Are you “phubbing” me? The Determinants of Phubbing Behavior and Assessment of Measurement Invariance across Sex Differences

Phubbing behavior is pervasive but the examination of the determinants and measurement invariance remain deficient. The present study aims to investigate: (1) relationships between Big Five personality traits (i.e., open-mindedness, conscientiousness, extraversion, agreeableness, and negative emotionality), coping styles (i.e., problem-focused and emotional-focused), Internet addiction and phubbing behavior; (2) the mediating role of Internet addiction among these relationships; and (3) measurement invariance across sex groups. A total of 405 responses were included in the final analyses. Participants were sampled using a probability-proportionate-to-size (PPS) method. Data were collected using paper-and-pencil survey: Phubbing Scale, Internet Addiction Test, Big Five Inventory, and Simplified Coping Styles Questionnaire. Negative emotionality, open-mindedness, and Internet addiction were the significant determinants of phubbing behavior. Internet addiction partially mediates open-mindedness and phubbing behavior. As for measurement invariance across sex groups, conscientiousness, extraversion, negative emotionality, Internet addiction, and phubbing behavior constructs achieved full measurement invariance. The agreeableness construct showed partial measurement invariance. Three constructs (i.e., open-mindedness, problem-focused and emotional-focused coping) failed to achieve partial measurement invariance, signifying that male and female participants had different interpretations on the items of these constructs. This pervasive culture could be gradually weakened if in-person interaction is intensely promoted

Spirituality, religiosity, and the quality of life among elderly adults in Malaysia

Malaysian older adults will be accounted for 10% of the population by 2020 as the consequence of the global ageing demographic revolution. Malaysian studies showed poor quality of life (QOL) among Malaysian older adults despite their long life expectancy. Studies showed the positive relationship between religiosity, spirituality, and QOL. However, previous studies did not distinguish spirituality from religiosity and it has presented insufficient persuasiveness of findings. This study aims to investigate spirituality and religiosity as the predictors for QOL. Quantitative and cross-sectional survey designs were used in this study. 180 participants from aged 60 to 88 were recruited. This study used multiple linear regression analysis to examine the predictors of religiosity and spirituality on QOL. The result showed only spirituality predicted QOL among elderly adults, but not religiosity. The findings of the study implied the importance of internalising spiritual virtues instead of focusing on religious activities which may not improve QOL among older adults significantly

Maternal parenting styles and exposure to community violence in influencing antisocial behavior with self-control as moderator among Penang Island adolescents in Malaysia

Empirical studies recognized parenting styles and exposure to community violence as correlates of antisocial behaviour. However, most studies only examined one of the correlates of antisocial behaviour at single time. The combination of both proximal (i.e.,role of the maternal parenting) and distal (i.e., exposure to violence) determinants are essential to generate wider understanding on the development of antisocial behaviour among adolescents. The present study aimed to examine the relationships between maternal parenting styles (authoritative, authoritarian, and permissive), exposure to community violence, and antisocial behaviour. This study also examined the role of selfcontrol as a moderator on the relationships between maternal parenting styles and antisocial behaviour, as well as exposure to community violence and antisocial behaviour. The present study applied correlational research design and Multi-Stage Cluster Random Sampling using Proportional Probability to Size (PPS) method to select 13 secondary schools from two Penang Island districts (Timur Laut and Barat Daya). A total of 1,149 respondents aged between 13- to 17-year old were included for final data analyses. Empirical data were collected through a self-administered questionnaire that constituted by four instruments (i.e., Parental Authority Questionnaire, Exposure to Community Violence scale, Brief Self-Control scale and Subtypes of Antisocial Behaviour). The present study successfully developed a full-fledged structural model,with adequate model fit at significance value p<.001, chi-square (χ2 =363.378),comparative fit-index (CFI) =.923, normed fit index (NFI) =.920, and root mean square error of approximation (RMSEA) =.073. The structural model indicated that the path loadings for the relationships between authoritative style and antisocial behaviour (β= –.21), authoritarian style and antisocial behaviour (β= –.08); permissive style and antisocial behaviour (β= .13); exposure to community violence and antisocial behaviour (β= .58) were found to be statistically significant, p<.05. The variance of antisocial behaviour was explained 40.1% by all the four predictors: authoritative style,authoritarian style, permissive style, and exposure to community violence. As for testing of moderation, the result revealed that the structural model did not show invariance across self-control groups (low self-control vs. high self-control) with Δχ2 =7.301, p<.05.The result showed that the relationship between exposure to community violence and antisocial behaviour was moderated negatively by self-control (z-score= –4.161, p<.05). However, self-control did not moderate the relationships between maternal parenting styles and antisocial behaviour. Findings from this study have significant implications. Theoretically, the findings may shed light on the role of maternal parenting styles and exposure to community violence on predicting adolescents‟ antisocial behaviour. From a practical perspective, the findings become a vital source for multiple targets such as parents, teachers, governmental and non-governmental organizations, to enhance their understanding and formulate effective prevention and intervention programs for antisocial adolescents

