Explore the vast range of titles available.

As of 11 October 2020, Sabah comprised a quarter of all COVID19 cases reported in Malaysia since the start of the pandemic last January 2020. In this pandemic, nurses serve in vital roles to mitigate the effects of COVID-19. This study aims to explore the nurses’ preparedness in managing the COVID-19 outbreak situation in Sabah, Malaysia, examining the contextual (e.g., participated in an actual major disaster event) and demographic factors (e.g., age and working experience that may influence nurses’ preparedness for managing the COVID-19 pandemic). A total of 317 nurses in Sabah, Malaysia were involved in this study. The Emergency Preparedness Information Questionnaire (EPIQ) contained 41 items and was used to assess civilian nurses’ perceived familiarity with 9 competency dimensions of preparedness. The mean scores of nurses’ preparedness indicated a moderate level of nurses’ preparedness in managing the COVID-19 pandemic (mean ranging from 2.89 to 3.79). The results indicated that there was a significant difference between the nurses who actively participate in an actual major disaster event and who were not active in a total of preparedness and all dimensions (t = 2.79, df = 285, p = 0.006) (except in familiarity with decontamination and familiarity with special populations), across working experience (F(2,291) = 5.09, p = 0.007) (except familiarity with Incident Command System and role), and age among nurses ((F(3,290) = 2.68, p = 0.047)) (total of preparedness, familiarity with ethical issues in triage, epidemiology, and surveillance, and psychological issues). Overall, this study has made a significant theoretical contribution, as well as in clinical implications in the field of nursing practice, by addressing the impact of contextual and demographic factors on nurses’ preparedness in managing the COVID-19 outbreak situation. This study will help nurses to understand the skills, abilities, knowledge, and actions needed to respond, mitigate, and prepare for emergencies during pandemics and disasters.

The Flourishing Scale is a new scale designed to measure psychological well–being. FS has been translated into more than 10 languages (e.g., Portuguese, Russian, Turki, Spanish, Egyptian, French, Chinses, Japanese, Malay, Urdu, and Persian). The psychometric analysis of the Flourishing Scale has not been explored in the Malaysian context. The aims of the current study were to examine the factor structure, reliability, concurrent validity (correlate with Satisfaction with Life Scale [SWLS] and Life Project Reflexivity Scale [LPRS]) of the Flourishing Scale (FS). The EFA was conducted to explore the factor structure of FS in the Malaysian context. Then, CFA was run to test the model fit of the FS in the Malaysian context. Test of measurement invariance was also conducted to ascertain the generalizability of the factor structure of FS across gender groups. A cross-sectional survey with 663 university students (435 female students and 228 male students) from a public university in Sabah, Malaysia was conducted. The EFA results revealed a single factor solution with a total explained variance of 68.31%. The CFA result also revealed a one-factor structure with all eight items loaded in one factor. The multi-group analysis of this model demonstrated invariance by gender. FS also demonstrated high reliability and good concurrent validity. The FS was positively and significantly correlated with Satisfaction with Life Scale scores, Life Project Reflexivity Scale score and its subscale. The results supported FS appears to be a valid measure of a flourishing state, and its utilities in the Malaysian context is proven, including gender comparisons.

The Malay autism spectrum quotient, children's version (AQ-Child) is a translated and reduced version of the autism spectrum disorder (ASD) screening instrument. The aim of this study was to test the reliability and validity of the translated Malay version of the questionnaire. The instrument is a 41-item Likert scale form parental questionnaire designed to screen ASD among children aged 6 years old-12 years old. It was filled out by the parents of 700 children (children with ASD = 47; typically developing children = 653) who were contacted through five special education schools and seven mainstream primary schools. Findings showed that Malay AQ-Child has an internal consistency of 0.82 as a whole scale for 41-items. Receiver operator characteristic analysis showed that the cut score of 63 for the translated, reduced version of the AQ-Child with 41 items had 99% area (95% confidence interval [CI]) under receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve, and sensitivity and specificity of 93% and 99%, respectively. As for factor structure, principal component analysis (PCA) showed good loading values for most of the items in the instrument. The translated version of the Malay AQ-Child for screening ASD can further facilitate the process of surveillance and early intervention for children who need it.

