Ensuring use of valid and reliable scales for evaluating death anxiety that are relevant to the cultural context where they are applied is essential. The purpose of the study was to conduct a systematic review of the psychometric properties of Templer's Death Anxiety Scale (DAS) across cultures. PubMed, Scopus, Web of Knowledge, SID, and Magiran databases were systematically searched for studies published between 1970 and 2017 using Mesh terms. Two independent researchers used Quality Assessment of Diagnostic Accuracy Studies and Checklist of Standards for Reporting of Diagnostic Accuracy to evaluate study quality. Included studies were conducted in Iran, United States, Italy, China, Egypt, Spain, and Australia. Overall study quality was acceptable in 15 evaluated articles. However, findings demonstrated that two (one study), three (seven studies), four (four studies), and five factors (three studies) were extracted across the respective studies. Confirmatory concurrent validity was assessed in two studies. While Templer's DAS has stood the test of time as a commonly used index of capturing the conscious experience of death anxiety, there are psychometric inconsistencies in identified factor solutions across cultures. Findings emphasize the need for continued evaluation of how the DAS is translated in specific countries with assessment in relation to other death construct tools.
Perception of the autonomy and relatedness of the self may be influenced by one's experiences and social expectations within a particular cultural setting. The present research examined the role of culture and the Autonomous-Related self-construal in predicting for different aspects of Social Networking Sites (SNS) usage in three Asian countries, especially focusing on those aspects serving interpersonal goals. Participants in this cross-cultural study included 305 university students from Malaysia (n = 105), South Korea (n = 113), and China (n = 87). The study explored specific social and interpersonal behaviors on SNS, such as browsing the contacts' profiles, checking for updates, and improving contact with SNS contacts, as well as the intensity of SNS use, hypothesizing that those with high intensity of use in the Asian context may be doing so to achieve the social goal of maintaining contact and keeping updated with friends. Two scales measuring activities on other users' profiles and contact with friends' profiles were developed and validated. As predicted, some cross-cultural differences were found. Koreans were more likely to use SNS to increase contact but tended to spend less time browsing contacts' profiles than the Malaysians and Chinese. The intensity of SNS use differed between the countries as well, where Malaysians reported higher intensity than Koreans and Chinese. Consistent with study predictions, Koreans were found with the highest Autonomous-Related self-construal scores. The Autonomous-Related self-construal predicted SNS intensity. The findings suggest that cultural contexts, along with the way the self is construed in different cultures, may encourage different types of SNS usage. The authors discuss study implications and suggest future research directions.
This article attempts to review the criteria for the amok phenomenon since the late 15th century and how its meaning has evolved into its present day usage.
Depressive illness is common among the aged population. A case control study was conducted, focusing on risk factors influencing depression among the elderly. This study involved 130 elderly patients diagnosed to have depressive illness from the psychiatric clinics of Kuala Lumpur Hospital (HKL) and Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia Hospital (HUKM). Another group of 130 elderly patients with no history of depressive illness were recruited from the medical specialist clinics. The majority of cases were female (75.4%), aged 60-74 years (92.3%) and from Chinese ethnic group (59.2%). Non-Malay elderly has three times risk (AOR 2.537, 95% CI 1.439-4.471) of suffering the depressive illness compared to the Malay elderly, the elderly with chronic health problems are more likely to be depressed compared to those who do not suffer from any chronic illness (p trend <0.001). Other risk factors identified were family history of depression with four times risk (AOR 4.225, 95% CI 2.017-8.848) and lower social support with eight times risk (AOR 7.949, 95% CI 2.588-24.417). Social support is not only important in encouraging the elderly to practice healthy life style but proven to influence the risk of getting depression among them. Hence, it is very crucial that the elderly is given total attention, respect and love from all parties to ensure prosperity and meaningfulness in life.
BACKGROUND: Little is known on the level of physical inactivity and its behavioral and cultural correlates among East Asian college students.
PURPOSE: The aim of this study is to examine and compare the level and behavioral and cultural correlates of physical inactivity among college students in Taiwan, Hong Kong, South Korea, Singapore, and Malaysia.
