Perceived stress, smartphone dependency, coping behaviors, and psychological well-being among undergraduate students in Malaysia

Well-being is essential to promote students’ development. The present research investigated the association between life events, perceived stress, smartphone dependency, coping behaviors, and psychological well-being. This cross-sectional study employed convenience sampling, and the sample consisted of 303 undergraduates at one public university in Malaysia. Most of the participants were Malay (74.6%), followed by Chinese (15.8%), Indian (6.9%), and other ethnic groups (2.6%). Several types of analyses were used: descriptive statistics, bivariate correlations, mean differences, and structural equation modeling. Descriptive research indicated that the five most common life events were “family get-together,” “getting an unjustified low grade on a test,” “vacation with parents,” “minor financial problems,” and “vacation alone/with friends.” The analyses yielded significant gender and year of study differences in perceived stress. Women had higher perceived stress levels than men. Perceived stress was significantly lower for first-year students than second- and third-year students. Next, there was a significant effect of ethnicity on psychological well-being and daily life disturbance. Specifically, psychological well-being was significantly lower for Malay than Non-Malay students. In contrast, daily life disturbance was significantly higher for Malay than Non-Malay students. In addition, there was a significant interaction between gender and ethnicity on life events and problem focused-coping. Non-Malay men experienced fewer life events than Non-Malay women, Malay men, and Non-Malay women. Non-Malay men were less likely to utilize problem-focused coping than Non-Malay women, Malay men, and Malay women. The measurement and structural model fit very well after allowing some modifications of the models. Results of the structural equation model indicate that experiencing higher levels of life events may lead to higher levels of perceived stress. Higher levels of perceived stress predicted lower levels of psychological well-being. Perceived stress had significant effects on smartphone dependency, emotion-focused, and avoidance-focused coping. In addition, problem-focused had a significant effect on psychological well-being. In terms of mediation effects, perceived stress fully mediated the association between life events and psychological well-being. Perceived stress partially mediated the relationship between life events and avoidance-focused coping. However, there were no mediation and moderation effects of smartphone dependency and coping behaviors on the association between perceived stress and psychological well-being. The results have implications for college students’ well-being programs and give insights for future researchers, counselors, educators, and policymakers. The results confirm the validity of concepts, appropriateness in a different culture, and enrich the cross-cultural literature

Budaya flex, pamer harta kerana desakan sosial - Adilah Nordin

KUALA LUMPUR: Kematangan kawalan kendiri adalah kebolehan untuk mengawal tingkah laku, pemikiran dan emosi apabila berhadapan dengan desakan sosial

Beri sokongan emosi kepada murid mangsa bencana banjir

Sesudah tertangguh seminggu susulan banjir buruk yang melanda di beberapa buah negeri, sesi persekolahan bermula hari ini. Walaupun pelbagai kemudahan diberikan oleh Kementerian Pendidikan Malaysia (KPM), misalnya kebenaran untuk tidak memakai seragam sekolah selain menggantikan sejumlah 263,662 buku teks rosak membabitkan 14,422 murid di seluruh negara, namun bagaimana dengan sokongan emosi dan psikologi

Abai kecerdasan emosi jejas pencapaian akademik murid lelaki

Secara umum masyarakat selalu berpandangan murid perempuan lebih bijak berbanding lelaki. Hal ini disimpulkan berdasarkan kepada laporan kemasukan ke institut pengajian tinggi yang mana pelajar perempuan lebih ramai

The mediating role of perceived stress between smartphone dependency and psychological well-being among college students

Psychological well-being is one of the main elements in students’ life, especially for successful adaptation to the college environment. Determining what factors influence students’ psychological-well may provide valuable insights and ideas for the development of intervention programs. Therefore, this paper aims to examine the association between life events, smartphone dependency, perceived stress, and psychological well-being and whether perceived stress mediates the association between smartphone dependency and psychological well-being. Pearson correlations and multiple regression analyses with bootstrapped mediation were used to analyze the data in this study. The results show that life events were positively associated with perceived stress and that smartphone dependency was associated with higher perceived stress levels. Then, perceived stress was found negatively correlated with psychological well-being. However, smartphone dependency was not associated with psychological well-being. The bootstrapped analysis indicated that perceived stress fully mediated the association between smartphone dependency and psychological well-being. In summary, this study is significant for practitioners in well-being fields, such as counselors and educators, to promote students’ well-being in higher education

