Background: Smartphone addiction is very prevalent among college students, especially Chinese college students, and it can cause many psychological problems for college students. However, there is no valid research instrument to evaluate Chinese college students’ smartphone addiction. Objective: This study aimed to translate the Smartphone Addiction Scale—Short Version (SAS-SV) into Chinese and evaluate the psychometric characteristics of the Smartphone Addiction Scale- Chinese Short version (SAS-CSV) among Chinese college students. Methods: The SAS-SV was translated into Chinese using the forward-backward method. The SAS-CSV was completed by 557 Chinese college students (sample 1: n = 279; sample 2: n = 278). 62 college students were randomly selected from the 557 Chinese college students to be meas- ured twice, with an interval of two weeks. The reliability of the SAS-CSV was evaluated by internal consistency reliability and test-retest reliability, and the validity of the SAS-CSV was evaluated by content validity, structural validity, convergent validity, and discriminant validity. Results: The SAS-CSV presented good content validity, high internal consistency (sample 1: α = 0.829; sample 2: α = 0.881), and good test-retest reliability (ICC: 0.975; 95% CI: 0.966–0.985). After one exploratory factor analysis, three components (tolerance, withdrawal, and negative effect) with eigenvalues greater than 1 were obtained, and the cumulative variance contribution was 50.995%. The results of confirmatory factor analysis indicated that all the fit indexes reached the standard of good model fit (χ²/df = 1.883, RMSEA = 0.056, NFI = 0.954, RFI = 0.935, IFI = 0.978, TLI = 0.969, CFI = 0.978). The SAS-CSV presented good convergent validity for the factor loading of all the items ranged from 0.626 to 0.892 (higher than 0.50), the three latent variables’ AVE ranged from 0.524 to 0.637 (higher than 0.50), and the three latent variables’ CR ranged from 0.813 to 0.838 (higher than 0.70). Moreover, the square roots of the AVE of component 1 (tolerance), component 2 (withdrawal) and component 3 (negative effect) were 0.724, 0.778, and 0.798, respectively, higher than they were with other correlation coefficients, indicating that the SAS-CSV had good discrimination validity. Conclusion: The SAS-CSV is a valid instrument for measuring smartphone addiction among Chinese college students.

Background and aim: Adolescent suicide has become a central issue around the world, including in Malaysia, which needs attention. The current study investigated the mediating effect of coping strat...

University students suffer from a high prevalence of mental health concerns. However, most studies on mental health help-seeking in Malaysia focussed on stigma and mental health literacy. This study aimed to examine the relationship between cultural value and university students’ attitudes towards seeking help for their mental health. An online survey was conducted using the Inventory of Attitudes towards Seeking Mental Health Services (IASMHS), Cultural Values Scale (CVSCALE), and Psychological Well-being Scale (PWBS) amongst university students in Malaysia. A total of 167 university students (Mean age = 21.57 years old, 75.4% females) participated in the study. Overall, the participants had a positive attitude towards mental health help-seeking. The results of the multiple linear regression analysis showed that the Chinese race (B = -0.315, p = 0.028), long-term orientation (B = 0.250, p = 0.002), Hindu religion (B = -0.242, p = 0.039), masculinity orientation (B = -0.223, p = 0.006), psychological well-being (B = 0.194, p = 0.008), Malay race (B = -0.165, p = 0.045), and participant’s age (B = 0.150, p = 0.028) were significantly associated with attitude towards mental health help-seeking. The results had implications for understanding cultural reasons that hinder mental health help-seeking amongst university students in Malaysia, and proposed recommendations in designing culturally relevant and appropriate interventions for targeted groups.

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 < 0.05). When comparing with no change in the well-being group, changes in boredom were less likely to be observed in the decreased well-being group (Adj OR = 0.874; p = 0.003) but were more likely to be observed in the group with increased well-being (Adj OR = 1.110; p = 0.002). The findings indicated that the pandemic did not necessarily create adverse effects. Instead, a different perspective is offered, which can be used as a public health strategy to help individuals cope with their mental health needs more positively.

Preschool children,parental smartphone addiction,emotional regulation

This study investigates the educational implications of the association between social media use and mental well-being in the post-pandemic period. As educational practices increasingly incorporate digital platforms, understanding the impact of students' social media engagement on their mental health is imperative. The role of education in the transformation of information and knowledge within the realm of social media contributes to the significant influences towards individuals’ mental well-being, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic. Education also serves as an instrument of social change to help reduce anxiety of COVID-19 among people. This research, therefore, aimed at investigating the association between social media use and COVID-19 Anxiety and mental well-being among Malaysian adolescents. It focused on the importance of educational implications in the associations among the study variables. Using a convenience sampling technique with a correlational research design, 329 adolescents, 18 to 25 years old, were selected for this study. Social Networking Usage Questionnaire (SNUQ), Coronavirus Anxiety Scale (CAS) and Warwick-Edinburgh Mental Well-being Scale (WEMWBS) were uutilised to measure social media use, anxiety of COVID-19 and mental well-being of the adolescents respectively. Three scales showed high internal consistency with α = .92 for SNUQ, α = .90 for CAS, and α = .94 for WEMWBS. The findings of the study indicated a significant positive association between social media use and COVID-19 anxiety (r = .12, n = 329, p < .05), and a significant positive relationship between social media use and mental well-being (r = .19, n = 329, p < .001). However, results showed an insignificant association between COVID-19 anxiety and mental well-being among adolescents (r = -.051, n = 329, p > .001). The study concluded that the use of social media as a platform for educational transfer and information change abstains from anxiety of COVID-19 and uplifts awareness among Malaysian adolescents on the salient positive influences of it towards their mental health.