METHOD: Data were collected from a representative sample of college students (N = 12,137) in five East Asian economies during the 2008-2009 academic year. The stratified random sampling (stratum: geographic region) was used to select participating institutions. The overall response rate was 77%.
RESULTS: The percentage of physically inactive students was 7.2% for Singapore, 8.0% for Malaysia, 13.5% for Taiwan, 16.8% for Hong Kong, and 28.5% for South Korea. When gender, age, and body mass index were controlled, fruit and vegetable consumptions were significant correlates for physical inactivity across all the five economies. In Hong Kong, Korea, and Taiwan, those who engaged in binge drinking at least once during the past 2 weeks were less likely to be physically inactive than those who did not. Religion and military experience did not independently predict physical inactivity in any of the five economies.
CONCLUSION: Physical inactivity varies greatly across different economies in East Asia that are usually grouped together and considered a single homogeneous entity by some researchers. However, in terms of correlates of physical inactivity, findings of the current study indicate that the transversal value of physical activity might be transformed into a universal.
Little is known about the information needs of women with breast cancer in non-Western societies. This study examined the priority information needs of 100 women with breast cancer in Malaysia and compared the findings to previous work involving 150 women diagnosed with breast cancer in the United Kingdom. The study used a valid and reliable measure, the Information Needs Questionnaire (INQ). The INQ contained 9 items of information related to physical, psychological, and social care, used successfully in Canada and the United Kingdom. The INQ was shown to have cross-cultural relevance and sensitivity. For Malaysian women, information about likelihood of cure, sexual attractiveness, and spread of disease were the most important information needs. For UK women, similar priorities were evident, apart from the item on sexual attractiveness, which was ranked much lower by women in the United Kingdom. The cultural similarities and differences that emerged from this study have implications for nurses in the cancer field caring for people from a diversity of cultural backgrounds. Breast care nurses are not a feature of the Malaysian healthcare system, although the findings from this study support the view that specialist nurses have a vital role to play in meeting the psychosocial needs of women with breast cancer in non-Western societies.
The disorder of autism is widely recognised throughout the world. However, the diagnostic criteria and theories of autism are based on research predominantly conducted in Western cultures. Here we compare the expression of autistic traits in a sample of neurotypical individuals from one Western culture (UK) and two Eastern cultures (India and Malaysia), using the Autism-spectrum Quotient (AQ) in order to identify possible cultural differences in the expression of autistic traits. Behaviours associated with autistic traits were reported to a greater extent in the Eastern cultures than the Western culture. Males scored higher than females and science students scored higher than non-science students in each culture. Indian students scored higher than both other groups on the Imagination sub-scale, Malaysian students scored higher than both other groups on the Attention Switching sub-scale. The underlying factor structures of the AQ for each population were derived and discussed.
Recent work with samples of black and white urban American women showed a clear behavioral sequence relating age at menarche to age at first intercourse to age at first birth. This paper shows that the linking of ages at menarche, intercourse, marriage, and first birth is a pattern which occurs in very diverse cultures. We present confirmatory data from the United States, Belgium, and Pakistan, and from Malay and Chinese women in Malaysia. We interpret our findings as indicating a biological process leading to (a) social interpretations of readiness for reproduction, and (b) persisting biological differences between early and late maturing women.
This study investigated how dissatisfaction with particular aspects of the body was associated with overall body dissatisfaction among male adolescents in Western and Asian cultures. One hundred and six Malaysian Malays, 55 Malaysian Chinese, 195 Chinese from China, and 45 non-Asian Australians aged 12 to 19 years completed a questionnaire assessing dissatisfaction with their overall body and dissatisfaction with varying aspects of their body. Dissatisfaction with the face, height, and hair was positively correlated with overall body dissatisfaction among Malaysian Malays after body mass index, age and dissatisfaction with body areas typically included in measures (weight/shape, upper, middle, and lower body, and muscles) had been controlled for. Dissatisfaction with the face was positively correlated with overall body dissatisfaction among Malaysian Chinese. These findings demonstrate the differences in body focus for males from different cultures and the importance of using assessment measures that address all possible areas of body focus.
