This paper describes a rehabilitation programme for male chronic mental patients, with the aim of reintegrating them into the community. Since in Malaysia about 50% of the work force are stilling earning their living in the agricultural sector, the programme concentrates on training in farming and animal rearing. Since the patients are very institutionalised, resocialisation training is also provided that involves learning to communicate, to mix with others, to know how to use money, to make one's own demands, and to cope with more personal freedom. When a patient is trained well enough to be employed outside, a job is found for him that provides food, lodging and payment. After discharge from the hospital, he is regularly followed up by the social worker.
Spirituality and mental adjustment have been widely adopted as coping strategies among women with breast cancer. Little information was available locally on the use of spirituality and mental adjustment as coping mechanisms to fight breast cancer. A cross-sectional study was conducted to assess spirituality and mental adjustment as coping strategies and its association with socio demographic data on 216 women with breast cancer. The Functional Assessment of Chronic Illness Therapy-Spiritual Well-Being (FACIT-Sp) and Mental Adjustment to Cancer (MAC) Scales were used to assess spirituality and mental adjustment. Negative correlation between spiritual well-being and helplessness/hopelessness (r=-0.690; p=0.000), anxious preoccupation (r=-0.277; p=0.000) and avoidance (r=-0.235; p=0.000) and positive correlation between spiritual well-being and fighting spirit (r=0.668; p=0.000) were identified. Socio-demographic factors such as race (p=0.000), religion (p=0.000), academic qualification (p=0.004) and type of surgery (p=0.016) revealed significant relationship with spiritual well-being. Fighting spirit, hopelessness/helplessness and anxious preoccupation also yielded significant relationship with race (p
Background: A great deal of research has been carried out on the assessment of the eudaimonic perspective of psychological well-being and the hedonic perspective of subjective well-being. The Flourishing Scale (FS) has been extensively used in research and practice, as it assesses the fundamental aspects of social psychological functioning. Nevertheless, the psychometric properties of Urdu versions of eudaimonic measures, such as the FS, have not yet been ascertained. The translation and validation of the FS in the Urdu language was not available, and hence this study was planned with the aim to validate the Urdu version of the FS. Methods: We assessed the psychometric properties of the FS in a sample of adults aged 18 years and above in Pakistan (N = 130) using exploratory factor analysis based on principal component analysis with varimax rotation and confirmatory factor analysis. Results: The exploratory factor analysis confirmed the unidimensional nature of the 8-item FS. We assessed that the Urdu version of the FS showed a high internal consistency reliability (α = 0.914) with a significant intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC), p < 0.001). In our study, the Kaiser-Mayer-Olkin value was 0.915 with a chi-square test value (χ2) of 637.687, and Bartlett's test of sphericity was significant (df = 28, p < 0.001). The intraclass correlation coefficients (ICCs) at test-retest for all domains were statistically significant (p < 0.001) and showed excellent agreement for all the items. The revised confirmatory factor analysis revealed a good-fit model, but with item 8-"People respect me"-removed due to its lower factor loading. Conclusions: The findings suggest that the FS is a psychometrically sound instrument for assessing social psychological functioning among adults in Pakistan. Therefore, the validated Urdu version of the FS may be used in future studies of well-being in clinical psychology and positive psychology.
INTRODUCTION: The present study investigated the relationship between psychological symptoms and psychosocial function and the role of relevant sociodemographic data and antipsychotic use in the prediction of psychosocial function among multiracial schizophrenia outpatients in Malaysia.
METHODS: A total of 223 participants were recruited in this cross-sectional study conducted from December 2010 to April 2011. Psychological symptoms were assessed using the Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale whilst the psychosocial function was assessed using the Personal and Social Performance scale. Sociodemographic and treatment variables were gathered through interview or review of the medical records.
RESULTS: All dimensions of psychosocial functions were inversely correlated with Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale sub-domains. Only the disorganization sub-domain significantly predicts all dimensions of psychosocial function. For social data, body mass index and employment status were significant predictors of all dimensions of psychosocial functions. Typical antipsychotics significantly predict social function negatively as compared to sulpiride (β = -0.152, P = 0.028).
DISCUSSION: We found that the relationship between psychological symptoms and psychosocial functions were relatively consistent with the findings from the Caucasian population. Additionally, disorganization was the only significant predictor of all dimensions of psychosocial functions. This further emphasized the importance of cognition in psychosocial function. The roles of sulpiride, body mass index and employment status as predictors of psychosocial function were also discussed.