The mediating role of perceived stress between smartphone dependency and psychological well-being among college students

Psychological well-being is one of the main elements in students’ life, especially for successful adaptation to the college environment. Determining what factors influence students’ psychological-well may provide valuable insights and ideas for the development of intervention programs. Therefore, this paper aims to examine the association between life events, smartphone dependency, perceived stress, and psychological well-being and whether perceived stress mediates the association between smartphone dependency and psychological well-being. Pearson correlations and multiple regression analyses with bootstrapped mediation were used to analyze the data in this study. The results show that life events were positively associated with perceived stress and that smartphone dependency was associated with higher perceived stress levels. Then, perceived stress was found negatively correlated with psychological well-being. However, smartphone dependency was not associated with psychological well-being. The bootstrapped analysis indicated that perceived stress fully mediated the association between smartphone dependency and psychological well-being. In summary, this study is significant for practitioners in well-being fields, such as counselors and educators, to promote students’ well-being in higher education

Penggunaan skrin terlalu lama tingkat potensi kemurungan kanak-kanak

KUALA LUMPUR: Penggunaan skrin terlalu lama dalam kalangan kanak-kanak menyebabkan sikap kurang bergaul, sukar menyesuaikan diri dan bertindak lebih agresif seperti gemar membaling alat permainan, memukul dan pemarah

Perceived Stress, Coping Behaviors, Social Support and Subjective Health among Unmarried Older Adults

The purpose of this study was to examine coping behaviors and social support as mediators and moderators between perceived stress and subjective health among older adults. A sample of 227 unmarried older adults was recruited. A hierarchical regression analysis was performed in order to analyze mediator and moderator effects of coping behaviors and social support. The results suggest that problem-focused coping and social support partially mediated the association between perceived stress and subjective health. We conclude that stress in older adults should be minimized and effectively managed to prevent negative effects on subjective health. Intervention programs focusing on problem-focused coping and social support should be developed for older adults

Personality, loneliness and mental health among undergraduates at Malaysian Universities

The aim of this study was to examine the relationship between personality and loneliness on mental health among undergraduates at Malaysian Universities. A total of 1468 respondents were recruited from five Universities using the multistage cluster sampling. Mental health was measured by 12 items in the General Health Questionnaire (GHQ-12) designed by Goldberg, 1978. Personality and loneliness were measured using the Big Five Inventory (John, Donahue and Kentle, 1991) and the revised UCLA Loneliness Scale (Russell, Peplau and Cutrona, 1980) respectively. A cut-off point of 5/6 for the GHQ-12 was used in this study. The results of this study revealed that a total of 65.6% of Malaysian undergraduates exhibited healthy mental health and 34.4% showed indications of mental health problems. Apart from that, this study also found a significant relationship between extraversion, agreeableness, conscientiousness, neuroticism, openness and loneliness on mental health. Analysis of one-way ANOVA found a significant difference in mental health between year of study, field of study, ethnicity and religion. Finally, the multiple regression analysis using the stepwise method yielded R2 of 0.103 which means that only 10.3% of variation in the mental health was explained by the predictors. Loneliness was the most significant predictor in explaining mental health followed by neuroticism and extraversion personality. Early detection for indications of mental health problems and understanding factors contributing to stress among students would promote better understanding of mental health in future

Work stress and job satisfaction among Malaysian antidrug professionals: the mediating role of coping strategies

Recent studies have suggested that coping strategies can mediate the relationship between work stress and job satisfaction in working adults. However, the role of coping strategies as a mediator on the relationships had not been proven, particularly among antidrug professionals in Malaysia. Thus, the purpose of this study was twofold. First, to examine the relationships between work stress and job satisfaction. Second, to investigate the mediating effect of coping strategies on the relationships. A total of 3,356 participants (69% males; aged between 21 and 59 years) completed an online survey that measured job satisfaction, control and avoidant coping strategies, and work stress. The results indicated that work stress was related to job satisfaction. Furthermore, the serial mediation test revealed that the relations between work stress and job satisfaction were mediated by both control and avoidant coping. The present study suggests that adopting positive-type coping strategies such as control coping can be effective in tackling stress at workplace, and indirectly contribute to job satisfaction