Possession-trance is a common culture-bound syndrome in Singapore. The characteristic features as seen in 36 young men of the three different ethnic communities are described. At follow-up four to five years later, none of the 26 who could be contacted showed any evidence of mental illness. The psychopathology of the possession-trance is discussed.
Verbal memory tests-although important to the neuropsychological assessment of memory-are biased to many cultures. In the present article, we highlighted the limitations associated with the direct translation of tests and word matching, as well as the lack of ecological validity and cultural appropriateness when tests developed in one culture are used in another. To overcome these limitations, a verbal memory paradigm was developed that framed the memory assessment with a shopping-list format, but that developed culturally specific stimuli for the different language groups. The aim of the present study was to determine the equivalence of this shopping list memory test in different cultural and language groups. Eighty-three adults from English-, French-, Malay-, and Chinese-speaking cultures participated in four experiments. The results of all the experiments indicated that performance of verbal list learning is equivalent, irrespective of the language used. These results support the use of this methodology for minimizing cross-cultural test bias, and have important implications for testing culturally and linguistically diverse individuals.
BACKGROUND:
Depression and erectile dysfunction (ED) have a complex and bi-directional relationship. We examined the relationships between erectile dysfunction and depressive symptoms or diagnosed depression, sexual activity and sexual satisfaction.
METHODS:
A population survey of men aged 40-70 years was carried out in Brazil, Italy, Japan and Malaysia in 1997-1998. A questionnaire was used to collect life style, sexual behaviors and medical data. Depressive symptoms were assessed using the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale. ED was classified as moderate or complete if the men reported they were "sometimes" or "never" able to achieve and maintain an erection satisfactory for sexual intercourse. Only men with a sexual partner and not taking psychoactive drugs were considered.
RESULTS:
Diagnosed depression was reported by 2.0% of the men, depressive symptoms by 21.0%. The prevalence of moderate or complete ED was 17.8%. Sexual satisfaction related to the frequency of sexual intercourse and inversely related to depressive symptoms. Depressive symptoms were positively associated with being single (odds ratio [OR] 1.7), widowed, separated or divorced (OR 2.2), moderate or complete ED (1.8), heart disease (1.6) and smoking (1.6), and negatively associated with age, physical activity and frequency of sexual intercourse.
LIMITATIONS:
Cross-sectional studies cannot establish a temporal cause-effect relationship. However, the confirmation of known associations reassures about the validity of the original findings.
CONCLUSIONS:
The findings suggest that depressive symptoms are linked to ED by the mediation of decreased sexual activity and the dissatisfaction generated by the inability to have a healthy sexual life.
The Schizotypal Personality Questionnaire (SPQ) is a widely-used self-report instrument for the assessment of schizotypal personality traits. However, the factor structure of scores on English and non-English translations of the SPQ has been a matter of debate. With little previous factorial evaluation of the German version of the SPQ (SPQ-G), we re-assessed the higher-order factor structure of the measure. A total of 2,428 German-speaking adults from Central Europe (CE) and the United Kingdom (UK) completed the SPQ-G. Confirmatory factor analysis - testing proposed 2-, 3-, and 4-factor models of SPQ-G scores - indicated that the 4-factor solution had best fit. Partial measurement invariance across cultural group (CE and UK) and sex was obtained for the 4-factor model. Further analyses showed CE participants had significantly higher scores than UK participants on one schizotypal facet. These results suggest that scores on the SPQ-G are best explained in terms of a higher-order, 4-factor solution in German migrant and non-migrant adults.
OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to identify cultural-level variables that may influence the extent to which adolescents from different cultural groups are dissatisfied with their bodies.
DESIGN: A sample of 1730 male and 2000 female adolescents from Australia, Fiji, Malaysia, Tonga, Tongans in New Zealand, China, Chile, and Greece completed measures of body satisfaction, and the sociocultural influences on body image and body change questionnaire, and self-reported height and weight. Country gross domestic product and national obesity were recorded using global databases.
