Issues faced by adolescents living with HIV in shelter homes in Malaysia

UNICEF Malaysia has found that adolescents with HIV face several emotional, behavioural and social problems. Based on past literature, the result of these incidences has led to a lower well-being in these aspects. As the stage of adolescence is filled with change, inner growth, and sometimes conflict, adolescents coping with HIV face an added stressor as they strive to grow emotionally, behaviourally and socially. Given the lack of studies investigating these factors in a Malaysian setting, the present study seeks to fill this gap in research by identifying the issues facing adolescents with HIV. The main participants involved are namely: (1) 30 Malaysian adolescents with HIV from shelter homes; the personnel of the shelter homes comprising the: (2) programme coordinators; (3) staff; and (4) volunteers of the shelter homes, recruited via purposive sampling. Focus group discussions were conducted with the adolescents with HIV while semi-structured interviews were conducted with the personnel of the shelter homes. Thematic analysis was utilized in analysing findings through several themes. The findings indicated that the issues of adolescents living with HIV are Emotional issues, Behavioural issues, Social issues, Academic issues, Coping skills issues and Conative issues

Establishing content validity of an instrument measuring content knowledge of an intervention program for adolescents living with HIV

This paper seeks to explore the dynamics underlying the wellbeing factors in the organization and workers’ psychological well-being. Considering the degree and impact of inequality among various communities, the high-demanding workloads in relation to work demands and out-of-work life challenges, it is pertinent that the well- being of every employee is central to the success and improvement of any organization. Positive psychology, in support to other aspects of mainstream psychology, has spread across disciplines like education, organizational functioning, career counseling, mental health, and human resource. It offers some valuable resources through flow and meaning that helps fosters the well-being of the employee and optimum productivity within the work setting. From review of related studies, experiencing optimal experience or being in a state of flow in situations of everyday life puts the worker in better psychological state when going through challenging periods. However, this positive momentum is yet to be felt in non-Western societies in both research and practice. While academicians need to invest greater attention in this area, it is recommended that managers and corporate bodies have to volte-face ways of improving productivity and performance at work towards making employees work more meaningful, and exploring measures to in-build amenities towards making workers to attain flow experience

Challenges and well-being of single women living in Malaysia

Despite the evidence of an increasing number of unmarried women in Malaysia, this groupremains an understudied group. Thusthe present study examinedthe life of single women in Malaysia.The aims of this studywereto explore(1) single women’s experience of challenges,and (2) the factors that can increase their well-being. Using a purposive sampling and snowball method, 12single women between the ages of 31 to 49 years old, who hadnever married, living in Malaysia,participated in this study. A qualitativestudy was designed; in-depth interviewswere carried out to elicit information from the participantsand the data was analyzed using asystematic process. Results from this study showedthat the participants viewed their challenges as attributed to,(1) judgmental attitudes of other peopletowards singles; (2) own strugglewith self-acceptance; (3) being stereotypedand treated unfairly; (4) feelings of insecurityand displacements; and (5) experience ofnegative emotions. In addition, the findings also indicated that the factors that can increase wellbeing included,(1) defining and creating meaning to self; (2) coping skills; (3) religious strengths; (4) strong internal attributes; (5) positive self-talks; (6) social and emotional support;(7) healthy and active lifestyle;and (8) being hopeful forthe future.These findings suggestthat while faced with myriad of challenges, single women thrive by drawing on the strength from their own internal attributes as well as their external environment. More studies should be undertaken to understand the experiences of single women in the society.This study raises a number of opportunities for future research including society’s perceptions of single women and the impacts when more individuals are opting to stay single

Human’s mental health during the Covid-19 pandemic: similarity found in the Maqāṣid alSharīʽah and positive psychology