Are you “phubbing” me? The Determinants of Phubbing Behavior and Assessment of Measurement Invariance across Sex Differences

Phubbing behavior is pervasive but the examination of the determinants and measurement invariance remain deficient. The present study aims to investigate: (1) relationships between Big Five personality traits (i.e., open-mindedness, conscientiousness, extraversion, agreeableness, and negative emotionality), coping styles (i.e., problem-focused and emotional-focused), Internet addiction and phubbing behavior; (2) the mediating role of Internet addiction among these relationships; and (3) measurement invariance across sex groups. A total of 405 responses were included in the final analyses. Participants were sampled using a probability-proportionate-to-size (PPS) method. Data were collected using paper-and-pencil survey: Phubbing Scale, Internet Addiction Test, Big Five Inventory, and Simplified Coping Styles Questionnaire. Negative emotionality, open-mindedness, and Internet addiction were the significant determinants of phubbing behavior. Internet addiction partially mediates open-mindedness and phubbing behavior. As for measurement invariance across sex groups, conscientiousness, extraversion, negative emotionality, Internet addiction, and phubbing behavior constructs achieved full measurement invariance. The agreeableness construct showed partial measurement invariance. Three constructs (i.e., open-mindedness, problem-focused and emotional-focused coping) failed to achieve partial measurement invariance, signifying that male and female participants had different interpretations on the items of these constructs. This pervasive culture could be gradually weakened if in-person interaction is intensely promoted.Phubbing es un fenómeno omnipresente; pero, la identificación de los determinantes y la invarianza de la medición siguen siendo insuficientes. Esta investigación tiene como objetivo investigar: (1) la relación directa entre cinco grandes rasgos de personalidad (p.e., mentalidad abierta, escrupulosidad, extraversión, amabilidad, y emocionalidad negativa), formas de afrontamiento (centrado en problemas y emociones), adicción a Internet para y phubbing; (2) el rol mediador de la adicción a Internet entre estas relaciones; y (3) la medición de las diferencias entre sexos. Se incluyeron 405 respuestas en los análisis finales. Los participantes se seleccionaron con el método de probabilidad proporcional al tamaño (PPT). Los datos se recogieron mediante una encuesta: Escala de Phubbing, Test de Adicción a Internet, Inventario de los Grandes Cinco, y Cuestionario Simplificado de Formas de Afrontar el Estrés. La emocionalidad negativa, mentalidad abierta, y adicción a Internet fueron los factores determinantes del comportamiento de phubbing. En cuanto a la invarianza de medición a través de los grupos de sexo, la conciencia, la extraversión, la emocionalidad negativa, la adicción a Internet y los constructos del comportamiento de phubbing lograron la invarianza de medición completa. La construcción de conformidad mostró una invarianza de medición parcial. Tres construcciones (es decir, mentalidad abierta, afrontamiento centrado en el problema y centrado emocional) no lograron la invarianza de medición parcial, lo que significa que los participantes masculinos y femeninos tenían diferentes interpretaciones sobre los elementos de estos constructos. Esta cultura penetrante podría debilitarse gradualmente si se promueve intensamente la interacción en persona

The mediating effects of resilience and coping strategies on perceived threat of Covid-19 and subjective well-being among Malaysian emerging adults

The outbreak of COVID-19 has been affecting the Malaysian psychological well-being, particularly among emerging adults. They have been found to have higher vulnerability during the transitional life change. Therefore, the present study aims to examine the mediating effects of resilience and coping strategies (i.e., task-oriented coping, emotion-oriented coping, avoidance-oriented coping) on perceived threat of COVID-19 and subjective well-being (SWB) among Malaysian emerging adults. A cross-sectional online survey study was conducted for recruiting 162 participants. They were emerging adults aged between 18 to 25 years old (M = 22.51). The finding revealed that only task-oriented coping mediates the association between perceived threat of COVID-19 and SWB.  However, the other hypotheses were not supported. This significant finding has widened the literature perspective of COVID-19 in the local context. Task-oriented coping is crucial to be cultivated among emerging adults for reducing the impact of the stressful situation, contributing to better psychological health

Perceived Risk, Fear of Covid-19, and Resilience on Mental Health of Malaysian Emerging Adults during the Covid-19 Pandemic

The coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic affects one’s physical and mental state. Past studies reported higher levels of anxiety, distress, and depression, especially among emerging adults, indicating the need of studying how COVID-19 affects one mentally. Hence, this study looked to investigate the predictive effect of perceived risk, fear of COVID-19, and resilience on mental health among Malaysian emerging adults. 182 emerging adults were recruited in the cross-sectional study through an online survey using the purposive sampling method. Results showed that resilience significantly and positively predicted mental health while perceived risk and fear of COVID-19 were insignificant predictors of mental health. Overall, practitioners and policymakers are encouraged to focus on resilience-based interventions to improve our emerging adults' mental health. This is because emerging adults with strong mental health can serve as a strong impetus for national development