Artikel ini bertujuan mengkaji keberkesanan program SHIELDS daripada perspektif pelajar dan urusetia yang telah turut terlibat. Program SHIELDS adalah satu bentuk program campbased yang diperkenalkan hasil kerjasama antara Kementerian Pendidikan dan Pihak Agensi Anti Dadah Kebangsaan (AADK). Nama SHEILDS ini adalah akronim yang bermaksud Sayangi Hidup, Elak Derita Selamanya. Sehubungan itu, program ini bertujuan meningkatkan kesedaran dan mengupayakan ketahanan diri murid (lingkungan umur 13 hingga 18 tahun) yang dikenalpasti berisiko dalam penyalahgunaan dadah. Kajian kuantitatif ini melibatkan dua fasa iaitu fasa pertama adalah mengedarkan soal selidik sebelum dan selepas program SHIELDS dijalankan. Manakala, fasa kedua pula adalah sesi follow up selepas 3 bulan terhadap 50 pelajar yang telah terlibat dengan program SHIELDS terlebih dahulu. Hasil kajian menunjukkan secara keseluruhan perspektif pelajar seramai 559 orang yang terlibat dengan program SHIELDS ini adalah baik dengan min=4.48. Kesimpulannya, dapatan ini menunjukkan bahawa program SHIELDS ini sewajarnya diteruskan dengan beberapa penambahbaikan untuk kelangsungan program dan kebaikan semua pihak yang terlibat.
Self-Compassion Scale (SCS) has been used widely throughout the world as an instrument to measure the self-compassionate concept among adolescents and adults. However, within the context of Malaysia this instrument is relatively new and published work on this construct is limited. This study was therefore conducted to measure the psychometric properties of the SCS - Bahasa Melayu version. SCS was a self-report instrument that consisted of 6 subfactors and it was rated on a 5-point Likert scale. Subjects of this study were randomly selected adolescents (n=125) aged 16 years old who resided in Wilayah Persekutuan Kuala Lumpur. The SCS was translated using back translation technique and its validity was determined by face and content validity. Descriptive analysis was used to assess demographic data, while inferential analysis was adopted to check for internal consistency using Cronbach alpha. Results of validity tests revealed that the content of 12 items of the SCS needed to be rephrased. Results of internal consistency analysis demonstrated good reliability values, with Cronbach alpha for total scale α=.80, while the Cronbach alpha values for the sub-scales ranged from α=.60 to α=.70. All in all, these Cronbach alpha values indicated that the SCS was suitable to measure self-compassion construct among Malaysian population. In order to have a deeper understanding of the self-compassion construct and the suitability of SCS for local use, further analyses using Exploratory Factor Analysis (EFA) and Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA) may need to be conducted.
The phenomenon of adolescents involved with drug abuse is a worrying and very serious issue. The influence of drug-related partners would have a bad effect on other teens, especially teenagers who are at risk. Therefore, this study aims to identify the extent of the level of knowledge of the drug, especially in relation to the differences of attitudes in terms of physical effects, hindering behaviors, involvement in drug-related activities and information on how to distribute, attitude towards self and future, and risk factors amongst students who did take drugs as compared to who never took it. This is a cross-sectional study involving 559 teenagers at risk, aged between 13-18 years’ old who are involved in SHIELDS Programme, camp based programme that was introduced by Agensi Anti dadah Kebangsaan (AADK) in collabaration with the Ministy of Education. Findings showed that there is a significant difference between students who have taken drugs and those who have never used it for dimension of hindering behavior, involvement in drug-related activities and information on how to distribute, risk factors of the involvement of immediate family members with drugs and negative consequences of drug intake. Because the involvement with drugs negatively impacts adolescents, thus, the prevention of this deviance behavior must be implemented as best as possible to ensure that the future of these adolescents is upheld, to prevent them from falling into another crime.