KEYWORDS: antipsychotics; psychosocial function; schizophrenia; symptoms
Study site: Psychiatric clinic, Hospital Tengku Ampuan Afzan, Kuantan, Pahang, Malaysia
Kratom (Mitragyna speciosa) is an indigenous plant known for its traditional medicinal use, and for its addiction potential, in Southeast Asia. In recent years, kratom and its major alkaloid, mitragynine, spread worldwide with largely unknown effects on behavior and mental health. Recent studies show that kratom use can lead to dependence and that mitragynine works as an addictive drug in animal studies. Nevertheless, kratom preparations were also suggested as a less harmful substitute in opiate withdrawal. Potential side-effects of prolonged kratom use, however, are currently unclear. The aim of this study was to investigate the social functioning of regular kratom users in Malaysia. A cross-sectional survey was carried out in three northern states of Peninsular Malaysia investigating 293 regular kratom consumers using the Addiction Severity Index in a snowball sampling technique. Findings showed that regular kratom users do not experience major impairments in their social functioning, despite being dependent on kratom for prolonged periods. Our findings suggest that chronic kratom administration does not significantly impair social functioning of users in a natural context in Malaysia.
OBJECTIVES: Determination of the psychosocial status and assessment of the level of satisfaction in Malaysian cleft palate patients and their parents.
DESIGN: Cross-sectional study.
PARTICIPANTS AND METHODS: Sixty cleft lip and palate patients (12 to 17 years of age) from Hospital Universiti Sains Malaysia and their parents were selected. The questionnaires used were the Child Interview Schedule, the Parents Interview Schedule, and the Cleft Evaluation Profile (CEP), administered via individual interviews.
RESULTS: Patients were teased because of their clefts and felt their self-confidence was affected by the cleft condition. They were frequently teased about cleft-related features such as speech, teeth, and lip appearance. Parents also reported that their children were being teased because of their clefts and that their children's self-confidence was affected by the clefts. Both showed a significant level of satisfaction with the treatment provided by the cleft team. There was no significant difference between the responses of the patients and their parents. The features that were found to be most important for the patients and their parents, in decreasing order of priority, were teeth, nose, lips, and speech.
CONCLUSIONS: Cleft lip and/or palate patients were teased because of their clefts, and it affected their self-confidence. The Cleft Evaluation Profile is a reliable and useful tool to assess patients' level of satisfaction with treatment received for cleft lip and/or palate and can identify the types of cleft-related features that are most important for the patients.
The present study examined the sociocultural adjustment of 249 sojourning Malaysian undergraduates in Britain. One-hundred and ten Malay and 139 Chinese students enrolled in various courses answered a self-report questionnaire that examined various aspects of sociocultural adjustment and socio-demographics. Overall, Malay students reported significantly poorer sociocultural adjustment than Chinese students, as well as more negative outcomes on a range of predictors. Path analysis for the total sample showed that higher family income led to greater sociocultural adjustment, but partially because it led to more contact with host and conationals, better language proficiency, lower perceived cultural differences and less perceived discrimination. Moreover, participants with higher English proficiency were better adapted, but partially because they perceived less cultural differences as well as having more contact with host nationals. Additionally, individuals reporting better sociocultural adjustment also reported better health statuses. The same model was equally useful at predicting sociocultural adjustment for both Malay and Chinese participants. These results are discussed in terms of the role played by income in buffering against the negative aspects of sociocultural adjustment.
Parenting stress is the stress level experienced within the role of a parent (Hoekstra-Weebers et al. 1998). The source of stressors is variable and dependent on the phase of disease and chemotherapy (Sawyer et al. 2000). Failure to cope with these stressors may in turn affect the child’s emotional and social adjustment towards the diagnosis of cancer in addition to poor medical treatment adherence behaviour (Sawyer et al. 1993). The objectives of this study are to determine the level of parenting stress, the risk factors contributing to high parenting stress, and the coping mechanisms used to handle the stress. This single centred, cross-sectional study was done amongst 117 parents at the Paediatric Haematology and Oncology Unit, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia Medical Centre (UKMMC) over two years duration. Self-administered questionnaires comprising the Parenting Stress Index/Short Form (PSI/SF) and Coping Inventory for Stressful Situation (CISS) were distributed to parents of children who were 12 years old and below. The mean total parenting stress score amongst parents of children diagnosed with acute leukaemia was 91.5±21.1(95% CI). A total of 27.3% of parents experienced a high total parenting stress score (defined as total PSI score ≥ 75th centile, ie ≥ 103). Task-oriented coping mechanism was used by the majority of parents. Emotion-oriented coping mechanism was the only identifiable risk factor for high parenting stress score following multiple logistic regression analysis. A parent who used emotion-oriented coping mechanism was 7.1 times (95% Confidence Interval 1.2 to 41.4) more likely to have a high parenting stress score compared to a parent who used other coping mechanisms. By identifying these at-risk parents, appropriate counselling and psychological support may be offered early to alleviate the stress as well as assist in the coping and adjustment mechanisms of these parents.
