Work-life balance is a prerequisite, in the choice of contemporary work styles, but allegedly has deteriorated in the teaching profession. Affected work-life quality causes serious impacts including work-life conflict, decreased job ability and affects an individual’s psychological state. This distress wave affects on a global scale, due to extreme workloads which cause high job stress that eventually affect quality of life. In the Malaysian context, job stress is currently at a medium level, but workloads are expected to increase, hence, work-life balance is potentially at risk. Investigations into work-life balance among teachers in Sabah is scarce. In addition, studies have not adequately examined the issue with positive integration. Balancing is about strengthening the known gains, and overcoming the identified strains. Thus, present conceptual paper discussed about the relationship of workload, eustress and distress towards work-life balance. Ultimately, a conceptual framework is developed based on the reviewed literature.
Nurses' preparedness has been very important for them to treat patients effectively during the COVID-19 pandemic and serve the community. Nurses provide a vital role in mitigating the effects of health crises. In order to help nurses better understand their skills, abilities, and knowledge, as well as the actions that they should take to manage care, the research aims of this study are to (1) investigate the level of preparedness, readiness, and anxiety among nurses during the COVID-19 outbreak in Sabah, Malaysia; (2) examine the effects of various differences in preparedness and readiness among nurses; and (3) examine the effect of COVID-19 preparedness on anxiety among nurses. The results revealed that the nurses were moderately competent in managing the COVID-19 care situation. Each of the 3 differentiating characteristics (age, work experience, and previous disaster experience) did not predict how nurses would manage COVID-19 preparedness significantly. Besides, we also found only 2 dimensions of preparedness (familiarity with epidemiology and surveillance and familiarity with psychological issues) significantly predicted nurses' anxiety levels. Familiarity with epidemiology and surveillance predicted nurses' anxiety positively; in contrast, familiarity with psychological issues negatively influenced nurses' anxiety.
The objective of this study was to assess the factor structure of the 26-item Eating Attitude Test (EAT-26) through confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) among 1,084 undergraduate students in Malaysia. The initial findings indicated a lack of support for the proposed three-factor structure. Model modifications were made due to the inadequate initial fit. The fit of the model was significantly improved by excluding items with factor loadings below 0.40 and integrating residual covariances. In conclusion, it is necessary to make contextual modifications to the EAT-26 in order to effectively utilize it among Malaysian undergraduates. This highlights the significance of cultural adaptations in psychological instruments.
The COVID-19 pandemic has had a huge impact not only on healthcare systems and economic threats but also on relationships. Due to the massive measures of the Movement Control Order, such as social distancing, strictly limited physical activities, and making adjustments to working from home-merged with the pandemic's fear-romantic partners may face challenges that affect the quality of their relationships. The purpose of this study was to (i) identify stressors experienced by participants during the COVID-19 lockdown, (ii) evaluate participants'psychological well-being before and during the lockdown, and (iii) see if participants' perceived relationship quality differed before and during the lockdown. An online self-report questionnaire was used to recruit 334 adults (58.1 percent female, 41.9 percent male) with partners (married = 304, engaged = 12, and in committed relationships = 17). Participants were asked about stressors they encountered as a result of COVID-19 using an open-ended question. The Depression Anxiety Stress Scales (DASS-21) were used to assess mental health, and the Perceived Relationship Quality Component (PRQC) Inventory was used to assess relationship quality. According to the findings, the top three common stressors reported by participants were financial problems, restricted movement, and fear of COVID-19 infection. Participants reported significantly higher levels of stress, anxiety, and depression during the lockdown than before. The findings also revealed that participants' relationship quality improved during the lockdown compared to before the lockdown. The current study contributes by providing information on the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on mental health and the quality of couples' relationships during the pandemic.
The coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic has affected the well-being of individuals worldwide. Due to the scarcity of information in the Malaysian context, this study aimed at investigating the changes in well-being before and during the Movement Control Order (MCO) in Malaysia and its association with mental health status. This cross-sectional study was part of a Malaysian non-probabilistic online survey on psychosocial well-being in Malaysia, under the Personal and Family Coping with COVID-19 Global South Research Consortium. A total of 543 respondents (≥18 years old) were recruited using snowball sampling. A validated self-administered questionnaire for assessing sociodemographic characteristics, well-being, anxiety, boredom, and loneliness was circulated on social media platforms (such as Facebook, Twitter, and WhatsApp) and emails. Paired samples t-test, chi-square test, and multinomial logistic regression analyses were applied during data analysis. Results revealed significant changes in the mean scores of well-being, anxiety, boredom, and loneliness before and during MCO (p
This cross-sectional study aimed to validate the Life Events Checklist for DSM-5 (LEC-5) among Malaysian undergraduates (N = 500; mean age = 21.66 ± 1.57), of which 90.4% had ever experienced a lifetime traumatic event. Cronbach's alpha of .87 (95% CI [.86, .89]) and McDonald's omega of .89 (95% CI [.89, .93]) indicated good reliability. Confirmatory factor analysis based on a six-factor structure showed the best fit. The measurement invariance showed that the six-factor structure was similar across sexes. Therefore, the Malay LEC-5 is a valid and reliable instrument to screen for traumatic events among Malaysian undergraduates.