Ex-offenders are facing major challenges after their release to survive in the community. Among the challenges are stigma from the community, physical and mental health issues, financial problem because of unemployment and loss of significant others. They need to be guided to manage issues regarding employment, family, interpersonal relationship, and self-management. This article will discuss issues and barriers for ex-offenders to return to work or join the workforce. Past findings showed that ex-convicts and ex-drug addicts are still facing with barriers which withhold them from joining the job market. They frequently become the victims of rejection, bias, being bullied, and being segregated by co-workers. Barriers in employment may also be rooted from themselves, such as attitude problem, bad work culture, aggressive personality, and disciplinary issue. Thus, effective programmes and interventions need to be implemented for ex-offenders to increase their employability, and hence joining the community.
Parent-youth conflict and behavioural difficulties are common issues in the field of developmental psychology. This study examines the correlations of conflict and behavioural difficulties, to see if these factors predicted a negative affect on a sample of at-risk youth. A sample of 335 at-risk youth aged 13-24 years old from Public Housing Projects in Kuala Lumpur was selected. Conflict with the father was significantly associated with negative affect. Further analysis showed that three factors were required to produce negative affect. The results support claims that father conflict, emotional problems and conduct problems are an integral part of the close relationships of at-risk youth, and discourage positive youth development among at-risk youth.
Commonly, teenage marriage affects schooling and being gainfully employed to support the family in later life. Most studies focused on the effects of marriage at the young age. However, less research is focusing on the experience of marriage from the perspective of the teenagers who get married at the teen age. This article aims to answer the following questions: (1) what are the experiences of teenage marriages, and (2) what are their views on teenage marriage. The article is based on semi-structured interviews with seven girls recruited by snowball technique, aged 15 to 23 years, married and living in Kuching, Sarawak. Data were analyzed by thematic analysis. Seven themes emerged on marriage experiences: being independent, nourishing patience, maintaining social boundaries, developing responsible behaviour, being inspired, staying positive and doubting their ability as a husband or wife. Moreover, four main themes described informants' views on teenage marriage: to avoid immorality, immaturity, making decisions wisely and accountability. It can be concluded that a person who gets married at the teen age is in need of help from various parties, especially parents and friends as well as community not to be stigmatized for being married at the teen age.
The effectiveness of training is an important aspect in the development of training. After investing a lot of money to organize a training program, the organization often wants to know about the effectiveness of training given to trainee as well as how it can gives impact to the organization. This study was conducted to evaluate the effectiveness of training tested through learning performance among trainees that undergo a transition in the Perbadanan Hal Ehwal Bekas Angkatan Tentera (PERHEBAT). In this study, personal characteristics and training program characteristics acted as the independent variables in predicting learning performance. The instrument used in this study was adapted from Trainee Characteristic Scale, Training Program Characteristic Scale and Training Effectiveness Scale by Siti Fardaniah (2013) for personal characteristics, training program characteristics and learning performance. Questionnaires to measure the dimension of training transfer for the training characteristics was adapted from the Learning Transfer System Inventory (LTSI) by Holton et al. (2000). Data obtained were analyzed using Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) version 23. The multiple linear regression analysis indicated that extrinsic orientation, self-efficacy and organizational commitment have significant influence on learning performance. Relevance of training content and learning transfer design also affecedt learning performance. Findings in this study can be used as a reference to improve training effectiveness by focusing on personal characteristics and training characteristics conducted in PERHEBAT.
The benefit mobile technology brings is not limited to learning and entertainment but it also modifies human aspect of social communication. Despite the high number of previous research available concerning smartphones, there is still a gap of research that needs to be addressed such as its effect towards social competence. As the social system becomes complex, communication technology evolves to ensure the social needs are accomplished. For this study, 236 students aged between 13-14 years old were recruited and given a set of questionnaire which comprised Mobile Phone Problem Use Scale, Social Competence Scale for Teenagers and Self Scoring Self-Control Scale. In this study, the researcher attempted to examine the effect of excessive smartphone usage on social competence with self-control as mediator. Regression analysis was used to estimate the effect between the variables. The result indicates that there is negative relationship between excessive smartphone usage and social competence. However, when self-control is tested in the model as a mediator, excessive smartphones usage was not prevalent to predict social competence. This concludes to the apparent role of self-control as a mediator. The implication of study has contributed to the practical importance and methodological aspect of studies involving social competence and self-control.