This study aims to identify perceived adult status and to explore the criteria for adulthood of young people in Sabah (East Malaysia). The differences in such criteria based on gender and student status are also examined. Data collected from 208 respondents were analyzed via confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) and one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA). The empirical results of CFA revealed six criteria for adulthood: family capacities, norm compliance, interdependence, biological transitions, role transitions, and chronological transitions. However, the independence factor was discarded for further analysis because of having weak item loadings. In addition, the ANOVA test showed that women have higher interdependency and higher family capacities than men. Traditionally, women are more “other-oriented”—frequently thinking about the perspectives and needs of others—and are acknowledged as the main caregivers for children. Students are found to emphasize role transitions and biological transitions in determining their adulthood more than nonstudents. The present findings enable policymakers to obtain current emerging adults’ views regarding the differences in criteria for adulthood based on gender and student status. Present findings permit a better understanding of the value of emerging adults’ mental health as they encounter social, emotional, psychological, and physical challenges. This awareness would facilitate the provision of appropriate developmental programs for emerging adults to assist them in achieving adulthood. Directions for future research are also provided.

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.

It is argued that resiliency may contribute to one’s happiness and life effectiveness, while religious faith may strengthen the effects arising from the interchange of those variables. To confirm these assumptions, a study was conducted on a group of students consisting of 506 public and private university students in Sabah, Malaysia, amid the COVID-19 pandemic. Of the participants, 405 (80%) were females, 100 were males (19.8%), and one did not reveal their gender. The mean age was 21.71 (SD = 4.52). The study revealed that resiliency accounted for 6 percent of the variance on happiness and 18 percent of the variance on life effectiveness. However, faith did not show any moderation effects on resiliency as a cause of happiness. In terms of its effect on students’ life efficiency (e.g., time management, emotional control, and social competence), resiliency accounts for 18 percent of the variance on life effectiveness. As to the interaction between resiliency and faith in relation to the quality of life, the study revealed a significant interaction between them, a result that explained an additional 1.6 percent in the variance in life effectiveness. This indicates that strong religious faith could enhance students’ resiliency and contribute to a better life (e.g., managing time, controlling emotion, higher motivation, and competence in social situations), particularly during the pandemic. Therefore, valuing and practicing one’s religious faith, regardless of the religious background, is a powerful tool in boosting students’ flexibility in the face of academic and nonacademic challenges during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Kajian dijalankan bertujuan untuk mengkaji pengaruh optimistik, kecekapan kendiri umum, sokongan sosial dan afek positif-negatif ke atas kebahagiaan remaja miskin di Sabah. Kajian rintis dijalankan ke atas 110 remaja miskin. Terdapat lima set soal selidik yang digunakan, iaitu Extended Life Orientation Test (ELOT) mengukur optimistik, General Self-Efficacy Scale (GSES) mengukur efikasi kendiri umum, Inventory of Socially Supportive Behaviors (ISSB)-Short Form mengukur sokongan sosial, Positive Affective and Negative Affective Schedule (PANAS) mengukur afek positif dan negatif, dan Oxford Happiness Questionnaire (OHQ) mengukur kebahagiaan. Analisis kebolehpercayaan dijalankan adalah melihat kepada pekali Cronbach Alfa menggunakan Statistical Packages of Social Science (SPSS) versi 21. Hasil kajian mendapati bahawa Extended Life Orientation Test (ELOT) menunjukkan nilai Cronbach Alfa 0.697, General Self-Efficacy Scale (GSES) sebanyak 0.704, Inventory of Socially Supportive Behaviors (ISSB)-Short Form sebanyak 0.925 dan Positive Affective and Negative Affective Schedule (PANAS) sebanyak 0.730. Manakala, bagi alat kajian pemboleh ubah terikat Oxford Happiness Questionnaire (OHQ) menunjukkan nilai sebanyak 0.823. Analisis inferensi mendapati sokongan sosial lebih mempengaruhi kebahagiaan remaja miskin, iaitu sebanyak 20.2%. Dapatan juga mendapati afek positif mempunyai kesan mediator antara hubungan optimistik dan kebahagiaan remaja miskin di Sabah.