Human nature, values, and human existence and development are all intertwined in the notion of Maqāṣid al-Sharīʽah, which supports the well-being of humans, including those with mental health concerns. The high degree of mental health difficulties among students, such as severe stress and depressive symptoms, not only impact their academic performance but also lead to self-injurious behaviour and suicidal attempts. With the COVID-19 pandemic affecting Malaysian university students’ mental health, this article aims to explore the situation from a Maqāṣid al-Sharīʽah perspective and positive psychology. The study employed a mixed-method approach. Firstly, a quantitative descriptive analysis was done to assess students’ overall mental health symptoms to provide a rudimentary assessment of their core psychological problems. Questionnaires were accompanied by an open-ended question to triangulate respondents’ experiences and were analysed qualitatively through a thematic analysis. A DASS-21 survey was given to 87 undergraduate IIUM students (n = 81) aged 19 to 27 years. Based on the maqāṣid framework, the study could be utilised to prioritise strategies to treat mental health concerns at various levels that will ensure the preservation of human life. The ultimate purpose of this research is to provide future implications for a multidimensional framework of psychological well-being based on Maqāṣid al-Sharīʽah principles. This is consistent with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) that calls for action to protect humanity and to ensure that all individuals are living in peace and prosperity

Issues faced by adolescents living with HIV/AIDS in shelter homes in Malaysia

UNICEF Malaysia has found that adolescents living with HIV/AIDS face several emotional, behavioural and social problems. Based on past literature, the result of these incidences has led to a lower well-being in these aspects. As the stage of adolescence is filled with change, inner growth, and sometimes conflict, adolescents coping with HIV face an added stressor as they strive to grow emotionally, behaviourally and socially. Given the lack of studies investigating these factors in a Malaysian setting, the present study seeks to fill this gap in research by identifying the issues facing adolescents with HIV. The main participants involved are namely: (1) 30 Malaysian adolescents with HIV from shelter homes; the personnel of the shelter homes comprising the: (2) programme coordinators; (3) staff; and (4) volunteers of the shelter homes, recruited via purposive sampling. Focus group discussions were conducted with the adolescents with HIV while semi-structured interviews were conducted with the personnel of the shelter homes. Thematic analysis was utilized in analysing findings through several themes. The findings indicated that the issues of adolescents living with HIV are Emotional issues, Behavioural issues, Social issues, Academic issues, Coping skills issues and Conative issues. These issues represent the main needs and problems faced by these adolescents

The evaluation of an Online peer support group on the levels of internal and external self-confidence among undergraduate students during Covid-19 pandemic: a Bandura’s Theory of Self-Efficacy Approach

The Covid-19 pandemic had a great impact on individuals of all walks of life in the aspect of psychosocial functioning particularly those from a B40 background as well as students. The main objective of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of a psycho socio-spiritual educational support group using the Bandura’s Theory of Self-Efficacy approach on the levels of internal and external self-confidence among 4th-year undergraduate IIUM students during the Covid-19 pandemic. It also aims to identify the issues of self-confidence from the participants during Covid-19. Seven 4th-year IIUM undergraduate students have been interviewed to identify the self-confidence issues and 22 participants (N=22) from the age of 22 to 24 years old were recruited via purposive sampling method to participate in the online peer support group. The present study used a mixed-method, exploratory approach with a quasi-experimental one-group pre-test-post-test design and a qualitative design. Two questionnaires have been utilized, the internal and external self-confidence scale by Kelsey Evelyn Perkins, and in-depth interviews employed five open-ended questions. The Likert scales consisted of 12-items that required participants to rate from 1“strongly disagree to 7 “strongly agree.” Data were analysed qualitatively by thematic analysis and quantitatively using Paired Sample T-test computed in the 26.0 version of Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) with a P-value <0.5 considered statistically significant. There was a statistically significant increase in Internal Self Confidence pre-test score (M=55.64, SD=9.459) to Post-test (M=69.55, SD=9.012), t(21)=5.670, p<0.05 (two-tailed). There was also an increment for External Self Confidence pre-test score, (M= 41.00, SD=10.156) and post-test (M=50.18, SD=13.800), t(21)=3.217, p<0.05 (two-tailed) after the implementation of the online peer support group among undergraduate students during the Covid-19 pandemic. According to the current research, peer support might be a helpful tool to improve self-confidence among undergraduate students and broaden its function as a coping mechanism to improve the quality of life and well-being. The findings of this research will also shed light on the use of Bandura’s Theory of Self-Efficacy in the fostering of Internal and External Self-confidence