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Sociocultural influences on body dissatisfaction and body change behaviors among Malaysian adolescents

Mellor D, McCabe M, Ricciardelli L, Yeow J, Daliza N, Hapidzal NF

Body Image, 2009 Mar;6(2):121-8.
PMID: 19195942 DOI: 10.1016/j.bodyim.2008.11.003

Little research on body dissatisfaction and body change behaviors, and the sociocultural influences on them, has been undertaken in non-Western contexts. The current study investigated these variables and the relationships between them among a sample of 529 Malaysian high school students (103 Malays, 344 Chinese and 82 Indians), who completed a set of measures in classroom settings. Chinese girls were more dissatisfied with their bodies than Chinese boys, but no gender difference was found for Malay and Indian participants. Girls were more likely to engage in behaviors to lose weight, and boys were more likely to engage in behaviors to increase muscle. The influence of sociocultural factors on body dissatisfaction and body change behaviors was limited and varied across both sex and ethnicity. Findings are discussed in relation to Western research, and it is concluded that cultural nuances need to be considered when investigating these phenomena.

Matched MeSH terms: Social Desirability*
An examination of the factor structure of the Sociocultural Attitudes Towards Appearance Questionnaire-3 in Malaysia

Swami V

Body Image, 2009 Mar;6(2):129-32.
PMID: 19249260 DOI: 10.1016/j.bodyim.2009.01.003

The present study examined the factor structure of a Malay translation of the Sociocultural Attitudes Towards Appearance Questionnaire-3 among a community sample of 554 Malaysian women. Results of an exploratory factor analysis revealed the existence of four factors, two of which (Information and Internalization-Athlete) mirrored those found among Western samples. An additional factor was an amalgamation of two factors reported in the West, namely Pressure and Internalization-General. A fourth factor consisted of six items, four of which cross-loaded onto previous factors, and was consequently dropped from analyses. Cronbach's alpha coefficients for the three retained factors were all above .82, and the three factors were significantly correlated with each other and with participants' body mass index. The results of this study stress the need for locally developed scales in the study of body image and a shift away from reliance on scales developed in the West.

Matched MeSH terms: Social Desirability*
Culture, gender, and the self: variations and impact of social comparison processes

Guimond S, Branscombe NR, Brunot S, Buunk AP, Chatard A, Désert M, et al.

J Pers Soc Psychol, 2007 Jun;92(6):1118-34.
PMID: 17547492

Psychological differences between women and men, far from being invariant as a biological explanation would suggest, fluctuate in magnitude across cultures. Moreover, contrary to the implications of some theoretical perspectives, gender differences in personality, values, and emotions are not smaller, but larger, in American and European cultures, in which greater progress has been made toward gender equality. This research on gender differences in self-construals involving 950 participants from 5 nations/cultures (France, Belgium, the Netherlands, the United States, and Malaysia) illustrates how variations in social comparison processes across cultures can explain why gender differences are stronger in Western cultures. Gender differences in the self are a product of self-stereotyping, which occurs when between-gender social comparisons are made. These social comparisons are more likely, and exert a greater impact, in Western nations. Both correlational and experimental evidence supports this explanation.

Matched MeSH terms: Social Desirability*
We'll never get past the glass ceiling! Meta-stereotyping, world-views and perceived relative group-worth

Owuamalam C, Zagefka H

Br J Psychol, 2013 Nov;104(4):543-62.
PMID: 24094283 DOI: 10.1111/bjop.12006

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.

Matched MeSH terms: Social Desirability*
Intergroup perception as a compromise between in-group bias and fair-mindedness

Singh R, Sharmini, Choo I

J Soc Psychol, 2004 Aug;144(4):373-87.
PMID: 15279328

Previously, perceived competence of and attraction toward targets categorized by race showed in-group bias and no bias, respectively. Consequently, previous investigators regarded intergroup perception as a compromise between the norms of in-group bias and fair-mindedness. An alternative hypothesis for such findings is that attraction is not as relevant a dimension for intergroup discrimination as is competence. To test contrasting predictions of these hypotheses, the present authors asked participants from the majority and minority groups in Singapore (ns = 320) to evaluate either competence of or attraction toward one of the five targets. Consistent with the hypothesis that intergroup perception is a compromise, both dimensions yielded a uniform but weak in-group bias. The participants' equating of the in-group with one out-group further illustrated fair-mindedness. The authors discussed implications of the findings.

Matched MeSH terms: Social Desirability*
The relative contribution of profile body shape and weight to judgements of women's physical attractiveness in Britain and Malaysia

Swami V, Tovée MJ

Body Image, 2007 Dec;4(4):391-6.
PMID: 18089286

Ninety-six Malaysian and British men rated for physical attractiveness a set of photographs of real women in profile, with known body mass index (BMI) and waist-to-hip ratio (WHR). Results showed that BMI accounted for the greater amount of variance in all settings. There were also significant differences in preferences for body weight, with low resource, low socioeconomic status (SES) raters preferring a significantly heavier partner than high resource, high SES raters. The disparity with previous findings using line drawings of women in profile was discussed in terms of the weaknesses of line-drawn stimuli.