RESULTS: Prevalence of obesity/overweight and cultural endorsement of appearance standards explained variance in individual-level body dissatisfaction (BD) scores, even after controlling for the influence of individual differences in body mass index and internalization of appearance standards.
CONCLUSIONS: Cultural-level variables may account for the development of adolescent BD.
KEYWORDS: GDP; adolescents; body dissatisfaction; culture; sociocultural influences
Selecting the right applicants is an important part of medical student admission. While one universally accepted selection criterion is academic capacity, there are other criteria such as communication skills and local criteria (e.g., socio-cultural values) that are no less important. This article reviews the policies and methods of selection to medical schools in seven countries with varying socio-economic conditions and healthcare systems. Senior academics involved in medical education in Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Sri Lanka, and Taiwan completed a pre-agreed pro-forma per each country to describe the country's admission policies and methods. The details were then compared and contrasted. This review identifies tension between many of the policies and methods used in medical school admissions, such as between the need to assess non-cognitive abilities and widen access, and between the need for more medical professionals and the requirement to set high entry standards. Finding the right balance requires careful consideration of all variables, including the country's human resource needs; socio-economic status; graduates' expected competencies; and the school's vision, mission, and availability of resources.
This introduction to the special issue on global perspectives frames the collection of articles around recent calls for expanding the focus of research in psychology in general, and school psychology specifically, beyond Western, educated, industrialized, rich, and democratic countries and cross-cultural comparisons with non-Western, educated, industrialized, rich, and democratic Confucian East Asian countries (cf. individualistic vs. collectivist societies; see Krys et al., 2024), while neglecting populations in Latin American, Eastern Europe, Africa, Middle East, South Asia, and Oceania. The articles in this issue represent research from China, Germany, Italy, Latvia, Malaysia, Ukraine, Vietnam, and the United States and address topics as diverse as teacher consultation, implementation science, adapting evidence-based interventions, parent-teacher and teacher-child relationships, bullying, behavior management, school climate and equity, resilience during war, newcomer immigrants, refugee status in transit countries, and social media use. Research methods represented in this issue include correlational, case study, comparative (cross-country), mixed methods, and participatory approaches. We hope that the articles in this internationally focused collection heighten school psychologists' knowledge of and interest in a world where science and practice expand beyond borders, and that the global-intercultural perspective represented herein can facilitate collaboration across cultures and contexts as we advocate for the rights and well-being of each child. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved).
In recent years, attempts have been made to incorporate religion into tobacco control efforts, especially in countries like Malaysia and Thailand where religion is central to the lives of people. This paper is a prospective examination of the perceived relevance and role of religion and religious authorities in influencing smoking behaviour among Muslims in Malaysia and Buddhists in Thailand. Data were collected from 1482 Muslim Malaysian and 1971 Buddhist Thai adult smokers who completed wave 1 (early 2005) of the International Tobacco Control Southeast Asia Survey (ITC-SEA). Respondents were asked about the role of religion and religious leadership on smoking at Wave 1 and among those recontacted, quitting activity at Wave 2. Results revealed that over 90% of both religious groups reported that their religion guides their day-to-day behaviour at least sometimes, but Malaysian Muslims were more likely to report that this was always the case. The majority (79% Muslims and 88% Buddhists) of both groups believed that their religion discourages smoking. About 61% of the Muslims and 58% of the Buddhists reported that their religious leaders had encouraged them to quit before and a minority (30% and 26%, respectively) said they would be an influential source to motivate them to quit. Logistic regression models suggest that these religious factors had a clear independent association with making quitting attempts in both countries and this translated to success for Malaysian Muslims but not for the Thai Buddhists. Taken together, results from this study indicate that religion and religious authorities are both relevant and important drivers of quitting, but whether this is always enough to guarantee success is less clear. Religion can be a culturally relevant vehicle to complement other tobacco control efforts.