Now-a-days, understanding consumers’ buying motive is much more important for the marketers. As there is very limited literature in this field and no full version of psychometric tool are available for measuring consumer buying motive, we have taken initiative to develop ‘Consumers’ Buying Motive Assessment Tool’ (CBMAT). 388 early adult respondents were used in this study. In EFA, we found two-dimensional model of CBMAT having three factor at each dimension, comprising 26 items which explained 53.63% of sub-total variance of ‘Emotional’ dimension and 50.90% of sub-total variance of ‘Rational’ dimension. In both dimension, the reliability was high enough (Cronbach’s α of ‘Emotional’ = .826 and .837 for the ‘Rational’ dimension). We found high convergent validity within the same dimensional factors and high discriminant validity among different dimensional factors. By considering cutoff point (39), buyers’ motive can be low or high in both dimensions which comprises four types buyer motive such as ‘Equivocal’; ‘Utilitarian’; ‘Affective’ and ‘Indifferent’. These findings help to gain the psychometric properties of CBMAT which also support the ‘Dual Process Theory’. This study opens the door of further research on consumer buying motive.
The quality of life is an indicator of well-being that is seen as important in the establishment of policies to improve the welfare of senior citizens. The establishment of the Elderly Activity Center (PAWE) in urban and rural areas throughout Malaysia is one of the government's initiatives in preparation to be an old country by 2030. Nevertheless, since the establishment of PAWE in 2001, there has been scarce research about services provided to senior citizens at PAWE. Therefore, this study is conducted to identify level of quality of life among senior citizens at PAWE in urban and rural areas. The survey was conducted on 156 respondents in four PAWE locations namely PAWE Sungai Buloh, PAWE Cheras, PAWE Jenjarom and PAWE Sabak Bernam. The data were collected by using Older People Quality of Life (OPQOL-35) questionnaire. The data were then analyzed using Statistical Package Social Science (SPSS) by using descriptive analysis to identify the quality of life according to the respondents' demographic information. The results showed that the quality of life among urban respondents were higher than rural respondents, quality of life of male respondents were higher than female respondents while the quality of life among Chinese respondents was higher than Malay and Indian respondents. For the quality of life according to age, respondents aged 71 to 80 years were higher in qulity of life level than respondents aged 60 to 70 years and 81 to 90 years. This study is expected to give impact on the awareness to concerned parties about the advantages of community-based activity center which can increase the qualilty of life among elderly.
This article attempts to present the trend among young offenders undergone Community Service Order (CSO) in Malaysia. An archival time series analysis approach was applied to identify the ethnicity, gender, type of crime and the total number of young offenders undergone CSO across Malaysia from 2009 until 2015. Relevant information was gathered after obtaining official statistic from the Department of Social Welfare Malaysia. In sum, a total number of 13,896 cases were reported in six-year duration throughout Malaysia. The highest number of cases were recorded in Wilayah Persekutuan Kuala Lumpur (545 cases). Moreover, an overall number of 2,989 young offenders have successfully undergone CSO from 2009 until 2015. The resultant data also indicated that majority of male young offenders undergone CSO are Malays in ethnicity (67.79%) and most of them have involved in property-related crime (47%). As an overall impact, the study provided implications to the concerned parties and key personnel such as welfare officers, criminal justice authorities and policies makers to reinforce the implementation of a community-based approach to recuperate young offenders who have involved in criminal activities.
This study investigates bullying and victimisation in juvenile rehabilitation institutions in Malaysia, where research on this phenomenon has been particularly limited. It examines the prevalence of bullying and victimisation in these settings and investigates the role of personal characteristics and aspects of institutional environments, and explores how these factors relate to bullying behaviour. The study comprised a survey completed by 289 male and female young people, aged 12 to 21 years old, in 8 juvenile rehabilitation institutions, using the scale version of Direct and Indirect Prisoner Behaviour Checklist (DIPC-SCALEDr) and the Measuring the Quality of Prison Life (MQPL) instruments. The findings showed that 95 percent of young people reported at least one behaviour indicative of bullying others, and 99 percent reported at least one behaviour indicative of victimisation in a month. Seven predictors were found to underpin bullying behaviour, including three personal characteristics (i.e. time spent in the institution, experiences of punishment inside the institution, and gang membership) and four institutional dimensions (i.e respect; bureaucratic legitimacy; fairness; and family contact). To conclude, bullying behaviour seemed to be normalized in juvenile rehabilitation institutions. As the heart of institution, staff members play an important role to control bullying behaviour amongst young people. The importance of these findings for bullying prevention strategies and directions for future research are discussed.