This article examines the implications of perceived negativity from members of a dominant outgroup on the world views and perceived relative group worth of members of disadvantaged groups. We hypothesized that concerns about the negative opinions a dominant outgroup is perceived to hold of the ingroup (i.e., meta-stereotypes) would undermine group members' views about societal fairness. We expected this trend to be mediated by recall of previous personal experiences of discrimination. We further hypothesized that members' views about societal fairness would predict their perception of the ingroup's worth relative to the outgroup - such that undermined views about societal fairness would be associated with lower perceived ingroup worth relative to the outgroup. Taken jointly, results from two studies using two real intergroup contexts support these hypotheses and are discussed in terms of their implications for the social mobility of members of disadvantaged groups.
The purpose of this study was to analyze people's attitudes to disasters by investigating how people feel, behave and think during disasters. We focused on disasters induced by humans, such as terrorist attacks. Two types of textual information were collected - from Internet blogs and from research papers. The analysis enabled forecasting of attitudes for the design of proactive disaster advisory scheme. Text was analyzed using a text mining tool, Leximancer. The outcome of this analysis revealed core themes and concepts in the text concerning people's attitudes. The themes and concepts were sorted into three broad categories: Affect, Behaviour, and Cognition (ABC), and the data was visualized in semantic maps. The maps reveal several knowledge pathways of ABC for developing attitudinal ontologies, which describe the relations between affect, behaviour and cognition, and the sequence in which they develop. Clearly, terrorist attacks induced trauma and people became highly vulnerable.
Quality-of-life assessment has become an accepted method of evaluation in clinical medicine. The technique is based on a patient's self-assessment of physical, psychological, and social function, as well as the effects of distressing physical symptoms. The most important aspect of quality-of-life assessment is that it brings into focus a patient-centred view of health outcome, which is broader than the physiologic measures which predominate in Western medicine. Strategies for the development and use of assessment questionnaires have evolved over the past 15 years, and numerous questionnaires have been created. Most originate in Western societies, with English as the most common language of development. Adapting such questionnaires for use in other language and cultural settings is an imprecise practice. Language translation and equivalent cultural meaning must both be addressed. This paper reports on the language translation process and results for the Functional Living Index for Cancer (FLIC) as translated into Chinese and Malay in Singapore. We employed a step-wise process beginning with translation/back translation, followed by structured pilot field trials and population sampling. Taped versions of the questionnaire were devised to meet illiteracy problems in the sample population. Paired comparisons of the Chinese and Malay versions of individual questions with their English counterparts show good correlations and similar means most of the time. Factor analysis on a population sample of 246 (112 Chinese, 35 Malay and 98 English speaking) with cancers of minimal, extensive or palliative extent is convergent with that obtained on a North American population. However, a separate analysis of the Chinese questionnaires showed some differences in factor pattern. Specific language and cultural translation difficulties are discussed. Of note is the predicted significant decrease in total FLIC scores with extent of disease within each of the language preference populations, which provides some evidence for the validity for each language version in the Singapore culture(s). Thus, the FLIC translations into Malay and Chinese in Singapore can be considered for use in local trials, subject to ongoing evaluation.
A twelve-month study of all university students with psychological problems and symptoms, referred by the Student Health Physicians of the University of Malaya, Kuala Lumpur was conducted. A total of 308 students were seen and treated. The following results were elicited:
1) The proportion of student breakdown among the different ethnic groups was in proportion with the total student population.
2) There was no significant difference in diagnosis among students of urban-rural origins or from the different faculties.
3) The majority of students were seen during the first term from the first and second year courses.
4) Fifty-six percent of students suffered from symptoms prior to their admission to the university.
5 ) Differences in language stream, especially from the Malay-medium schools, did not increase the rates of breakdown because of attenuating factors to reduce the stress among Malay students.
6) Chinese students had significantly more severe acculturation gap differences from their parents than Malay students. They also significantly came from more well-off homes, of a higher social class and from urban regions as compared to the Malay students.
7) Fifty-one percent were diagnosed as suffering from a neurosis and 13.3% from a schizophrenic psychosis. The neurotics had a much lower failure rate than the schizophrenic students.
8) Personality and family problems were significantly higher among Chinese than Malay students. On the whole, there were more personality and family problems among urban-based students of both ethnic groups.
Data on malocclusion and orthodontic treatment need in Malaysia are limited. The purpose of this study was to evaluate malocclusion and orthodontic treatment need in a sample of 12-13-year-old schoolchildren using the Dental Aesthetic Index (DAI), and to assess the relationship between malocclusion and socio-demographic variables, perceptions of need for orthodontic treatment, aesthetic perception and social functioning.