Matched MeSH terms: Social Desirability
Ergonomics issues in national identity card for homeland security

Yeow PH, Yuen YY, Loo WH

Appl Ergon, 2013 Sep;44(5):719-29.
PMID: 22841592 DOI: 10.1016/j.apergo.2012.04.017

Ever since the 9/11 terrorist attack, many countries are considering the use of smart national identity card (SNIC) which has the ability to identify terrorists due to its biometric verification function. However, there are many ergonomics issues in the use of SNIC, e.g. card credibility. This research presents a case study survey of Malaysian users. Although most citizens (>96%) own MyKad (Malaysia SNIC), many do not carry it around and use its applications. This defeats one of its main purposes, i.e. combating terrorism. Thus, the research investigates ergonomics issues affecting the citizens' Intention to Use (ITU) MyKad for homeland security by using an extended technology acceptance model. Five hundred questionnaires were collected and analysed using structural equation modelling. Results show that perceived credibility and performance expectancy are the key issues. The findings provide many countries with insights into methods of addressing ergonomics issues and increasing adoption of SNIC for homeland security.

Matched MeSH terms: Social Desirability
Comparing perceptions of dental aesthetics in the USA with those in eleven ethnic groups

Cons NC, Jenny J

Int Dent J, 1994 Dec;44(6):489-94.
PMID: 7851991

The Standard DAI is an orthodontic index based on perceptions of dental aesthetics in the USA. The Standard DAI is a regression equation linking perceptions of the social acceptability of dental aesthetics with the objective intraoral measurements of ten occlusal traits. Since the Standard DAI is based on perceptions of dental aesthetics in the USA it can be used without modification only where perceptions of dental aesthetics are similar to those in the USA. This study was designed to determine whether perceptions of dental aesthetics of students in eleven diverse ethnic groups are similar to those of students in the USA. The same 25 stimuli (photographs of dental configurations, a subset of the 200 stimuli used in deriving the Standard DAI equation) were rated for dental aesthetics by Australian, Chinese, German, Japanese, Korean, Latvian, Native American, Singaporean Chinese, Singaporean Indian, Singaporean Malay, and Thai students. Their ratings were compared with the ratings of the same 25 stimuli by students in the USA. Spearman rank-order correlations ranged from 0.84 to 0.94. These correlations are sufficiently high to show that perceptions of dental aesthetics in all eleven ethnic groups are very similar to the perceptions of USA students. Therefore the Standard DAI can be used without modification in all eleven ethnic groups.

Matched MeSH terms: Social Desirability
The drug abuse problem in Peninsular Malaysia: parent and child differences in knowledge, attitudes and perceptions

Low WY, Zulkifli SN, Yusof K, Batumalail S, Aye KW

Drug Alcohol Depend, 1996 Oct;42(2):105-15.
PMID: 8889409

A survey was carried out to gather information on knowledge, attitudes and perception of parents and their children in relation to drug abuse matters. Significantly more teenagers knew more of the cause of drug addiction, as well as places for treatment and rehabilitation. Both teenagers and parents were also aware of reasons why drug addicts find it difficult to change their habits, mainly lacking motivation to stop taking drugs and that drug addicts do not have the power to control themselves. Teenagers were significantly more aware of effects of negative parental attitudes contributing to drug abuse, apart from school factors. Personal experiences before abusing drugs such as knowledge of pleasurable effects of drugs and where to obtain them has also a role to play in leading to drug abuse. There was also agreement that unfulfilled needs such as 'not being respected recognised for ones capabilities' and 'not being loved or treated fairly by parents', were causes of drug abuse. Significantly more teenagers knew of the ways of abusing drugs, mainly by injection, smoking and sniffing, and also sources of information via the mass media, social clubs, rehabilitation centres and schools. However, both the parents and teenagers were relatively ignorant of the long term effects of abusing drugs.

Matched MeSH terms: Social Desirability
Fulltext Barriers to smoking cessation: a qualitative study from the perspective of primary care in Malaysia

Chean KY, Goh LG, Liew KW, Tan CC, Choi XL, Tan KC, et al.

BMJ Open, 2019 07 09;9(7):e025491.
PMID: 31289057 DOI: 10.1136/bmjopen-2018-025491

OBJECTIVES: This qualitative study aims to construct a model of the barriers to smoking cessation in the primary care setting.
DESIGN: Individual in-depth, semistructured interviews were audio-taped, then verbatim transcribed and translated when necessary. The data were first independently coded and then collectively discussed for emergent themes using the Straussian grounded theory method.
PARTICIPANTS AND SETTING: Fifty-seven current smokers were recruited from a previous smoking related study carried out in a primary care setting in Malaysia. Current smokers with at least one failed quit attempts were included.
RESULTS: A five-theme model emerged from this grounded theory method. (1) Personal and lifestyle factors: participants were unable to resist the temptation to smoke; (2) Nicotine addiction: withdrawal symptoms could not be overcome; (3) Social cultural norms: participants identified accepting cigarettes from friends as a token of friendship to be problematic; (4) Misconception: perception among smokers that ability to quit was solely based on one's ability to achieve mind control, and perception that stopping smoking will harm the body and (5) Failed assisted smoking cessation: smoking cessation services were not felt to be user-friendly and were poorly understood. The themes were organised into five concentric circles based on time frame: those actionable in the short term (themes 1 and 2) and the long term (themes 3, 4, 5).
CONCLUSIONS: Five themes of specific beliefs and practices prevented smokers from quitting. Clinicians need to work on these barriers, which can be guided by the recommended time frames to help patients to succeed in smoking cessation.

Matched MeSH terms: Social Desirability