Currently, poverty is a growing issue in the urban community. The increasing cost of living, due to the rapid urbanisation process has resulted the urban community to forgo few vital interests in order to survive. The urban poverty’s condition can lead to more serious consequences when they decline the education rights of their children in order to survive rather than having a stable financial status. These pressing conditions have caused them to lack the proper education and become less successful in their careers compared to others. Thus, it has resulted in the late bloomers group who are forced to sacrifice their youth by working in order to obtain strong financial guarantee before resuming to get the perfect education just like everyone else at the later age. Hence, this paper will discuss solely based on past studies that have been conducted especially in Malaysia. The concepts and definitions of poverty and urban poverty will also be further discussed.
The prevalence of Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) cases has been increasing worldwide. There are countless aspects of challenges faced by parents to bring up children with ASD. Parents of children with ASD are often reported to have higher stress in parenting compared to parents with normal children or children with other disabilities such as Down syndrome. Therefore, this study explored the challenges faced by mothers of children with ASD. Mothers whom were selected are the primary guardians and spend a lot of time nurturing these children. This qualitative study involved in-depth interviews with five (5) informants in Selangor. The thematic analysis identified the challenges faced by the mothers of children with ASD, which are the aspects of behavioral, financial and community acceptance. The findings showed that mothers to children with ASD encountered numerous complicated challenges which require the support of all parties to address those challenges. High support and compassionate understanding are really needed from the spouse, normal children, local communities, and government to alleviate their difficulties. Thus, the findings of this study hopefully will help various parties to understand the challenges faced by the mothers of children with ASD. It can also be the guiding principle in designing supportive programs and interventions for children with ASD as well as their parents.
The process of drug rehabilitation is an important agenda for the National Anti-Drug Agency (NADA). Various efforts have been taken to aid NADA in treating drug addicts. This study focuses on identifying the mental health status and psychological factors to design appropriate treatment strategies. Therefore, this research aims to determine the level of family functioning, cognitive distortion and resilience among clients of CCRC and C&C. A total of 495 clients from these institutions took part in this study. The instruments used were FACES III to measure family functioning, CDS to measure cognitive distortion and Resilience Scale to measure resilience. Results indicate that clients’ family functioning is at a moderate level, clients’ cognitive distortion is at a low level, whilst their resilence is at a high level. This indicates that the rehabilitation programs conducted at the institution had an impact on clients’ resiliency and cognitive distortion.The implications of the study can be attributed to the counseling intervention at NADA.
This study was carried out to determine the influence of LMX towards the SCB worker dimension in a national automotive company in Malaysia. There were 360 respondents from the automotive company involved in this study. Data collected from respondents were analysed using descriptive (demographic frequencies) and inferential statistics (correlation and regression analysis). The results showed that one of the four independent variables has a positive influence on SCB. In terms of the demographic factors, none of the variables (age, gender and period of service) made any significant difference on LMX and SCB, except the position category. Further suggestions regarding LMX and SCB are discussed based on the findings.
