To prevent the spread of COVID-19, the Malaysian government implemented a movement control order, an emergency policy that instructed all people in the country to stay home. Being confined in a building for a lengthy period exposes individuals to the risk of having a range of symptoms known as cabin fever. Considering the negative impact of cabin fever, it is crucial to assess cabin fever symptoms among Malaysians. However, there is a lack of validated instruments; hence, this study attempts to develop an instrument for Malaysian adults, named Cabin Fever Scale (CFS). A total of 124 adults (75% females; M = 29.3 years) were recruited via the snowball sampling method to participate in an online survey. Exploratory factor analyses showed that the CFS items were pooled into two factors: behavioural symptoms (six items) and emotional symptoms (four items). Findings show that Malaysians viewed cabin fever as both behavioural and emotional symptoms. The behavioural symptoms comprise food craving, decreased motivation, difficulty waking up, and frequent naps, while emotional symptoms include anxiety, lethargy, depression, impatience, hopelessness, and dissatisfaction. Both CFS subscales demonstrated good internal reliability with Cronbach’s Alpha values of .768 (behavioural symptom) and .908 (emotional symptom). The 10-item CFS is deemed a psychometrically sound instrument for measuring cabin fever in Malaysia.
In dealing with the COVID-19 pandemic, many individuals are having difficulties in coping with stress and enhancing their happiness due to the lack of proper social support. The phenomenon is highly alarming as the mental health issues of Malaysians begin to surface during the period of adversity. The study aims to investigate the mediating effect of resilience on the relationship between social support and happiness during the COVID-19 pandemic. A total of 104 Malaysian adults participated in the study through a convenience sampling method. They completed an online survey which measured levels of social support, resilience, and happiness. A Pearson correlation analysis showed that social support and resilience were positively associated with happiness. Besides that, resilience was evidenced as a partial mediator on the association between social support and happiness. The study concluded that individuals with a higher level of social support showed a higher level of resilience which eventually led to a higher level of happiness. In facing adversity, Malaysian adults with poor social support should improve their resiliency to boost their happiness.