3, secondary school teachers (N = 10) and school counselors (N = 6) participated in semi-structured interviews, respectively. Although students felt the uniforms were unattractive, they had neutral to somewhat positive feelings about them overall. They did not report greater school cohesion or national identity related to uniforms but did report that uniforms lessened the importance of socioeconomic and other differences. Teachers and counselors reported similar views; they did not perceive much influence on national or school identity but did see advantages in terms of discipline and the lessening of student inequality. Generally, teachers and counselors were in favor of school uniforms but some suggested that uniform designs could be more culturally inclusive, particularly in regard to Muslim and non-Muslim students. Limitations of using non-representative sampling and future direction for Malaysian school uniforms were discussed. This study highlights the important characteristics that should be taken into consideration by educators and policymakers for future improvement of the national school uniform policy in Malaysia.

This study examined the role of social support in managing worry among a sample of Malaysian adults. An online questionnaire was completed by 136 participants (age M = 34, SD = 7.65; 71% female, 29% male). Each wrote open-ended, essay-type descriptions of their experiences with social support in relation to worry, as well as completing measures of pathological worry (Penn State Worry Questionnaire), normal worry (Worry Domains Questionnaire), and perceived social support (Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support). Results indicated that young adults experienced a higher degree of normal worry compared to older adults, but pathological worry was not significantly different between the two groups. No significant differences in worry were found in relation to gender, ethnicity or marital status. Perceived social support was negatively related to levels of both normal and pathological worry. Qualitative analyses pointed towards four important roles for social support: providing a sense of belonging and security, providing emotional relief or catharsis, helping to reappraise situations, and facilitating problem-solving and decision-making. The role of social support as a secure base that facilitates emotion management and helps to ground thinking is discussed.

Psychological factors and social relationships are important components that influence an individual's communication style. This paper aims to examine the association of personality factors, social anxiety (SA) and loneliness with mobile phone (MP) usage preferences on the basis of voice calling and text messaging. Malaysian MP users (N = 187) completed four questionnaires (Mobile Phone Usage Questionnaire, Big Five Inventory, Interaction Anxiousness Scale and UCLA Loneliness Scale) on paper or online via a web-link. Multiple regression analyses revealed that personality, SA and loneliness broadly predicted preferences for voice calling or text messaging. Further analyses examining the predictability of time spent on voice calls/text messaging and number of people called/exchanged text messages also revealed some significant findings in regards to the openness-to-experience personality dimension, loneliness and SA. The findings of this research have important implications to tailoring the delivery of psychological services to individuals diagnosed with chronic loneliness and SA.

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to examine specifically the impacts of transformational leadership on job‐related learning at the individual level.Design/methodology/approachA questionnaire survey was conducted. The survey questionnaire contained measurements of job‐related learning (JRL) and the five dimensions of transformational leadership: idealized influence attributed (IIA), idealized influence behavior (IIB), individualized consideration (CON), inspirational motivation (INSPIRE), intellectual stimulation (INTSTIM). Data were collected from 400 individuals of various organizations on a voluntary and anonymous basis.FindingsThe research results showed that the dimensions of IIB and CON were two significant predictors to job‐related learning.Research limitations/implicationsAll of the data collected in the present study are gathered from a single source through a common method (i.e. a Likert‐scale questionnaire). Also, the use of a cross‐sectional design in the present study restricts inferences being drawn regarding the causal relationships between transformational leadership and job‐related learning.Practical implicationsIt seems that leaders are able to enhance job‐related learning among the employees when they recognize the growth needs of their followers and provide them with personal guidance and goal‐directed development. The findings imply that if a high learning orientation in an organisation is desired, transformational leadership would be the type of leadership needed in the organization.Originality/valueThe present study does provide some evidence that some dimensions of transformational leadership are more influential on job‐related learning than the others.

The aim of this review was to evaluate research relating to the effects of coping strategies and resilience on the level of workplace stress. Much of the research focused on working mothers and working females in general. It was found that working females experienced more work stress as compared to men. And currently in Malaysia, social policies that support working females, especially working mothers, has not been adopted fully by most corporations. Furthermore, the evidence for effective problem-focused and emotion-focused coping was inconsistent. It was concluded that correlation between work stressors and the adopted coping strategies may vary depending on the type of problems being dealt with and the interplay between the employee and the demand. Moreover, resilience literature revealed this concept as an enhancement of an individual’s adaptability and survival in the presence of occupational stressors and success in overcoming the stressors results in increased resilience to future hardships. This article identifies a number of research gaps for advancing work stress research, in particular: 1) limited work stress research on Malaysian working women and mothers, and; 2) limited literature on relating resilience to coping strategies and work stress.

In recent years, central research on relationships has focused mostly on the quality of relationships. It has been postulated that married and dating couples tend to rate the quality of their relationship differently. The present study aims to explore this statement in addition to examining the role of gender in couple satisfaction and consensus. A total of 160 participants that were made up of 80 married individuals and 80 individuals who were dating were surveyed for this purpose. The Dyadic Consensus and Dyadic Satisfaction subscale from the Dyadic Adjustment Scale were administered to the couples. Independent-samples T-test was used to analyse the gender differences in regards to dyadic consensus and dyadic satisfaction. It was found that there was a significant difference between married and dating couples in regards to dyadic satisfaction in a relationship. However, it was found that there was no significant difference between married and dating couples in relate to dyadic consensus in a relationship. In addition, findings of this study revealed that there was no significant difference in satisfaction and consensus among males and females. Further investigation is recommended on couple’s problem-solving styles which may lead to noticeable differences between genders, married and dating couples as relate to their level of satisfaction and consensus.

The study aims to examine the relationship between self-esteem and perceived social support among the Malaysian adolescents. Gender differences of perceived social support and self-esteem among the respondents were also investigated. To achieve the objectives of the study, a survey was conducted with a relatively large (n=460) random samples of adolescents, aged 16-20, drawn from schools, colleges and universities in Malaysia. The Self-esteem Rating Scale (SERS) and the Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support (MSPSS) were used in the study. The results indicated that there were no gender differences in perceived social support and self-esteem among adolescents. However, a positive correlation was found between perceived social support and self-esteem. The study also found peer support was the highest form of perceived social support.

Teenage suicide has become a very serious problem and has been labeled as a growing epidemic by many health professionals worldwide. Through a questionnaire survey, the study aims to examine gender difference in public perceptions on various reasons for and methods used in suicidal attempts among teenagers. 90 college students participated in this study. The results showed a significant difference among males and females for the reasons why teenagers attempt suicide. The reasons were secularism, poor parent-child relationship and atheism. For the methods of suicidal attempts, a significant gender difference was also obtained for the slit wrist method.