Adolescents involved in bullying can be at risk of developing behavioural problems, physical health problems and suicidal ideation. In view of this, a quantitative research design using a cross-sectional study was conducted to determine the prevalence of bullying and associated individual, peer, family and school factors. The study involved 4469 Malaysian public-school students who made up the response rate of 89.4%. The students were selected using a randomized multilevel sampling method. The study found that 79.1% of student respondents were involved in bullying as perpetrators (14.4%), victims (16.3%), or bully–victims (48.4%). In a multivariate analysis, the individual domain showed a significant association between students’ bullying involvement and age (OR = 1.38; 95% CI 1.12–1.70), gender (OR = 1.73; 95% CI 1.47–0.91), ethnicity (OR = 0.66; 95% CI 0.47–0.91), duration of time spent on social media during the weekends (OR = 1.43; 95% CI 1.09–1.87) and psychological distress level (OR = 2.55; 95% CI 1.94–3.34). In the peer domain, the significantly associated factors were the number of peers (OR = 0.69; 95% CI 0.56–0.86) and frequency of quarrels or fights with peers (OR = 2.12; 95% CI 1.24–3.26). Among the items in the school domain, the significantly associated factors were students being mischievous in classrooms (OR = 1.52; 95% CI 1.06–2.06), student’s affection towards their teachers (OR = 1.53; 95% CI 1.06–2.20), frequency of appraisal from teachers (OR = 1.49; 95% CI 1.16–1.94), frequency of friends being helpful in classrooms (OR = 1.92; 95% CI 1.09–3.38) and frequency of deliberately skipping class (OR = 2.91; 95% CI 2.90–1.72). As a conclusion, the study revealed high levels and widespread bullying involvement among students in Malaysia. As such, timely bullying preventions and interventions are essential, especially in terms of enhancing their mental health capacity, which substantially influences the reduction in the prevalence rates of bullying involvement among students in Malaysia.

Uncontrolled drug and substance use (DSU) may pose unprecedented threats to nation building and a country’s socioeconomic development. Despite considerable efforts made and resources used to address DSU concerns, Malaysia has seen a significant annual rise in cases of DSU. The bulk of the reported cases originate from youth between the ages of 15 and 40 years. To date, data related to DSU in Malaysia have been entirely dependent on operation statistics, arrest counts, and reported cases; DSU may therefore be under-reported and the data obtained not representative at the national level. This study aims to determine the prevalence of DSU among Malaysian youth through a large nationwide representative survey. Of the population of 11,129,316 youth aged 15–40 years, the prevalence of DSU among lifetime users was found to be 5.5%, while for those who had taken drugs in the past 30 days or who currently use them, the prevalence of DSU was found to be 3.5%. The most popular drugs for lifetime users were kratom or Mitragyna speciosa, while for current users the most popular drug was cannabis. The current study reports the magnitude of the problem at a country-wide level, which is a crucial preliminary effort for crafting evidence-based and well-informed policies.

Juvenile delinquency is always seen as a public health problem which needs intervention at various levels. Identifying which factors may lead juveniles to delinquency is a long-standing question among criminologists. This remains the case in Malaysia. There are studies that have explored the impact of problem-solving skills, low socioeconomic status, and gender differences in predicting the delinquent behavior of youth in Malaysia. However, very few studies have aimed to find an in-depth understanding of the effects of family roles and peer pressure on delinquency in Malaysia. The present qualitative research was designed to fill this gap in the literature. In-depth interviews were conducted with 12 young male prisoners (juvenile delinquents) in Malaysia to explore the influences of family life and peer pressure on delinquency. The current study showed that parental un-involvement, parent separation, peer pressure, criminal gang membership, and parents’ involvement in crime were the important factors for involvement in delinquency. The findings revealed the importance of guidance and counseling for parents and adolescents, to help them cope with life challenges and to build their social and emotional skills, as well as the necessity of appointing school psychologists and public health experts to help the youths become valuable individuals.

Protective and risk factors are important in reducing vulnerability towards drug abuse among adolescents. This study, therefore, aims to explore gender differences in such vulnerability in high-risk areas identified by the National Anti-Drugs Agency Malaysia. The study employs a survey design, with questionnaires distributed to 213 adolescents who fulfilled the inclusion criteria. The researchers developed the questionnaire and comprised five parts: the demographic profile, interpersonal conflict, negative emotions, social support, and mental health. The data were analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistics. The results show no significant gender differences in interpersonal conflict, negative emotions, and mental health. However, there was a significant difference in social support based on gender, with females showing a higher mean than males. These findings imply the importance of identifying the relevant factors to prevent early involvement in drug abuse.

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Objective: The objective of this research is to analysed factors that influence entrepreneurial skills among former prisoners to support the achievement of the sustainable development goals. Method: This study was conducted using a quantitative cross-sectional study. A total of 354 ex-prisoners who have been released from prison but are still under the supervision of the Malaysian Prisons Department have been selected as study respondents. The study data was analysed using multiple regression analysis (stepwise) through the Statistical Package for the Social Science for Windows software. Results: The results of the study found that creativity and innovation are the main factors influencing entrepreneurial skills among ex-prisoners by contributing as much as 61 per cent of the variance (R2=.610) to entrepreneurial skills. In addition, the factors of entrepreneurial literacy and self-confidence also influence entrepreneurial skills among ex-prisoners. Research Implications: The results of this study make a significant contribution to stakeholders in helping to develop an effective entrepreneurial skills training program to support the achievement of decent work and economic growth in the sustainable development goals (SDG 8) by taking into account aspects of creativity and innovation, entrepreneurial literacy and self-confidence to improve entrepreneurial skills and create new job opportunities for ex-prisoners. Originality/Value: This research has several limitations that can be overcome by others authors in future research. It is recommended that future research include more independent variables or add moderating variables that have not been researched in this research.