Accident in an organization is one of the most undesirable phenomenons all over the world. The consequences of accidents in workplace are numerous which include damages of resources and cost of lives of many workers. For example, in 1991 a major disaster occurred in U.S. at triangle Shirtwaist factory, which cost the life of 100 garments workers (Greenwald & Richard, 2005). In Bangladesh accidents in workplace are more frequent and devastating, for which Bangladesh has been criticized severely worldwide. Recently one of those unfortunate phenomenons in Bangladesh was fire at Nimtoli of old Dhaka which cost 117 people burnt alive in June 2010. Another accident took place in Tazreen Fashion, Dhaka in 2012 which caused at least 112 workers either burnt to death or died while trying to escape the blaze. These are the short picture of loss of lives. Yet the losses of resources are not few. Sometimes accidents create threats for human and animal kingdom also by large rate of environmental pollution. For Example, in 2005 devastating Texas City Refinery explosion cost lives of many workers as well as light hydrocarbons concentrated at ground level throughout a large surrounding area which caused long lasting environmental pollution (Baldwin & Lisa, 2008). Furthermore, economic loss cannot also be over looked. A little mistake costs huge loss in assembly line of work. Thus accidents reduce production rate, lessen the quality of product and the reputation of industry also.
This study aims to develop and examine the counseling modules in reducing communication apprehension problem experienced in four dimension such as group discussion, meeting, dyad and public speaking by students in higher education institutions. Moreover, this study also aims to observe the effects of main time and time-group interaction. Approach used in this study was quantitative by using quasi-experimental design involving three types of tests, namely the pre-test, post-test and follow-up test. Sample of study involved a total of 60 students at a one of university in northern Malaysia. The study involved two groups namely, the treatment group that used the new approach by the combines solution focused brief counseling and cognitive behavioral and a control group using the existing approach known as cognitive focus group counseling Corey. Personnel Report Communication Apprehension (PRCA-24) questionaire was used to observes the changes in the level of communication apprehension before and after the group counseling intervention. Results indicated that both modules can reduce the communication apprehension among students.
Homofobia dalaman dikaitkan dengan perasan negatif yang dirasai oleh seseorang lelaki gay dan menjadi konflik dalaman di dalam dirinya. Homofobia dalaman yang dialami oleh lelaki gay merupakan salah satu petunjuk mengapa mereka mencari sebab untuk berkahwin dengan wanita. Oleh itu, kajian ini bertujuan untuk mengkaji tahap homofobia yang dialami oleh lelaki gay di Malaysia serta melihat pengaruhnya di dalam menentukan alasan lelaki gay memilih untuk berkahwin atau tidak berkahwin dengan seorang wanita. Responden yang terlibat di dalam kajian ini adalah seramai 29 orang yang dipilih daripada laman sosial Facebook, e-mel, kampus UKM Bangi serta sekitar Kuala Lumpur dan Selangor. Satu set borang soal selidik mengandungi item latar belakang demografi, Internalized Homophobia Scale, serta soalan terbuka tentang alasan lelaki gay berkahwin dan tidak berkahwin dengan wanita telah diedarkan kepada responden. Hasil kajian mendapati bahawa tahap homophobia dalaman lelaki gay bagi sampel ini adalah tinggi iaitu sebanyak 72.7 %. Alasan utama lelaki gay berkahwin adalah untuk mendapatkan zuriat (51.72%), kesedaran merubah identiti seksual (31.03%), desakan keluarga (24.14%) dan damba cinta wanita (24.14%) . Manakala tema utama bagi alasan untuk tidak berkahwin pula adalah tidak yakin melakukan hubungan seks dengan wanita (20.70%), risau terhadap kemampuan mencintai wanita (17.24%), tidak mahu mengecewakan wanita tersebut (10.34%) dan sukar mencari jodoh (10.34%). Sokongan sosial yang padu berupaya mengurangkan diskriminasi serta tahap homofobia yang dialami oleh lelaki gay di Malaysia.
This research is about the Malay adolescent's understanding on the concept of love in Islam and its relationship with rational thinking. Two instruments were developed to measure the level of understanding, attitudes and practices of the adolescents in selected Malaysian universities embracing the concept of love through the psychological and Islamic approaches, and the level of rationality while in love. This quantitative studies involved adolescents in public and private universities with two instruments constructed specifically for this study. Through the 599 respondents this study found a significant relationship between demographic factors, category of university attended, background and status of love with the understanding of the concept of love in Islam and rational thinking. The findings are useful for increasing the understanding and appreciation of love from the Islamic perspective and to address problems arising from moral decadence stem from the misunderstanding of the concept of love.